Today's eMobility Exclusive: Sandvik Coromant plugging into eMobilty market

Today’s eMobility (TEM): How did Sandvik get involved in the mobility market? What pushed you to throw your hat in the ring?
Helen Blomqvist, President of Sandvik Coromant: I think it's been a more natural development for us. Automotive in general is a very important segment for us, and we’ve had our eyes on eMobility for quite some time and started to explore all these sub segments back in 2010. I think it's been a natural development working with the customers, following the trends. It hasn’t been a firm decision but more looking into product plans and seeing what we need to develop to support the customers in the market.

TEM: The products you make for eMobility, were you able to transfer some of your other products? Ordid you have to make all new products to satisfy the customers?
Blomqvist:It's a mix, and when it comes to eMobility, I think it's important to remember, the machining that we used is quite similar to the combustion engine and the other parts of the vehicle. I think from that perspective, we could transfer some of the products. But there's also been our own product development specifically for these more lightweight materials such as aluminum and more complex shapes. We also work actively with partners to make sure we have a good product to offer.

TEM: What is the main thing that separates an eMobility product from an internal combustion product?
Blomqvist: It’s really the material you need to machine, it's a bit different. But it's also how you work on this, it’s not really a standardized segment yet. t's a lot of different players and they’re all trying out their own things. We are working very actively to secure that we have all capabilities and requirements so we can be reliable and a very proactive partner for our customers. Sometimes you need to design and redesign, you need to manufacture and re-manufacture, and you need to do this iteration back and forth. That’s the main difference, to ensure you're also agile, flexible, and fast in the design, manufacturing, and reconditioning.

TEM: What are some challenges or obstacles that you’ve been able to overcome in the eMobility market?Blomqvist: I think we work very closely with our customers. This is sometimes a trial-and-error process, and we constantly ask for feedback. The product sales execution is something we’ve absolutely improved. We have capabilities that need to come together, requiring the way of working internally, how we work across functionality, how we make sure we’re aligned, and lean in the processes we have. So that’s been a difference. It’s putting much higher demand on collaboration internally but also with the customers and communication.

TEM: What do you see happening in the future? What is Sandvik Coromant going to get more involved in as the eMobility market continues to evolve?Blomqvist: Even though we’ve been doing this for a while, I think it's still a long journey to go. The shift is going faster and faster but I thinkSandivk Coromant is well prepared. I think it's also part of our sustainability focus, we have requirements to take responsibility for the environment. That’s a big part of eMobility, to contribute to a better planet. Our tools come into play as well. We can make sure we’re bringing value to the customers in productivity, using less energy consumption, fewer tools, and shorter production times. Also combined with digitalization, we recently acquired a software company, CGTech. It's about optimizing two paths, sustainability and digitalization. It feels great to be part of this journey. But there's still a long way to go. And there will be new developments within eMobility. I'm sure we’re just seeing the beginning, so we’re really looking forward to following this journey with our customers.