Sandvik is celebrating the 50th birthday of its Toro family of loaders and trucks for underground hard rock mines. This name has been recognised by Sandvik customers for decades, and still today, the bull figure and the word Toro symbolise both a rich history and a promising future.
The history of the bull at Sandvik dates to September 3, 1971, when the first Toro loader started its engine in Tampere, Finland. It was a Toro 100DH loader with a ‘massive’ 1.5-tonne carry capacity. Later, the design and production facilities moved to Turku, which became the home base of the Toro family.
A Toro LH621i Loading a Toro TH663i-019. Image credit: Sandvik
During the years, Toro has become the symbol of strength and reliability for Sandvik underground loaders and trucks throughout the world. In 2020, after 15 years of dormancy, Sandvik reintroduced this old family name again, as it had never disappeared from the thoughts of the company and many of its customers, even though it had not been actively used for a period.
Safer. Stronger. Smarter.
Today, the Toro family is characterised by design principles of safety, strength, and intelligence. Safety is everything for those who work underground with heavy equipment, and it is the number one driver in the product design.
In addition to safety of operators and maintenance personnel, the design needs to be sound from a sustainability perspective. Strength and power are at the very heart of the old Toro heritage and robust design, reliability and performance in the most demanding conditions are also the foundations for the current offering. The third element, being smart, evolves quickly. Sophisticated digital systems such as Sandvik’s AutoMine and OptiMine offerings are fine examples of intelligence, but smart solutions are needed all over the equipment, including operator ergonomics, easy maintenance access and component layouts.
The newest member Toro LH515i
On August 31, 2021, Sandvik introduced a new i-series loader, Toro LH515i, which was launched in Canada. With its 15-tonne capacity, compact size, intelligence, and smart maintenance solutions it is expected to meet customer demands for productivity, efficiency, and digital solutions.
The Toro family includes loaders and trucks in all size classes and for all market areas. The key technologies are diesel powered loaders and trucks, cable electric loaders, and, as a newcomer, a battery-assisted loader that is making an entry on the marketplace very soon.
A Toro LH517i-141. Image credit: Sandvik