Could you provide an introduction to Liebherr’s activities in Argentina?

Liebherr has been in Argentina since 2004 Our first office here was in San Juan to support Barrick’s Veladero mine. We sold four 600-ton excavators to Barrick and had a full marc contract. We held this contract for 14 years until 2020. Then, the model changed from the marc contract to a LPP (Labour Plus Parts) where Barrick drives the maintenance and where Liebherr supervises. At present, we supervise our equipment for the site.

Separately, in 2011, we expanded our business to include mobile cranes and harbor cranes, and over the last 3-4 years, we have also been advancing concrete technology.

How have you adapted operations in Argentina to meet the needs of the mining industry?

In San Juan, we have a workshop to repair components, and have set up a remanufacturing process. This means that for all major components, we can repair them and return them to the customer.

During your tenure as Managing Director, how has the mining industry in Argentina evolved?

I started in 2020, when the country was less open to trade. It operated like a big island in a globalized world, where it was tough to import components to sell them. As a result, Argentina was an expensive country for mining companies to operate in. Another big theme has been devaluation and hyperinflation. It was challenging to manage the devaluation of the peso and hyperinflation due to the difficulty in handling foreign debt during this period.

Nowadays, the country is more open, and inflation is more manageable. With RIGI, Argentina will have a 38% effective tax rate for mining companies, which is a lower tax rate than other countries in Latin America. There is still a great deal of work to be done. For example, more can be done to improve the infrastructure that transports goods from the mines to the ports. However, we can now compete, which is a great thing, and we are seeing a significant demand among our clients for our services.

What is the demand environment for your products and services in Argentina today?

There are a few major mining projects in advanced stages of development, most notably among them Los Azules, Vicuña and Taca Taca. It takes around a year and a half to produce the machines that we build, so we are working within a timeframe that allows us to finalize delivery of the machines by around 2027 or 2028, when these mines are expected to come online. Currently, we are conducting simulations for clients to help them optimize their use of our equipment.

Our technology remains superior to what our customers can procure from local suppliers; however, we strive to integrate local companies into our operations. A local company now performs our structural repairs operation in San Juan under Liebherr’s supervision, so the standards are improving.

At a global scale, what kinds of innovations is Liebherr bringing to the market?

Our primary focus is currently on achieving zero emissions. Liebherr signed a US$2.8 billion agreement for green equipment with Fortescue, covering a total of 475 zero-emission machines. The fact that Fortescue is participating in this agreement is a big boost for us. We will develop zero-emission battery electric trucks, as well as autonomous technology, that we will bring to Argentina.

We observe that in Argentina, most mining projects have ambitious climate targets. Our goal is to achieve emissions-free status by 2030. The most aggressive commitment in this effort is Los Azules, which wants to become emissions-free by 2038. So, we have eight years to get this technology from our side to projects in Argentina.

Currently, 80% of our products are zero-emission. At a mine site with trolley trucks plus electric excavators, 80% of those vehicles can be zero-emission. We will provide 100% fuel-agnostic solutions by 2030. Our power packs are all modular, and we have the most advanced technology in that space.

What are Liebherr’s plans for the next year?

We will be following up on the major projects currently under development in Argentina, including Los Azules, Vicuña and Taca Taca. Otherwise, we will continue to provide potential clients with quotes and model simulations, and we hope to secure our first purchasing order within the next twelve months.