At the centre of the joint venture is an invigorated focus on supporting existing customer relationships via world-class customer support. "To have a good aftermarket business you need to be close to your customer," said Craig Mayman, EVP Global Sales, Service, Marketing & Schramm Australia CEO.

"We needed a footprint in the West. Rather than building our own service centre, we made the decision to utilise Hardwick because they had an established customer base, already knew the market and most importantly we had a long working relationship." 

Hardwick Machinery provides OEM parts, diagnostic services, field repairs, component rebuilding, and complete refurbishment of drill rigs. Aftermarket service for Schramm clients' accounts for as much as 60 per cent of Hardwick Machinery total business volume since June 29, 2020, when the venture was announced.

"We're very happy with the growth we've seen domestically," Mayman said. "We implemented the venture at exactly the right time to correspond with the resurgence of mining in the West."

With its Utah headquarters, Hardwick is in close proximity to many of the busiest mines in the US. "Our customers want OEM parts and support, but they don't want to ship a rig across the country to get them," said Mayman. "Hardwick helps us meet that demand."

"On-site diagnosis and repairs are the most cost-effective and efficient solution for equipment breakdowns," said Justin Hardwick, CEO, Hardwick Machinery. "That's why we've styled our business model to come to the client. Our team is ready to deploy at a moment's notice."

As part of the agreement, Schramm retained an engineer, Randall Johnson, to work on-site at Hardwick, after undergoing Schramm training in Australia. "With enhanced engineering capability, they have an additional layer of highly specialised service they can provide," said Mayman.

The JV has streamlined OEM parts certification and maximised rig runtime for clients, helping to deliver on a Schramm goal of limiting lead times by 50 per cent. "If a customer needs a non-stock part immediately, we can fabricate and certify it on-premises, and ship it the next day," noted Hardwick. For global service, Hardwick trucks and technicians are ready to be dispatched anywhere. "Our team is ready to deploy at a moment's notice. We go wherever the client needs us, whether it's Africa, Russia, or Chile. Location is not a limiting factor."

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