Understanding Clients Leads to Precise Solutions

Q: What is Batrinsa’s main contribution to the mining industry and how is the company helping clients to reduce their environmental impact?

A: Batrinsa has 45 years of experience in the field. Throughout that time, the company has been very careful about what it offers to the market. We tackle environmental impact by increasing the life span of existing equipment through solutions of the highest quality. We fully commit to offering products that provide up to eight years of productive life versus the standard of barely two years. By increasing the life span of the equipment, we also reduce waste and environmental impact.

Additionally, when selecting products for our clients, we look for those that best suit their needs while maintaining the lowest energy consumption. We are always looking for cutting-edge technologies and we listen to clients when they ask for a specific solution. This keeps us on our toes and up to date with the latest in environmental technologies, which provides us with a massive advantage.

Now, there is a big challenge ahead about how to make mining processes less aggressive with the environment, and such challenge is very exciting, to be a part of a change process in a whole industry. We are always in the look for new products and solutions that help our customers to reduce pollution, increase efficiency, reduce downtime and extend equipment’s life, all at the same time.

Q: How does Batrinsa adapt solutions to meet clients’ needs according to the conditions of the mine?

A: Our strategy involves us playing the role of a doctor. When looking at an issue, we look at the symptoms based on the data collected. Our engineering team, supported by cutting-edge simulation software, then simulates a variety of scenarios that we present to our clients. We discuss these potential cases to arrive at the best solution, considering duration, structural strength, workflow and other KPIs. We have changed our role in the industry, from Product Suppliers to Solution Providers, and then evolved to Problem Identifiers, because there is no way to reach a solution if you don’t even know what your problem is.

Q: How does Batrinsa ensure its staff provides comprehensive customer support?

A: The only way to do this is through continuous training. Every staff member is an extension of our company and that is very important to us. When a client talks to one of us, they are taking to Batrinsa. Because of this, we focus heavily on personnel selection. The people who work at Batrinsa go through a thorough recruitment process where they prove that they can provide our clients with solutions. We look for people who have a service profile. Training can only get you so far, which is why our service culture is also a priority. Also, we follow-up specific KPI’s of each one of the persons that are in contact with our customers and conduct periodic surveys to measure customers’ satisfaction.

Q: What is behind Batrinsa’s low cost per ton?

A: Offering the lowest cost per ton was one of the first slogans we had as a company and it is also what is most important to our clients. Our strategy is to offer a durable and efficient product, which gives our clients the best return on investment. Another important pillar of the company is its lean operation. We have our main site in Monterrey, where all production takes place. Our salespeople, however, are spread across the country, with their offices at our clients’ mines. By not renting branch offices, we avoid any indirect costs that may be passed down to the client. Our bet is on intelligent logistics centered around one location.

Q: What is Batrinsa’s flagship technology and how does it compare to alternatives in the market?

A: People are moving toward solutions that can take care of everything with a simple touch, just like smartphones. Clients want to schedule a meeting through their phone, train through their phone and even have a doctor’s consultation through their phone. We looked at that trend and designed our solutions with that in mind. Today, sensors in our equipment are connected directly via the internet to a software that clients can access through their cellphones, where they can see the data in real time. We are also working on a solution that will allow for alarm integration, where clients instantly receive notifications to their phone with the exact location and time of a problem with the equipment.

Q: How is Batrinsa incorporating ESG goals into its engineering projects?

Regardless we have not set specific ways to measure our performance on environmental, social and governance matters, Batrinsa has instinctively performed with very good practices under these three areas, which is the reason why our company is sustainable and with a great future ahead.

Our business must adapt to the constantly changing world, looking towards having a more responsible behavior in all senses. We are working on the development of a tangible plan to help us achieve our ESG objectives in a short term, which means lowering our waste, helping our customers to reduce pollution, improve working conditions, help local communities while keeping a bullet-proof honesty.

Q: How do you identify where Batrinsa can add value to a company’s operation?

A: It all starts with getting to know the projects in development and how we can approach them, which requires heavy networking. Once we identify a project where we can collaborate, we begin with a thorough inspection. That is something that I believe sets us apart from the competition: We go the extra mile when it comes to our clients’ needs. Far too often, a competitor will ask for specifics and then provide a generic solution. What we like to do, on the other hand, is to perform a medical-type inspection and pinpoint the exact areas that could be improved and devise multiple solutions for the client.

It is essential to cultivate trust with clients. We had a case where a client was initially approached with a solution that was outrageously overpriced. When we got there, we began with our strategy of getting to know the operation. From there, we devised multiple solutions and the client chose a much more reasonably priced one that addressed their particular situation. We have had many successful projects, even if it is just changing simple belt components. Through this process, however, we can increase carry load by over 50 percent while staying in line with our clients’ costs, which is a huge plus to their operation.

Q: How are Batrinsa’s products paving the way for mining companies to transition to remote mining?

A: We constantly face resistance to change. However, customers want to evolve to the next stage in their operations. So, instead of us going and making extensive presentations of new products, we just ask where they would like to go if they had no restrictions at all, we call it “write a letter to Santa Claus”. After fully understanding where the customer wants to be, we choose carefully which products or solutions to offer, then we receive minimum resistance to start working on an improvement project. We need to know first what is our customers dreams to then make them come true.

Batrinsa is a Mexican company with 45 years of experience that specializes in conveyor belts. Its stated mission is to deliver products and services that help to optimize and streamline its clients' material handling processes.