Q: What key differentiator sets Mettler Toledo apart in the mining industry?
RR: Rather than selling equipment, we are consultants. We offer tailor-made solutions for specific applications and processes. Our area of expertise is in industrial weighing, micro-weighing, laboratory & process analytics and we combine the knowledge from these processes with Mettler Toledo’s solutions to provide equipment, software and services required by each specific need. The market is advancing toward data management, and Mettler Toledo's technology is aligned to this requirement as well.
CC: Our technological proposal is focus on offering added-value solutions, and this approach is aligned to the specific demands of today’s industry. Our added-value solution integrates technology, software and associated services. We are constantly assessing the productivity of our customers to ensure they are benefiting from the technological solution we are providing. This is done throughout the lifetime of the project. To support this service, we have invested in training with the purpose of having specialized consultants. In other words, speak the same customer’s language.
These professionals need to have technical knowledge about our products, but they also need to develop an expertise in applications for mining industry to have a better understanding of the main challenge of this segment. At the end of the day, the objective is to improve customer’s productivity through streamline processes, compliance with regulatory requirements, cost optimization and waste reduction, among others.
Q: How is the company incorporating innovative technologies such as IoT and Big Data into its offer?
CC: Mettler Toledo invests 5 percent of its annual sales in R&D. All our equipment and solutions have been developed from this viewpoint and we are already prepared to enter into this connectivity scheme. Through our weighing and instrumentation solutions, we can manage information of different scales and complexities, using data to our advantage. A very good application are intelligent sensors located in leaching tanks that learn about the behavior and characterization of the process. For instance, by measuring pH levels, the sensor has the capability to warn the maintenance team when a replacement or a calibration is needed. Main mining companies in Mexico are already using these applications. The digitalization of these processes also minimizes stock surpluses because materials are requested in a timely manner.
RR: The most important aspect of these solutions is that our customers can make real-time decisions. Reactionary decisions are often associated with higher costs. With the support of Big Data, users can make opportune choices. In terms of security, we can obtain information to establish preventive measures to execute maintenance services and equipment replacement. These applications can be used not only by mine operators, but by all the players that participate throughout the value chain. We train our customers on following aspects: operators and maintenance. We guarantee the correct operation of our solutions.
Q: How does the company’s training strategy complement its commercial strategy?
CC: We deliver training programs on the basics of good weighing practices, chemical titration, pH measurement, dissolved oxygen and other related industry applications. Often, equipment is running and the operators did not have any previous training. This is vital for Mettler Toledo with the purpose of keeping the mining industry updated. Mine operators should know how to face specific problems.
RR: In addition to the training on Mettler Toledo equipment and solutions, we also provide to our customers with additional knowledge to have a comprehensive understanding of the technology, such as metrology, industrial instrumentation and even physics variables. We can support our customers in this training at their facilities.