Mesto boost mobile crusher production capacity
New and efficient assembly line for track-mounted crushing plants gets under way at Tampere factory
METSO have addressed the growing demand for mobile track-mounted crushing plants by commissioning a new and faster assembly line at the company’s Tampere factory, in Finland.
The assembly of a 50-tonne track-mounted crushing plant now takes two working days, with the serial production line operating in two shifts and increasing the company’s production capacity by 25%.
According to Metso, the demand for mobile Lokotrack crushers for aggregates took an upward turn 18 months ago, so the timing of their investment in capacity growth is right.
‘We want to ensure that our production capacity can meet customers’ growing needs,’ commented Markku Simula, president of the Aggregates Equipment business area at Metso.
The new high-speed assembly line has six assembly stations instead of the previous five, thereby improving the line’s flexibility and shortening the overall assembly time.
Currently, the line is used for assembling the most popular crusher models, with the assembly of heavier and more complex models due to begin in the spring.
The first Lokotrack model rolled off the new assembly line in the second week of January. Based on the current plan, the line will complete about 200 crushing plants before the summer.
‘Continuous production development is part of our operating method,’ commented project manager Juha Erkkilä. ‘This investment shortens the delivery times of our most popular models and further improves occupational safety.’
Aggregate crushing plants have been built in Tampere for 98 years: the first jaw crusher was completed at the Lokomo workshop in 1921, and in 1985 Tampere was the first location in the world to begin the assembly of track-mounted crushing plants.
Over the past three decades, more than 7,000 Lokotrack crushing plants have been manufactured in Tampere, and manufacturing operations have also expanded to India and China.
