Author: Philipp Moser

The three-day RM Product Champion Meeting in November 2019 was attended by sales partners from almost all of Latin America. Sales experts from Mexico, Paraguay, Uruguay, Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, and Central America met in Mexico to find out about the latest news from the RM Group, to work together on current topics, and to set shared sales targets.

The first two days of the meeting were filled with practical workshops, market-focused training and defining shared sales targets and related work packages. RM Chief Sales Officer Christian Spicker, Product Manager Alex Zürnsack as well as Area Sales Manager Ander Neuburger and Harald Windner reported on what’s new at RM. The participants were particularly curious to see which innovations RUBBLE MASTER is currently working on. “As an RM Product Champion I enjoy the advantage of being informed in advance about new products and service innovations and to influence them with my market knowledge. I enjoy being part of this process and I like the trust that exists between RUBBLE MASTER and its sales partners.” Orlando Cazal, RM Product Champion at Proyec, Paraguay.

The participants also exchanged views on topics such as lead generation, the local market situation and market share and benefited from each other’s experience and tips. Following a review of the two days together, an action plan was drawn up with tasks for each sales partner and RUBBLE MASTER. The success of the workshop was then celebrated with Mexican food.

On the third and final day, the participants visited a local RM customer and were able to witness an RM 120GO! crusher and RM MSC10500-3D tracked post screen in action. The customer processes 0‑700 mm basalt blocks into 0‑6 (30%) and 6‑19 mm (70%) fine value aggregate to be used in road construction. Despite the oversize input material this combo achieves an impressive throughput of 177 tons/h. “It was just fantastic to see the biggest RM set-up live in action! It is always impressive to see how easily you can crush even hard rock like basalt with just one RM machine. Simply awesome!” José Ibañez, RM Product Champion at FIZA, Colombia.

Would you like to find out more about the RM Club of Champions?
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One brand – two competence centres. Starting January 2020 RUBBLE MASTER and MAXIMUS will be united under the RM Group brand. This step follows the acquisition of Maximus by the Austrian world market leader in Compact Crushing in 2018. The two competence centres – RM Dungannon as the expert in screen technology and RM Headquarters in Linz as the specialist in crushers – are now united under a strong, worldwide brand.

Founded in Northern Ireland, the company has been part of the RM Group since 2018. Tracked mobile screens are produced in Northern Ireland and perfectly complement the RUBBLE MASTER product range to ensure the group’s ongoing success. This strategy was confirmed in 2019 by the RM Group’s growth of 15%. Their mutual cooperation in recent years has not only had a positive impact on the sales figures.

RUBBLE MASTER has always promoted a company culture that brings people together – customers, suppliers and network partners. In recent years this culture has enabled us to exchange knowledge with our location in Northern Ireland, develop and launch new products and expand our expertise in all areas,” says Gerald Hanisch, founder and owner of RUBBLE MASTER. The main focus will be on the reorganisation of processes and the evaluation of markets and products. In addition to customer benefits, many synergies have been employed over the years, such as shared suppliers and increased cooperation in innovation, product management and sales.

The initial partnership with Maximus has evolved much further. Over the last two years two competence centres have emerged – the production site in Northern Ireland as an expert for tracked mobile screens and the production site in Upper Austria as the world market leader for mobile crushers. “We see the rebranding as the next logical step so we appear on the market as a strong full solution provider with one brand name – the RM Group,” explains Hanisch. Uniform representation as RM Group is especially beneficial for the customer. As a full solution provider, the product range will appear in the same yellow livery, further synergies will be utilised and the team will be brought together. “We live and love long-term partnerships. With our two competence centres we offer lifetime support for all RM products worldwide – 24 hours a day, for the lifetime of the machine,” adds Hanisch.

“One of the most successful highlights this year has to be our stand at the bauma 2019 in Munich”, says the enthusiastic founder and Managing Director Gerald Hanisch.

RUBBLE MASTER sets new standards with the launch of the RM GO! NEXT concept and strengthens its position as the leading manufacturer of crushers and screens. There were also enough machines sold on-the-spot to keep the manufacturing workshops busy for several months.

 

 

With the RM 120GO! NEXT – the NEXT generation RM crusher – RUBBLE MASTER sets new standards in user friendliness and in the communication between the operator and the machine. The fully-integrated hybrid drive combines the advantages of diesel and electric driven crushers without increasing the size of the compact engine compartment.

 

 

 

RUBBLE MASTER also expanded its dealership network in 2019. We would like to give a warm welcome to our latest members of the RM Family:

 

Europe

 

Asia

 

RUBBLE MASTER is growing in all areas – from expanding the product range to increasing the number of employees. Milestones that have led to the planned expansion of RM headquarters in Linz-Pichling as well as the organisational changes in the company structure. In order to remain on course for success in the future, RUBBLE MASTER has also expanded its management team. The new management team provides the cornerstone for continued growth.

Solution driven and focussing on processes and employees, Manfred Nowak is the new Operations Manager looking after Production, Purchasing, Supply Chain, Warehouse and IT. As a strategist with a global perspective, Christian Spicker is the new Chief Sales Officer managing Sales, Marketing, After Sales and Parts. With his dynamic style of implementation and vision for future market requirements, Markus Gaggl is the new Chief Technology Officer responsible for Product Management, Technology, Innovation Management and Digital Services.

 

As Head of Administration Julia Aschenwald is responsible for every aspect of company administration at RM. In addition to her passion for figures, loyalty to the company is one of her priorities.

 

 

 

The RM Team would like to thank all our customers, sales partners, network partners and suppliers for their excellent cooperation over the past year. We wish you a Happy Christmas and a successful start to the New Year in 2020!

In this year’s apprentice project, a machine error troubleshooting device was designed, built and programmed by Magdalena Frauenberger and Markus Schaffer. As part of their apprenticeship, each apprentice is given the opportunity to plan and manage their own project. Ideas for these projects often come from other departments.

 

The inconspicuous looking device that is approximately A4 in size is connected to the machine by two cables and can do more than it might seem at first glance. Magdalena explains: “Using our device, the machine error codes can be displayed quickly and easily.” Until now, this was a time-consuming and complicated process. The error codes could only be displayed at the machine as 3-digit codes. You then had to look for the solution to the error in a page-long table. Thanks to the invention of the two young technicians, this lengthy process is no longer necessary. “Our device displays the relevant error code with the corresponding troubleshooting solution. It also indicates whether a switch or a conveyor belt is switched on or off,” says Magdalena.

 

The two apprentices started with some online research to get an idea of how this device could take shape. “We first picked out the hardware and the corresponding technical drawing from the Internet,” Magdalena explains. “Then we planned the whole project in detail and put together a shopping list. The necessary components were purchased and then we started building the actual device.” Magdalena describes what happened next: “Since we had little experience with programming, we did some exercises with the Codesys program. Then we started assembling the hardware and programming the display and the user interface.”

 

When they encountered problems, they both received support from motivated employees. Magdalena describes some of the challenges they faced during the project: “Of course there were some difficulties. For example, the insulation on a wire was pinched at the terminal so that there was no electrical contact and the data was not transmitted. The soldering was also a bit complicated because we patched together our own distributor and so the soldering was a bit difficult.”

Magdalena is already thinking about the further development and improvement of the device: “We have got the device in production right now where it is being tested on various machines.” The ambitious technician says: “I am not yet completely satisfied with the idea that the machine error troubleshooting device has to be connected up to a socket inside the engine compartment. This means that the operator has to climb into the machine to plug it in, which is pretty awkward.” When the device is fully developed, it will be included in our production process to support the start-up of the machines. This will help ensure quality is maintained at all RM Group locations. Magdalena confirms that every project is only as good as its team: “The cooperation between Markus and me worked very well and we are extremely proud of the final result!”

 

This enthusiasm really comes across when Magdalena talks about her apprenticeship in general. She knows exactly what she likes about her apprenticeship at RUBBLE MASTER: “I am only at the beginning of the 3rd year of my apprenticeship and I really like the fact that I can already work independently and am a trusted member of the team. In other companies, apprentices are often in the trainee workshop up to the 3rd year of their apprenticeship and when they do finally reach production, they are not allowed to do much. I also think it’s great that I’m allowed to make mistakes and that I’m shown how to correct them, because that’s the only way you really learn.” RUBBLE MASTER attaches great importance to growing together as a team. “I would recommend to anyone considering a technical apprenticeship that they arrange a trial day,” says Magdalena.

Mobile RM products on the road to success
In 2018 the world market leader in the production of mobile crushers for recycling C&D waste and processing natural rock recorded the most successful year in the company’s history to date (+38%) and 2019 will also see the continuation of its successful course. “The ongoing further development of our entire product range and the spirit of innovation experienced in our company ensure a sound order intake and play a decisive role in our results,” says CEO and founder Gerald Hanisch with satisfaction. “Worldwide demand for RM has increased again this year (2019). The integration of Maximus into the RM Group has also been highly successful, so the focus is now on implementing our market strategy,” adds CFO Günther Weissenberger.

In addition to extending its product range, RM’s success lies above all in its unique corporate culture, its internal innovation processes and the members of the RM Family. “We intend to continue growing continuously and successfully in the future – and that requires internal measures in order to live up to this claim,” says Hanisch.

New management team with a vision for the future
RUBBLE MASTER has brought in a new level of management in order to remain a leading pioneer in the industry and set new standards in the future. “RM is preparing for the future – preparations for further growth are ongoing,” confirms Operations Manager Manfred Nowak. With 20 years of management experience, the trained fitter/toolmaker and engineering college graduate takes his new responsibility in the areas of production, purchasing, supply chain, warehousing and IT seriously. Solution driven, focusing on processes and preparing for the future are just as important to Nowak as a strong employee focus.

With a career of 28 years at his previous company, Chief Sales Officer Christian Spicker brings with him many years of wide-ranging experience: “RUBBLE MASTER is a company with clear values that are immediately apparent. The transparency and openness were noticeable from the very first moment.” The engineering college graduate also sees young people holding the key to the future: “As an innovative and exciting employer, we want to be a link to educational institutions, universities and technical colleges.” Christian Spicker is a strategist who takes the whole picture into consideration and is responsible for sales, marketing, after sales and parts.

Markus Gaggl, Chief Technology Officer, has a passion for this industry and understands how the market is changing and what is needed. “To provide our customers with the highest flexibility, in future we will focus even more on the configurability of our products,” says Gaggl. Having graduated in Digital Business & Leadership, he was Senior Product Manager at RUBBLE MASTER until 2018. After one and a half years of reorientation, he has now returned to the company: “It was as if I had never been away – like coming back to your family after a trip around the world” Gaggl is responsible for product management, engineering, innovation management and digital services. This is where he will be able to put his implementation strength and his vision of future market needs to best use.

Julia Aschenwald, Head of Administration, is also enthusiastic about the RM Family: “Despite consistent growth, RUBBLE MASTER never loses touch with people. That is why I am delighted to be part of the RM Family.” Apart from her passion for numbers, loyalty to the company is one of her priorities. Since graduating from Steyr University of Applied Sciences, Julia Aschenwald has been Head of Accounting at the company for five years and is now responsible for all RM’s administration.

Expanding production in Linz
The Linz-based engineering company has laid the cornerstone for further growth by appointing a new management team. Another important step in the expansion strategy is extending the Linz-Pichling site. A competent team of employees and long-standing relationships with suppliers and network partners signal a clear commitment to Linz as a production location. CFO Günther Weissenberger confirms that “RM is committed to the Linz location and will expand the location step by step over the next few years according to the master plan that we have developed. In order to promote further growth, we have decided to expand our management team in order to support the company’s development together.”