Hillhead 2012: Finning sign exclusive deal with Sleipner

Finning UK and Ireland have completed an exclusive agreement with Sleipner of Finland to distribute and support their revolutionary transport systems for heavy mining and quarrying equipment

The agreement covers the whole of the UK and Ireland, stemming from the first successful introduction of the product by Finning in late 2011. Commonly known by enthusiasts as ‘skates’ for tracked excavators, the Sleipner system is designed to dramatically reduce maintenance cost for heavy loading equipment.

Allowing customers to transport an excavator up to five times faster than driving on tracks, in-turn dramatically reducing wear and maintenance, transport times using Sleipner are reduced by approximately 80%.

Commenting on the deal Greg Mulhearn, Finning core industries business manager, said: ‘This is a significant deal for Finning, as we move further towards delivering complete equipment solutions to our customers. Bringing Sleipner into the Finning family is a natural choice, as we can answer the specific needs of quarry and mining customers when it comes to improving productivity and reducing maintenance costs.

‘With significant changes in health and safety for quarry and mining operators when it comes to dressing the face with mobile plant, more businesses will be moving away from wheeled loaders to the use of tracked excavators. This therefore delivers the compelling argument for marrying excavators with the Sleipner system, under a complete service and support agreement.’

With Finning set to stock a range of Sleipner products capable of transporting the Caterpillar range of excavators from 30 to 550 tonnes, customers will be able to purchase the Sleipner system as part of an equipment deal package. In addition, Finning will be offering the Sleipner product range to existing and non-Caterpillar customers.

Commenting on the deal with Finning, Sleipner vice president for sales, Jaakko Lipsanen said: ‘The UK market for Sleipner is very significant, particularly with the move to the use of more tracked excavators in quarry and mining applications.  Because Finning is so strong in these sectors and can offer significant service benefits across the UK, we see the combination of our product and its ‘on the ground’ support as very compelling to the end user.’

For further information on the Sleipner product visit www.finning.co.uk. To see the Sleipner product in action in the UK visit www.finning.tv