Metso invests €1m in factories to improve production, safety levels

The capacity of diversified engineering group Metso’s Tampere factories, in Finland, will be increased and occupational safety improved with the addition of the new production line for Lokotrack mobile crushing plants.

The company says that the investment of about €1-million will significantly shorten the delivery times of equipment models put into line assembly production. The construction work for the new line will start later this year and the first new Lokotrack equipment will come out of the line in the first quarter of 2018.

The Speedline 1 assembly line currently in use at Metso’s factories produces in each working shift one compact series mobile crusher weighing about 50 t. The new Speedline 2 line will increase the theoretical capacity by about 30%.

“The delivery times of equipment models implemented on a line assembly method, instead of the current fixed assembly method, will be significantly reduced. At the same time, we will release plenty of space for assembling the largest crusher and Lokotrack models in fixed assembly locations,” says Metso project manager Juha Erkkilä.

He elaborates that, owing to increasing demand for track-mounted mobile crushing plants, heavier and more complex models, such as the LT120, the LT300HP/GP and the LT220D, will also be manufactured on Speedline 2 in addition to the current large volume models, such as the LT106 and the LT1213.
Erkkilä points out that the renovations at the company’s Tampere factories will also improve the safety of personnel and visitors to the facilities.

“The parts to be assembled can be better accommodated in the more spacious hall, which improves occupational safety. A new elevated gangway will also be built, allowing visitors to view the operations in the factory more safely and fluently,” he concludes.