TBM manufacturers to merge
1 July 2016INTERNATIONAL - Robbins and Northern Heavy Industries (NHI) agreed to a three-phase merger plan on 28 June. Initially the Shenyang based heavy machinery giant will take a minority interest in Robbins. Following this, probably in July 2016, NHI will take a 61 per cent stake in the American TBM manufacturer.
Finally Robbins, NFM (which NHI merged with in 2007) and NHI will be fully merged “combining their collective resources and expertise”. Details on this were expected in July as Tunnels and Tunnelling went to print. It is expected that the new entity will comprise some 2,000 employees.
According to a Robbins spokesperson, Lok Home will remain as leader of the company for now, and will become president of the newly created Robbins-NFM-NHI entity. Management and operations at the Robbins company are expected to continue as usual.
“This merger puts Robbins in an excellent position to expand our presence in the global TBM market,” said Home. “It will enable us to provide better global service and support to our customers, and will open the door to new opportunities, especially in China. NHI has very impressive capabilities. Joining forces with them gives us expanded resources to go after more projects and strengthens our reputation as a world leader in the tunnel boring industry.”
According to Robbins, this is a general strategy considering the business environment for TBMs in China; and worldwide. It has been discussed for nearly 5 years and seriously put in place in the last year.
Based in Shenyang, NHI employs 10,000 people and is among China's top three heavy machinery manufacturers. Its products are sold to more than 30 countries worldwide.
