A new Robbins office, opened in the last quarter of 2012, is providing coverage for Australia, New Guinea, New Zealand, and Indonesia. The subsidiary, Robbins Asia Pacific, joins a second Asia Pacific office based in Hong Kong.
“Australia is a market with a lot of potential, not only in the civil sector but also in the mining sector, particularly for coal and precious metals,” said Robbins Vice President of Sales Doug Harding.
The office is based in Brisbane and headed by General Manager Martin Rauer, who has over 13 years of experience in the tunnelling industry in both manufacturing and contracting firms.
While sales is the main function of the subsidiary, field service, project management, spare parts services, and other types of support will be added as market share increases.
“Customers will benefit from faster response times and more extensive local assistance and communication,” said Mr Harding.
The office will also provide regional support for two new Robbins projects in Australia, both for use in mine development tunnels. Later in 2013, an 8.0 m diameter hybrid earth pressure balance (EPB) machine will be launched on the Grosvenor Decline Tunnel at the Anglo-American Coal Mine. The 1.0 km tunnel, at a grade of 1:6, will require an explosion proof machine design for excavation in mixed ground with possible pockets of methane gas. In early 2014, a 5.83 m diameter Robbins Main Beam Tunnel Boring Machine will excavate the Carrapateena Decline tunnel for the Oz Minerals copper and gold mine in southern Australia.
Within the next five years, the subsidiary aims to further mine development using tunnel boring machines, and to increase sales for both hard rock and EPB machines.