Sandvik to cease manufacturing in Swadlincote

Sandvik has announced it will cease manufacturing at its plant in Swadlincote, UK. The factory makes mobile crushing & screening equipment. Production of these will be transferred to the company’s Ballygawley, UK plant, which manufactures similar machines.

The company said the decision to phase out production over the next 12 months followed a review of its UK manufacturing capacity and a supply chain optimisation programme. The closure will see 160 of the 360 manufacturing jobs in Swadlincote transferred to Ballygawley. However, Sandvik will continue to have offices in Swadlincote for product support, research & development, sourcing, marketing and aftermarket functions.

Sandvik managing director, Terry Allison said, “Since the major downturn in 2008/9, the global market for our products has not recovered as fast as we had hoped. We are currently running two factories at 50% capacity. This is neither efficient nor sustainable. In order to stay competitive, we propose moving all our production onto the Ballygawley site, which is the right size to meet both the current and anticipated demand for our mobile crushers and screeners.”

Sandvik acquired the Swadlincote and Ballygawley factories with its purchase of Extec and Fintec, respectively, in May 2007.