Joy at £37m coal equipment order

Joy at £37m coal equipment order

Monday, August 28th 2006

The biggest order for coal mining equipment for decades is set to give a huge boost to a Midlands manufacturing operation.

Powerfuel will spend £37 million on state-of-theart machinery to be used at the Hatfield pit near Doncaster in South Yorkshire.

Two sets of coal-cutting and ancillary equipment will be bought from Joy Mining Machinery, to be manufactured at the firm’s factories at Worcester, Wigan and near Nottingham.

The deal is seen as vital in safe-guarding hundreds of jobs.

The machinery will be delivered over the next year and, when fully operational, the pit will produce around two million tonnes of coal a year.

Hatfield closed in 2004 b ut is undergoing a £100 million investment programme to develop reserves.

Powerfuel chief executive Richard Budge said: “This is the biggest single order for mining equipment for many years and underlines our confidence in coal and the role it will play in meeting Britain’s energy needs for decades to come.

“This is a further major milestone in the rebirth of Hatfield. The equipment is proven technology, manufactured in the UK by a company with the highest reputation on the world stage for quality and performance.”

David Johnson, chairman of Joy Mining Machinery, added: “It is a very significant event not just for Powerfuel and Joy, but for the UK, and indeed the whole European coal industry.

“We are confident in the success of this project.”

The order follows years of uncertainty in the UK coal industry and the closure of several pits, leaving just six deep mines producing ten million tonnes of coal a year.

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