Recently, Wuxi BOTON Technology Co., Ltd. and BHP, one of the world’s leading resources companies, held a signing ceremony for a Global Framework Agreement at BOTON’s Innovation Center in Wuxi.

The agreement marks a further step in the long-term cooperation between the two companies, expanding their collaboration from product supply to broader areas including technology collaboration, sustainability, global service capability and lifecycle support for mining conveying systems. It also represents a new stage of cooperation between a Chinese intelligent industrial conveying company and a leading global mining group.

Senior representatives from BHP attended the ceremony, including Ragnar Udd, Chief Commercial Officer; Michiel Hovers, Group Sales and Marketing Officer; Rashpal Bhatti, Group Procurement Officer; and Sundeep Singh, Group Officer, Global Business Services.

BOTON Chairman Bao Zhifang attended the ceremony together with senior executives including Tang Yu, Executive President of Industrial Digitalization and General Manager of BOTON Thailand, and He Ganghou, Chief Commercial Officer of BOTON.

At the signing ceremony, Chairman Bao Zhifang delivered a speech on behalf of BOTON. He reviewed the long-standing cooperation between the two companies and noted that the Global Framework Agreement carries significance beyond a conventional commercial contract. It represents strong recognition of BOTON’s role as a strategic global partner to BHP.

He also noted that BHP recently awarded BOTON the first Global Three-Star Technical Assurance Certification to BOTON’s Wuxi Factory, further strengthening the foundation of trust for the signing of the Global Framework Agreement.

BHP Chief Commercial Officer Ragnar Udd stated that conveyor belts are the “invisible lifeline” of mining operations, and that the 14-year stable partnership with BOTON has created valuable trust between the two companies. He recognized BOTON’s capabilities in technology innovation, quality management, decarbonization and global coordination, and noted that the agreement marks an expansion of BOTON’s role from a product supplier to a strategic global partner of BHP.

Looking ahead, the two companies will deepen collaboration in innovation and sustainable operations, working together to support the green and intelligent transformation of the mining industry.

Under the agreement, BOTON and BHP will further connect technology, supply chain, service and strategic resources, building a long-term, stable and highly collaborative global partnership. The cooperation will focus on three key areas:

Co-creating intelligent solutions for advanced unattended mine conveying systems

Building on the Pioneer Project at the Escondida copper mine, the two companies will explore the scaled deployment of intelligent conveying solutions, including smart longitudinal rip detection, X-ray digital scanning, AI-based automatic belt alignment and inspection robot systems.

This marks an important step for BOTON as it continues to move from product delivery toward deeper technology collaboration, contributing its intelligent conveying capabilities to the next stage of global mining operations.

Advancing full-lifecycle carbon management for low-carbon mining operations

Starting from the world’s first carbon-neutral conveyor belt, the two companies will launch a Green Supply Chain Partner Program and explore a full-lifecycle carbon footprint tracking system for the mining sector, covering raw materials, manufacturing, operation and recycling.

The program aims to support lifecycle carbon neutrality for core products within five years and advance technologies for the full recycling and reuse of used conveyor belts. This will help provide a replicable and scalable model for the green transformation of global mine conveying systems, turning carbon reduction from a concept into a measurable industrial practice.

Strengthening localized service through a global network

Leveraging its global footprint, including the Australia Technical Service Center and Thailand manufacturing base, BOTON will further enhance localized service capabilities in major mining regions. The company plans to establish frontline service stations to support rapid response, with a target of 24-hour response and 48-hour on-site support.

By combining rapid response with local service capability, BOTON aims to support customers across the full operating lifecycle. Through the integration of technology, supply chain and service resources, the company will help build a more stable, efficient and collaborative global service system, creating long-term value beyond the terms of individual contracts.

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The signing of the Global Framework Agreement represents an important milestone in BOTON’s global development. It also reflects the company’s continued transformation from a conveyor belt manufacturer into a global lifecycle solution provider for intelligent industrial bulk material conveying systems.

Moving forward, BOTON will continue to strengthen its capabilities in technology innovation, sustainable manufacturing and global service. Together with BHP, BOTON will support safer, more efficient and lower-carbon conveying operations across global mining sites, and contribute to a more intelligent and sustainable future for industrial conveying.

Following a fruitful business discussion, BOTON and the global mining giant BHP Group (hereinafter referred to as BHP) held a contract renewal ceremony in Wuxi. Sebastian Greco, Vice President of Global Mining and Services at BHP, stated that the collaboration between BOTON and BHP will expand from the field of product supply to broader and more extensive areas, with a series of closer, deeper, and higher-level cooperation agreements to be announced shortly.

On May 8th, Sebastian Greco led a delegation from BHP to visit BOTON. The delegation included Luke King, Head of Mining Equipment, Tires & Lubricants at Mining Equipment Tires & Lubes Australia, Iain Curran, Practice Lead for Global Heavy Mobile Equipment at Strategic Services, as well as Tommy Shen, Lead for China Sourcing, and Johnny Tang, Specialist for China Sourcing. The BHP team toured the Zhanggong Road headquarters base and the Hongshan manufacturing base, and participated in the ceremony for the renewal of the BOTON-BHP contract in Australia at the Innovation Center.

The initial contact between BOTON and BHP began in 2012, and the formal cooperation between the two sides has now spanned 11 years. To date, BOTON has engaged in in-depth cooperation with BHP’s global mines, including iron ore mines in Western Australia, nickel mines, coal mines in Eastern Australia, copper mines in Southern Australia, and copper mines in Chile. BOTON has provided BHP with a total length of conveyor belts exceeding 400 kilometers, and BOTON’s intelligent monitoring equipment will soon be applied on-site. In 2022, the world’s first “carbon-neutral” conveyor belt co-developed by BOTON and BHP made a significant impact in the industry and was included in BHP’s ESG report for that year in South America.

In addition to participating in the contract renewal with BOTON, another key aspect of Sebastian Greco’s visit to BOTON was to communicate with the BOTON team, understand BOTON’s strategy and the latest developments in the mining field, and seek comprehensive cooperation with BOTON in broader areas and higher dimensions. In a thank-you letter sent after the visit, Mr. Greco said, “I am very impressed with BOTON’s world-class production lines and their pursuit of excellence in automation and production efficiency. BOTON Technology is committed to building a competitive and sustainable global value chain together with customers, suppliers, and technology innovation partners. I am delighted that BHP’s global operations are working closely with BOTON Technology under this vision. The contract renewal ceremony between BHP and BOTON Technology marks a new milestone in our partnership and opens a new chapter for future cooperation.”

At the signing ceremony, Mr. Bao Zhifang, Chairman of BOTON Technology, expressed his sincere gratitude for BHP’s long-term support. “The growth and development of BOTON Technology cannot be separated from the care and support of BHP over the years. Today, what we are renewing here is not just a contract, but also BHP’s encouragement and trust in BOTON Technology,” said Mr. Bao in his speech. He further emphasized BOTON Technology’s expectations and commitments for future cooperation: “I believe there is still much work to be done. There is an incredibly broad space for cooperation between BOTON and BHP, and BOTON will continue to strive to create value for BHP, striving to build a safer, more efficient, and more environmentally friendly industrial bulk material transportation system.”

During the visit, Mr. Sebastian Greco and Mr. Bao agreed that the teams of both sides would discuss a series of new cooperation plans. These new plans are not limited to the supply of conveyor belt products but also include a series of higher-level cooperation projects related to intelligence and green initiatives.