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Autonomous interoperable solution developer Universal Field Robots has been acquired by Swedish multinational engineering company Sandvik.
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The Australia-based surface mining and underground mining markets robotics provider, under the agreement, will be reported into Digital Mining Technologies, a division within business area Sandvik Mining and Rock Solutions.
Universal Field Robots’ (UFR) solution portfolio is built on a common autonomy platform, which is a strong complement to Sandvik’s automation offering and includes original equipment manufacturer (OEM) agnostic robotic and autonomous solutions for trucks, loaders and auxiliary equipment.
The acquisition will help increase the addressable market for Sandvik and further strengthen the market position of Sandvik AutoMine, the world’s leading mining automation platform.
Adding to the AutoMine platform’s existing capabilities to integrate third-party equipment, UFR will significantly expand the number of compatible third-party equipment types, providing customers with flexible opportunities to optimise the performance of their full mining equipment fleets, regardless of the OEM.
“Universal Field Robots is an important strategic addition to Sandvik Mining and Rock Solutions, which will strengthen our growth potential and provide key capabilities in the development of our mining automation solutions portfolio going forward,” said Stefan Widing, president and CEO of Sandvik.
UFR has approximately 40 employees and is headquartered in Brisbane, Australia. In the financial year that ended in June 2024, the company generated revenues of approximately 80 million kronor (AU$11 million).
The impact on Sandvik’s EBITA margin will be limited while the impact on Sandvik’s earnings per share (excluding non-cash amortisation effects from business combinations) will be positive. The parties have agreed not to disclose the purchase price. The transaction is expected to close during the fourth quarter of 2024.
