Showa Corporation acquire first Sandvik U-440 crushers in Japan

26 September, 2013

First published in the September 2013 issue of Quarry Management as Big in Japan

Sandvik Japan deliver the first heavy mobile crushers in more than 20 years to one of the country’s largest quarry operators

Part of the renowned Fujisaco group, the Tochigi-based Showa Corporation have been a Sandvik customer for five years, purchasing a variety of drill rigs, breakers and medium-range mobile crushers and screens. Recently, a large order for further equipment has seen the Showa Corporation become Sandvik’s first customer in Japan to acquire the U-440 range of tracked crushers.

Mr Yamanoi, owner of the Showa Corporation, is one of the biggest quarry owners in Japan, employing more than 500 people across a total of 10 different sites.

He has now chosen to work in partnership with Sandvik Japan, using the processing power of the plant manufacturer’s highly productive U-range of mobile crushers.

The larger mobile machines were chosen by Mr Yamanoi because of their proven high performance and ability to deliver a consistent high-quality end-product.

As Mr Yamanoi’s companies have a reputation for being some of the most forward-thinking and innovative players in Japanese quarrying, the processing power of the Sandvik U-range of tracked crushers will provide the Showa Corporation with the perfect solution for their stringent crushing requirements.

Discussions between the Showa Corporation and Sandvik began when Hiroshi Kezuka, Sandvik Japan’s regional product line manager for mobile crushers and screens, together with Peter Delbrant, Sandvik product line manager for the U-range crushers, met with Mr Yamanoi.

As a result of the meeting, the Showa Corporation placed an initial order for eight mobile crushing and screening units. The order comprised two sets of equipment, each consisting of a UJ440i jaw unit and US440i cone crusher, complete with hanging screens, a UH440i cone and a QA450 triple-deck screener.

According to Sandvik, a key item of equipment in the successful operation of each crushing and screening train is the UJ440i jaw crusher – a state-of-the-art machine that maximizes production through its feed opening, which, coupled with a hydraulic close-side setting, delivers rapid changes through push-button operation enhanced by an integral intelligent operation.

The HD crusher utilized on the UJ440i is capable of handling any type of hard rock in any climate, including the most extreme weather conditions when fitted with an optional engine preheater.

Quick set-up time combined with site-to-site transportability are integral design features that ensure the unit is able to rapidly process materials in any location. Both crusher and unit are manufactured to the highest quality, utilizing Sandvik components to ensure that the number of spare and wear parts that need to be stocked is minimized due to the inherent consistency of manufacture. The in-built intelligence control system helps deliver safe and ‘trouble-free’ operation due to automatic and continuous monitoring of the production process.

The Sandvik UH440i and US440i tracked cone crushers make up the other key components of the two production units. As fully mobile secondary crushing units, they are providing a rapid return on investment for the Showa Corporation through high productivity and flexibility, as well as reduced operational costs.

Similar to the jaw unit fitted to the UJ440i machine, the cone unit on both of these crushers is able to handle various types of hard rock material in virtually any climatic conditions, thanks to its high-quality construction using only the highest-quality components.

This is providing optimal production for the Showa Corporation due to high-level intelligence processing and minimal set-up time through the unit’s sequential start with memorized application data.

One of the key factors in the Japanese operator’s impressive productivity and efficiency has been the cone unit’s ASRi auto- setting system, which further optimizes cone crusher efficiency and automatically adapts the crusher to variations in feed conditions.

By continuously measuring and compensating for crusher liner wear, the ASRi system provides full utilization of crusher lines and schedules liner replacements to coincide with planned maintenance stops. The ASRi also assists in keeping the crusher choke fed in order to maximize rock-on-rock crushing, which helps produce the highest-quality end-product.

The Sandvik U-440 tracked crushers are currently used in two crushing trains to specifically produce aggregates for concrete production. The first production train produces a 20–5mm limestone product, while the second produces both a 20–5mm and 5–0mm product from hard sandstone and andesite.

Both crushing trains are said to be operating at high throughputs and producing superior product shape. Other Sandvik machines operating for the Showa Corporation include a OJ340 jaw crusher, QA140 screener and QE330 scalper, which are used for special size production at various points of the site, while a QJ240 jaw crusher is utilized to crush concrete for recycling and reuse.

Aftermarket care is an important corporate value for Sandvik to ensure customers, such as the Showa Corporation, see a good return on their investment. Personnel from the Japanese quarry firm were, therefore, invited to visit Europe as guests of Peter Delbrant.

The Showa Corporation staff undertook service training in the UK, followed by a trip to Sandvik’s Svedala factory in Sweden, to learn more about the heavy range of equipment, as well as to see a demonstration of some of the machines in action. To build on the successful trip to Europe, Mr Delbrant ran a further training course for the visitors in Japan.

Since then Mr Yamanoi has placed another order with Sandvik that not only comprises two additional QA440 screens and a US440i crusher, but also two products from the ‘super heavy’ range of mobile units – the UJ650 jaw crusher and UH640 cone crusher.

The order from the Showa Corporation is a major first step in introducing the Sandvik U-range of larger, heavy-duty mobile crushers and screens to Japan, and seeks to build on the progress already undertaken in expanding the market for the Q-range of crushing and screening equipment.

All products in the Sandvik U- and Q-ranges provide customer-focused solutions for large and small operations in the quarrying and construction industries. The product lines have also been designed to work in conjunction with each other, thereby giving the Showa Corporation two fully functional crushing and screening trains.

For more information visit: www.construction.sandvik.com