Normet manufactures a range of innovative utility vehicles including this RBO model.
Normet: Going Global
Founded in 1962, Normet has established an excellent reputation in the niche market for mechanized utility vehicles for mining and tunneling. The group operates a manufacturing plant in Iisalmi, Finland, employs 345 people and makes annual sales of close to €80 million. Since early 2006, the firm has increased capacity at the Iisalmi plant by more than 100%. Sales have increased in double digit numbers during recent years and the investment in manufacturing capacity has already paid off, enabling Normet to conclude the biggest single deal in its history— the sale of 27 units to Norilsk Nickel two months ago. The factory is working two shifts and Normet is installing a new paint facility.
The ownership structure has changed over the years and today 70% of the Normet Group is owned by Cantell Oy, in which Normet’s Chairman Aaro Cantell is the main shareholder. The remaining 30% stake is shared between Vice Chairman Anssi Soila and Normet’s management. The company’s main products include concrete sprayers, lifting and charging equipment, as well as personnel and materials transport vehicles. Sold mainly through distributors the range has been particularly successful in Nordic region and other high wage country mining operations. Although facing more competition, the Spraymec concrete spraying machines have also made headway in the tunnelling industry.
The first step was to find the right person to oversee the new initiative, said Aaro Cantell, and Normet was able to recruit Tom Melbye as chief operating officer of Normet Group and managing director of Normet International. With more than 30 years of experience in underground construction, both as contractor and, during a long career with BASF Construction Chemicals, as a supplier of chemical products and equipment, Melbye seems ideally qualified to move Normet forward in this sector especially. He has been involved in international projects in sprayed concrete, injection, grouting, anchoring and concreting, and has designed new technologies and product systems. Since 1992, he has been an active member of EFNARC (European Federation for Specialist Construction Chemicals and Concrete Systems) and served three years as the president of the federation.
Since Melbye, similar to key competitors and customer companies in underground construction, is based in Switzerland that is where Normet International will be headquartered—in Baar south of Zurich. This office will be in charge of global sales, marketing, Life Time Care customer service, regional offices, distributors and customer relations. The new Europe region, including Europe, CIS, Africa and the Middle East, is headed by Jorma Piironen, who has been with Normet more than 20 years and for the last three years, has been in charge of Normet’s global sales. Initially the region’s office will be in Iisalmi but will later move to Switzerland. Additionally, there is a Normet operation in Kazakhstan, where a subsidiary company was established in 2006. In Russia, the company has three offices: in Moscow, St. Petersburg and Norilsk.
The Asia region, which also includes Australia—currently Normet’s largest market— and New Zealand, is headed by William Reid, with extensive experience in civil engineering and business management of concrete, quarrying, construction chemicals and mining, who has worked in Central Asia, Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, China, the Middle East and Australia. The office is located in Adelaide, South Australia, and there will be three branch offices in the major mining areas (Perth, Kalgoorlie and Mt. Isa). A new office in Shanghai will cover the Chinese market.
Commenting on the new international focus, Melbye said: “The most important aspect of the new set-up is the change from a product and production driven company to a market driven organization. For instance, most Normet sales have been made through distributors, but from now on sales will be in Normet’s own hands. We will have much more face-to-face contact with our customers, and this will enable us to improve our product and service offering and adapt it much faster to the needs of our customers.
“Our objectives and expectations for the near future are high. Within the next three to four years we plan to double our turnover, expand our Life Time Care offering and increase the workforce,” said Melbye. “We want Normet to be a lucrative employer because we need good people to expand our operations into new geographical areas and markets. All this will take place through organic growth, strategic partnerships, and in some cases also through strategic acquisitions.” Whatever Normet’s role in the international scene will be, its home base will always remain in Iisalmi. Here are our roots and our manufacturing expertise.”.