By: Richard Roberts - Editorial Director, Beacon Events

Business Sweden senior consultant Karin Ericsson says the first-ever Swedish Pavilion at IMARC 2025 will be Team Sweden’s largest export engagement in Australia this year. And it will showcase some of the biggest names not only in mining worldwide but in heavy industry generally.

Swedish equipment has been integral to miners’ efforts to improve productivity and safety over the past few decades. It’s home to suppliers that account for about two-thirds of the global underground mining machine market. The industry’s digitalisation, automation and electrification programs are only deepening ties between key suppliers and Australia’s sophisticated mining industry.

“Under the theme, Innovating the future of mining, the pavilion will showcase some of Sweden’s leading companies and technologies driving the global shift towards sustainable, digitalised and electrified mining,” Ericsson says of this year’s exhibition centrepiece.

“Beyond the exhibition floor Team Sweden is coordinating the Sweden Session where Volvo, Sandvik, Ericsson, ReVibe and Scania will highlight Swedish-Australian collaboration and innovation [via a panel discussion] moderated by Katie Hulmes from BHP.

“We will also co-host an invite-only high-level networking reception with the Swedish ambassador, gathering senior leaders from industry and government.”

If you’re counting high-profile brands, we’ve mentioned a few.

If you’re counting calories, maybe do a few laps of the IMARC exhibition floor before dropping in to visit Team Sweden for a taste of a daily Swedish ritual, fika, with cinnamon buns and barista coffee.

Despite the obvious risks here, it will be worth lingering at the pavilion for a deep dive into what’s on display:

• ReVibe Energy is a 2014 start-up that has become a big deal in critical machinery health monitoring. It kicked off with backing from Saab Ventures and Chalmers Ventures and has retained its cornerstone investors. The Gothenburg firm recently launched its Anura SB1 sensor bridge for wireless data transfer between heavy-duty machines such as vibrating screens and feeders, and industrial control platforms. “Vibrating screens have long been digital blind spots, with harsh environments making continuous sensor data collection nearly impossible,” ReVibe says. CEO Tomas Gabinus says the sensor bridge solves “one of the most persistent blind spots in heavy industry” and proclaims, “the era of data black holes is over”.

New ReVibe sensor bridge solves data black holes.

• Some of Gothenburg’s other famous names are Stellan Skarsgard, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Alicia Vikander and Volvo. Too big a brand for one stand, Volvo is also exhibiting at IMARC in its own right for the first time. Brand marketing director Trace Griffin says Volvo, Mack and UD electric and diesel trucks, including the rugged Volvo FMX electric, Volvo Construction Equipment’s electric machines, such as the L120 Electric wheel loader, Volvo Penta’s heavy-duty mining electric and diesel engines, and Volvo Buses’ BZR Electric are some of this year’s headline acts. “We understand the extreme environments in which our products operate—from the icy Nordics to Australia’s sun-baked outback—and are passionate about partnering with our customers to achieve their decarbonisation and safety goals,” Griffin says.

Volvo’s battery energy storage system (BESS)

• Ericsson (the company) made a splash at IMARC last year when Australia & New Zealand head of enterprise private networks, Ian Ross, spoke with Newmont Corporation’s Chris Twaddle about the impact of Ericsson Private 5G network at the miner’s major Cadia gold-copper mine in New South Wales. “The 5G network exceeded even our highest expectations,” said Twaddle, Newmont’s director of process control networks and operational cellular. “When we tested it in the field we saw uplink speeds of over 370Mbps at distances of over 500m. In contrast the range of the [incumbent] Wi-Fi network was about 100-or-200m.” Dozer operators controlling machines remotely while working on an important tailings dam project were “amazed at the reliability of the network and the quality of the video”. Underground at Cadia, too, the 5G network was enabling a “massive increase in upload performance along drives with leaky feeder and down extraction drives, introducing operational flexibility for any application, in any location, with any usage density of machines and equipment”. Ericsson and Newmont have actually been in a global partnership for six years, with 5G deployments at other Newmont impacting productivity and safety. Ross says: “Private 5G delivers what remote mining demands: wide-area coverage, ultra-low latency, and the high throughput needed for real-time equipment control in rugged, high-risk environments. It enables safe, efficient operations today and paves the way for the expanding use of autonomous technologies in the smart mines of tomorrow.”

Ericsson 5G networks are changing mine communications.

• Scania is another Swedish company working closely with Australian miners – such as iron ore heavyweight Fortescue and growing manganese producer Element 25 and its contractor Regroup – on the mines of the future. It has vehicle automation and electrification programs running with both miners in Western Australia’s Pilbara region. “Scania in Australia has been working closely with several partners in the local mining industry over recent years to finesse our autonomous truck program,” Scania Australia managing director Manfred Streit said when announcing the expansion of autonomous mine truck fleets last year. Scania’s Stockholm-based head of autonomous solutions, Peter Hafmar, says he expects the Regroup fleet deployment will be the “first of many as operators around the world see the safety, productivity and ease-of-use benefits of Scania’s technology”. Fortescue also late last year signed an agreement with Scania to jointly develop and validate a “fully integrated autonomous road train solution”. Streit said the mining industry was transforming and autonomy was getting more attention. “Technology development in this field is gaining speed,” Scania says.

Volvo, Scania, Ericsson, Sandvik, Epiroc, Hexagon and ReVibe are just some of the Swedish names embedded in Australian mines and heavy industry.

The Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (ADFAT) says a two-way street that produced A$4.1 billion of trade last year also has Australian companies such as Orica, Worley, ALS and Imdex established and growing in the Nordic country’s modern minerals sector.

“In 2024 the stock of Australian investment in Sweden was valued at $13.3 billion,” ADFAT says.

“Swedish investment in Australia was valued at $13.2 billion.”

Karin Ericsson believes the relationship is only going to get stronger.

“We are very excited to be part of this year’s IMARC,” she says.

“Altogether, this is a unique opportunity to experience Sweden’s role as Europe’s leading mining nation and to see how Swedish innovation is helping to shape the future of mining worldwide.”