Atlas Copco Exploration Products moves to a new facility in North Bay’s industrial park this month, increasing the Company’s commitment to the mining industry and to the community of North Bay.

Atlas Copco Geotechnical Drilling and Exploration (GDE), the Group’s division for exploration drilling and ground engineering, has invested in a new manufacturing facility and production equipment.

Equipment and people are being relocated from McKeown Avenue to the new plant at 125 Ferris Rd. The move has been accomplished in stages starting in May will be completed in June, 2008.

Atlas Copco GDE is headquartered in Märsta, Sweden, and has manufacturing facilities in North America, Europe, \ Africa, and Asia. All the plants are currently running at full capacity.

Hans Lidén, divisional President, attributes this strong growth to: “Atlas Copco’s long-term dedication to the business of exploration and our investment in product innovation which has resulted in one of the strongest product ranges in the market today.”

The new facility is being leased from O.R.E. Development Corporation, based in Mississauga, who is a full service commercial real estate development company and a member of the Opus Group.

Atlas Copco recognizes the support of the City of North Bay, the many regional contractors and local businesses who have been involved in the construction and move to this new facility. Key issues for this design, build and lease back project were timing, functionality, product flow, process quality and reduced environmental impact in keeping with Atlas Copco’s ISO14001 program. O.R.E. and local sub-contractors have been supportive to Atlas Copco processes, quality and environmental objectives.

Jeff Hagar, general manager of the Canadian based operational unit recognizes the team effort and dedication of employees to accomplish this large project and manage customer expectations at the same time. “It is because of our quality products and good customer relations that our business is in the position to expand and it has been very important to keep this customer focus throughout the project. The facility and new production capacity is an opportunity for employees to continue to improve our products and services for our customers.”

Atlas Copco is moving its consumable products currently manufactured in North Bay, but is also adding a new production line for Swellex rock bolts. Swellex rock bolts are unique in the field of rock reinforcement and ground engineering. It is a system that provides improved safety for workers through the reliability of installation and strong load securing properties High pressure water is used to expand the bolt in the hole, a method that has helped Swellex become the bolt of choice at many mine and tunnel worksites worldwide.

The new production plant will house a state of the art automated manufacturing cell, which is automated and includes quality checks to ensure consistency and reliability of the product. This investment in North Bay will help cope with the increasing demand and lead to better service for our North American customers.

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