The Sandvik visit started with a comprehensive introduction to the equipment the company has to offer and their vision for the future of rock drilling technology.
After a scrumptious lunch hosted by the Sandvik team, we split into groups to have a tour of their facilities and understand their product offerings. The group was split up into three, and we got to the opportunity to visit the Drill Rig Production, the Test Mine, Digital Mine Centre, and the Rock Drills Innovation Centre VIP Lounge! Each of these workshops showed off the different business drivers for Sandvik, from digital solution offerings like AutoMine and OptiMine, to new technologies and demonstrations of BEV equipment, our group of mining engineers were really impressed!
Fun fact: We were actually the first group to ever visit their new Rock Drills Innovation Centre! What an honour!
To end off a busy and very informative day, we traveled on a private boat to Sandvik's summer cabin where we were treated to our first ever smoke sauna! Delicious food and drinks were served and the night could not have been better.
As the night went on, Sandvik's business model really interested us, and we continued to "drill" them with questions! Great conversation between our mining class and Sandvik's team- they really "rocked" our night!
Thank you Sandvik again for the Finnish hospitality! What a great learning experience for all of us to bring back to Canada.