NFM Technologies, the French tunnelling equipment manufacturer, has joined the expanding hard rock tunnelling machine market by signing an agreement of co-operation with TBM manufacturer, The Robbins Company.
In doing so, NFM hopes to acquire more experience in the supply of large diameter hard rock machines. Robbins has delivered over 250 hard rock machines since 1952, contributing to the excavation of over 3500km of tunnels from 2m to 12m diameter in 700 projects worldwide. NFM has accumulated 15 orders for 2m to 12m tunnel projects in Europe and Asia.
Originally, NFM, a subsidiary of Framatome, started manufacturing TBMs in 1990. when the company accepted a licence from Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) for the manufacture and supply of tunnelling machines for soft ground.
Now that the company has also signed an agreement with Robbins, it is well positioned to provide a complete package for underground works in both soft and hard ground and has reinforced its position globally with respect to the supply of tunnelling machines.
