Dreams Foster Great Achievements: Overcoming China’s “Bottleneck” in Trackless Mining Equipment

In the past, the mining industry was considered a high-risk field. The development of trackless mining equipment has become the key to transform the industry into a safer and more efficient one. As a pioneer in this transformation, FAMBITION has played a key role in breaking the technological monopoly and enabling China’s trackless equipment to develop from scratch, from strength to strength. But why did two young individuals give up their secure jobs to embark on the challenging path of entrepreneurship?

The mining industry is a pillar of the national economy, providing essential material support for energy supply, industrial production, and infrastructure construction. In mining operations, trackless vehicles such as LHD are critical for transporting ore in underground mining processes. Today, mining vehicles developed and produced in China can be seen worldwide. However, looking back 40 years, the country was still relying on outdated semi-mechanized and manual methods, facing harsh working conditions, backward mining technology, and the concept of non-rail mining equipment was almost unimaginable at that time.

In 1993, two young individuals opened the door for China’s trackless mining equipment industry by establishing Qingdao Zhonghong Mining Technology Co., Ltd. (the predecessor of FAMBITION) in Qingdao, an internationally renowned coastal city. From semi-mechanical and mechanical to automation, and now to intelligent, digital, and low-carbon solutions, FAMBITION has played a significant role in the technological upgrading and transformation of China’s mining industry. From introducing and assimilating foreign technology to independent innovation, and from a trading company to a technology manufacturing company, FAMBITION, as a national high-tech enterprise and a globally renowned producer of trackless equipment, has achieved a leap from 0 to 1 in China’s trackless equipment sector, effectively overcoming the challenges of being “bottlenecked."

Breaking Barriers: The Transformative Journey from Manual Labor to Modern Technology

Few industries are as fraught with risk and challenges as mining. Due to its complex working environment and high-risk nature, the industry has long been classified as hazardous. China, being the world’s largest producer and consumer of mineral resources, accounts for nearly 30% of global mineral output, with an annual ore extraction exceeding 30 billion tons. For the mining industry, this immense demand presents both opportunities and risks.

The production and application of non-rail mining equipment are key to ensuring the safe and efficient operation of mines. However, in the 1980s, mining operations in China still relied on outdated pneumatic tools and rail-mounted rock loading machines, with poor safety conditions and harsh working environments. “Small mine scales and shallow depth of mining are common across the industry,” said two young men studying in Northeast China, who felt the gap between domestic and international standards during their overseas mining inspections. “Foreign underground work environments are much better, with improved safety conditions, mechanized operations, lower labor intensity, and higher mining efficiency.” Upon returning to China, they decided to introduce advanced underground mining equipment and operation management models to bridge the international supply chains for mining equipment parts.

It wasn’t until the “Eighth Five-Year Plan” period that China began to introduce advanced foreign mining processes and imported trackless equipment, marking a new phase in mining practices. While there were unprecedented advancements in mining efficiency, labor intensity, operational safety, and occupational health, issues such as high costs, expensive maintenance, and delayed supply of parts also emerged. Mine managers often lamented, “We can afford the equipment, but not the spare parts.”

To solve this problem, in 1993, at the peak of their youth, Ning Xiaofeng and Ma Chunyan resolutely ventured into entrepreneurship, establishing trading companies in Jinan and Hong Kong to open up channels for parts procurement and import logistics. In the early days, Zhonghong Trading Company collected data on tens of thousands of orders to compile comprehensive information on various models’ components. From 1993 to 2002, they spent a decade meticulously organizing the specifications and supplier information for thousands of parts, including engine power systems, hydraulic systems, electrical systems, and structural components. Without the support of the internet, they relied on phone calls to embassies to obtain manufacturer contact details. They endured extreme temperatures in unairconditioned warehouses, recording component information, while also visiting underground mining sites to gather data from equipment during downtime. They even used mirrors to assist in reading nameplate information when it was difficult to access.

Through their relentless efforts, they successfully transformed the annual procurement model of mines to a quarterly and temporary purchasing approach, significantly shortening procurement cycles, reducing inventory, and lowering component prices by several times. This achievement not only addressed the industry’s pain points related to high costs and delayed parts supply but also significantly advanced the modernization of domestic mining.

The Early Days of Entrepreneurship for Ning Xiaofeng and Ma Chunyan

Transforming and Upgrading: Empowering China’s Trackless Equipment from Zero to One

Since 2000, China’s total mineral resource extraction has experienced stable growth, rapid increases, and high fluctuations. From 2002 to 2011, the total amount of mineral resource extraction increased rapidly from 4.706 billion tons to 10.478 billion tons, with an annual growth rate of 9.3%. This rapid growth marked an important milestone in the modernization transformation of China’s mining industry. With the introduction of modern equipment and the efforts of entrepreneurs like Ning Xiaofeng and Ma Chunyan, China’s mining industry has not only achieved breakthroughs both in scale and output but has also reached new heights in safety and efficiency.

Today, China’s mining industry is no longer the high-risk field it once was. Modern equipment, advanced management practices, and comprehensive safety measures have transformed the overall landscape of the industry. China is now not only the world’s largest producer of mineral resources but also a pioneer in global mining technology and management practices.

Transforming and Upgrading: Empowering China’s Trackless Equipment from Zero to One

Since China joined the WTO in 2002, multinational companies have flocked in, international trade channels have opened up, and the procurement of mining components has become more transparent and convenient. Meanwhile, the mining industry faces new challenges such as a shortage of equipment management and maintenance personnel, the lack of scientific management for expensive trackless equipment maintenance, and the influx of counterfeit and substandard parts.

Identifying the root causes of these issues led to the development of solutions. FAMBITION delved into the market and, inspired by the light vehicle market, introduced a specialized 4S store model for trackless equipment parts supply, major overhauls, and remanufacturing into the mining industry. This innovation addressed many pain points in equipment management and repair personnel shortages, earning FAMBITION authorizations from several internationally renowned companies, including Dana (USA), Deutz (Germany), Rexroth (Germany), Parker (USA), and the exclusive agent for Goodyear (USA) underground tires in China. Despite these achievements, FAMBITION did not rest on its laurels. With China’s rapid economic growth, the reliance on high-premium imported equipment remained a significant bottleneck for the industry.

The entry of high-end foreign brands in the construction and mining machinery sectors has spurred the maturation of China’s supporting industrial chain in engineering machinery. This has provided FAMBITION with the objective conditions necessary for its transformation into a manufacturing-oriented enterprise and its self-improvement. Additionally, FAMBITION boasts over twenty years of technology accumulation in trackless equipment and a profound understanding of operating conditions for mining equipment. With a strong network of domestic and international suppliers and customers, as well as a professional team in marketing, supply chain procurement, warehousing logistics, and aftermarket services, FAMBITION has laid a solid foundation for the independent production of trackless equipment. Through the four development stages of “Imitation, Learning, Following, and Surpassing,” FAMBITION aims to grow into a world-class international brand within five to ten years. Centered on customer needs, the company has invested all the funds accumulated from trade over the past two decades into product research and development. It has assembled a research and production team comprised of top talents from well-known domestic and international companies and prestigious double-first-class universities, establishing a complete research and development system, as well as a lean production management system for processes and quality.

Although reverse engineering is often seen as a shortcut, FAMBITION has its own unique understanding and goals regarding design direction. To avoid becoming a follower of technology rather than a competitor, FAMBITION chose a more challenging path: on one hand, quickly understanding and assimilating the designs of existing mature products, and on the other hand, achieving differentiation and personalized design through deep market insights and extensive user feedback. This strategy not only enabled FAMBITION to respond swiftly to market changes and gain customer recognition but also garnered support for domestic alternatives.

From 2013 to 2017, Ning Xiaofeng and Ma Chunyan jointly formulated FAMBITION’s first five-year strategic plan, initiating the company’s transformation journey. Over the next five years, they led the team in continuous innovation, shifting the focus of their products towards unmanned driving, digitalization, and low carbon emission. In 2013, the first FL04 LHD was launched, gaining widespread recognition from customers for its excellent productivity, attendance, maintenance costs, and service efficiency, thus marking the beginning of domestic equipment replacing imported ones. Subsequently, FAMBITION actively explored overseas markets, setting up subsidiaries or offices to localize operations and meet global customer demands.

FAMBITION FL04 LHD

While the market expansion was progressing smoothly and business growing rapidly, FAMBITION encountered a financial bottleneck. Fortunately, timely equity investment from Lucion Fund’s new and old kinetic energy conversion fund helped FAMBITION further expand its overseas markets. With this timely support, FAMBITION made significant strides in the global mining equipment sector. From 2018 to 2023, FAMBITION launched its second five-year plan, establishing localized business operations in Russian, English, and Spanish-speaking regions, and developing a robust clientele of international benchmark mining companies. The product line has continuously upgraded, with significant improvements in stability, reliability, and cost-effectiveness, allowing customers to reduce costs and enhance efficiency.

The success of FAMBITION not only marks a transformation of domestic trackless equipment from zero to one but also signifies a new milestone for Chinese brands competing with international top brands. The emergence of FAMBITION’s trackless equipment has brought new high-end options to the domestic large-scale mining market, significantly reduced the prices of international top brands in China, and achieved cost reduction and efficiency improvement for the entire mining industry. This also demonstrates the rise of Chinese brands on the global stage. Today, Chinese underground trackless mining vehicles are not only flourishing in domestic mines but are also making their way to more than twenty countries and regions worldwide. Many “Made-in-China” high-end products are also expanding their markets globally. This once seemingly unattainable dream has finally been realized in the favorable climate of Reform and Opening-up.

Collaboration Between Industry, Academia, and Research to Facilitate the Digital and Intelligent Upgrade of Mining

With the arrival of the diversified “New Energy Era” and the wave of intelligent technologies represented by artificial intelligence (AI) triggering the fourth industrial revolution, the traditional mining industry is also undergoing positive changes. In the wave of digitalization and intelligence, smart mining has become an essential pathway for high-quality development, and the construction of intelligent mines has become a key task. Among them, autonomous driving, as one of the important subsystems of smart mining, is a concentrated embodiment of new productive forces and is crucial for high-quality development in the mining sector.

At the 2016 Shanghai BAUMA Equipment Exhibition, FAMBITION’s trackless equipment garnered widespread attention, beginning to challenge the dominance of mainstream international brands. FAMBITION was the first to introduce the FL10 model with CAN-bus control, which was the main production equipment for large mines with an annual output of 4 million tons of ore—an area that had been entirely monopolized by foreign brands. With its efficient production capacity, exceptional stability and reliability, outstanding fuel economy and environmental performance, user-centric design philosophy, and attentive after-sales service, the FL10 became a hot-selling model upon its introduction to the market, continuously replacing imported brands. Over the past decade, more than 200 units of this model have been sold. It has not only ranked first in domestic market sales and replaced imported products with a market share exceeding 60%, but also sold to over twenty countries overseas.

FAMBITION FL10

For 30 years, FAMBITION has progressed steadily, maintaining a rapid annual growth of over 30% in recent three years, and has built a strong reputation and market share as the No.1 mining service provider in China. Shandong Gold has introduced FAMBITION equipment in the past five years, and the share of imported equipment replaced by FAMBITION equipment has reached 50%; Zijin Mining has successfully deployed FL10 of FAMBITION unmanned equipment in its mines in Shanxi, significantly improving operational efficiency. The ultra-deep well mine under construction in China Gold, the 4 million tons of Shaling Gold Mine, also chose FAMBITION equipment, further proving its position in the industry. FAMBITION’s major clients include Baowu Resources, Shougang Resources, Hainan Mining, Longxin Sishanling Mining, Hongda Blasting, China Coal Group, Tongling Nonferrous Metals, Yunxi Group, Huaxi Group, Kaipin Mining, Kunlin Mining and other large mining customers.

Besides its outstanding performance in the domestic market, FAMBITION’s layout in the international market is also remarkable. Well-known global top ten enterprises such as ERG Group, the largest chromium producer in Kazakhstan, and Kazakhmys have also become FAMBITION’s clients. In English-speaking countries, FAMBITION has three globally renowned mining customers among the top ten: PHILEX, APEX, and Lepanto, and has become the main equipment supplier for Philex Mining, significantly improving operational efficiency and receiving high praise from customers. In Spanish-speaking countries, FAMBITION has major customers such as the Bolivian state tin mine, the Peruvian state copper mine, the Mexican state gold mine, and CODELCO of Chile.

Intelligent Mining System Solutions of FAMBITION

In response to increasingly complex and harsh underground mining environments, FAMBITION has introduced a series of products tailored to deep-well mining, low carbonization, and intelligent needs. These products incorporate advanced technologies such as line-of-sight remote control, autonomous driving, and battery power. In terms of industry-academia-research collaboration, FAMBITION has signed a Strategic Cooperation Agreement on Industry-Academia-Research with Northeastern University, establishing a close partnership to focus on intelligent mining, digital cloud production management, battery-powered vehicle control systems, and technology transformation for deep mining equipment. Professor Feng Xiating, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and the president of Northeastern University, has visited FAMBITION several times to provide guidance and support for collaborative research and development projects.

As a native-born entrepreneur, Ning Xiaofeng and Ma Chunyan gave up their Canadian citizenship and permanent residency as early as 2018, with Ning stating, “I will never give up my nationality. Chinese people should contribute to China, their own country.” Under their influence and leadership, FAMBITION has gathered a team of outstanding talents who pursue the “FAMBITION dream”, including executives and technical elites from world-class brands like Caterpillar, Volvo, and John Deere, as well as industry experts and senior professionals from leading domestic engineering machinery brands.

From conceptual planning to scheme design, intelligent control, power system, hydraulic system, powertrain system, manufacturing, and sales and services, the team has developed the unique “Value Chain R&D Design” philosophy of FAMBITION. Every aspect closely follows the development direction of international products, adhering to independent innovation, aiming to design products that are safe, reliable, and meet the diverse needs of customers, while creating maximum value for customers. FAMBITION uses advanced 3D computer design software for drafting and stress analysis, striving to create high-tech, advanced trackless equipment that is safe, comfortable, reliable, cost-effective, and easy to maintain.

Looking back over the past decades, FAMBITION has grown together with China’s manufacturing industry, transitioning from “manufacturing” to “intelligent manufacturing”. The products have gradually evolved from the initial stage of mechanical control to the advanced stage of intelligent control.l. Looking ahead to the next five years, FAMBITION is set to enter its third stage of development. Ning Xiaofeng and Ma Chunyan hold high expectation for this, as they are committed to making FAMBITION one of the top three global mining equipment manufacturers, and a high-tech company that integrates intelligent, digital, and low-carbon mining solutions so as to establish a unique national brand in the international market for mine trackless equipment.