In an exclusive interview, Joe Dziedzina, Product Manager at FLSmidth, shares insights into the company’s innovative approach to mining technology, its commitment to sustainability through the MissionZero initiative, and the transformative potential of their HPGR Pro technology. Discover how FLSmidth is paving the way for the future of mining with a focus on efficiency, environmental responsibility, and collaborative innovation.
Mining Technology (MT): What makes your company stand out from its competitors?
Joe Dziedzina: I have been with FLS since 1989, and during that time we have steadily grown from a handful of crushing and grinding products to a full flowsheet provider. Beyond the quality products and services however are the people behind them. I have had the good fortune to work with tremendously talented and knowledgeable colleagues – including some of the most prominent names in the mining industry. And the culture at FLS gives everyone the freedom to contribute outside the confines of our titles. If you have something to contribute beyond your typical scope of responsibilities, there are no walls here, your skills and talents will be recognized, and you will be given the opportunity to showcase them.
MT: What are your company’s goals in the next 5 years?
Joe Dziedzina: We will continue to focus on business simplification to ensure a cost-efficient operating model and or dedicated focus on strategy execution gives us great confidence we are well on our track to meet our long-term ambition of empowering the future of mining.
MT: What is the most exciting project you are currently working on?
Joe Dziedzina: The excitement generated by our HPGR Pro – most notably the rotating side-plates (RSPs) and patented skew-limiting device (SLD) – has started to change the way customers view our HPGR technology. In addition to a better product and higher throughput, the RSPs and SLD also support our green initiatives due to the benefits of reduced wear and lower energy consumption.
MT: What trends do you see being dominant in your sector in the next 6-12 months?
Joe Dziedzina: Over the past 1-2 years it feels like “alternate” flowsheets that take advantage of more efficient or disruptive technologies were working their way into serious discussions and even some decisions to build these plants. It feels like we are in a transition period right now of moving from discussions to serious trade-off studies and decisions to build. The flowsheets of the future that we were all talking about at trade shows 3-4 years ago centered around “finish grind” applications using either HPGR or Vertical Roller Mill technology now feel like they are within reach which is why we are strongly developing both these products and the required classification.
MT: What steps is the company taking to reduce its environmental impact?
Joe Dziedzina: In 2019 we announced our own green initiative called MissionZero with three areas of focus in mining; zero water waste, zero wasted energy, and zero emissions. These focus areas align well with the mining industry’s long-term goals of reducing or limiting factors that may contribute to climate change. Our commitment to improving existing products and developing new products that support these goals has intensified in recent years. The focus technologies that can significantly reduce the environmental impact in the field of grinding technology have been used very successfully in the cement industry for many years. And FLS was a pioneer in this transition process. Now it is a matter of making these technologies available to the mining industry and FLS is working hard to achieve this.
MT: What does this Award mean to you?
Joe Dziedzina: This award to me validates the long commitment and hard work that went into improving a HPGR product that was already the market leader! It also recognizes the many advantages of the HPGR Pro with respect to focus on sustainability in the mining industry. It suggests that our efforts have paid off and that we are on the right track and we will continue further developing our HPGR technology in this direction.
MT: Is there anyone you would like to thank for your success
Joe Dziedzina: Internally we want to thank our HPGR core team based in Ennigerloh, Germany and all of our regional colleagues that contributed to the development, design, implementation, and monitoring of our field trials that helped to prove out all the key features of the HPGR Pro. We are extremely proud of the efforts put forth to bring this product to where it is today.
We also want to express our gratitude to our customers that allowed us to trial these featured components at existing sites that rely on the HPGR to keep their plants operating. Without the opportunity to physically install and test these improvements, bringing new technologies to market would not be possible.
MT: Joe, it’s inspiring to see how FLSmidth is leveraging its expertise and collaborative spirit to not only meet industry demands but also to set new standards for environmental responsibility. Thank you for sharing your journey and the exciting developments at FLSmidth with us today.
