National Group Pioneers Automation in Mining

The National Group is set to further strengthen its position in the mining sector

Wolff Group (Wolff), who were awarded the Mining Contractor of the Year Award at the 2018 Prospect Awards, provides a range of automative and innovative solutions such as large scale satellite bulk dozer push, semi-autonomous blast hole drilling, contract mining services, excavator pre-strip fleets, civil earthworks, site clearing and rehabilitation works.

The recent acquisition of Wolff Group is set to further strengthen the National Group’s position in the industry which already comprises of leading companies from the mining, resource, logistics and personnel supply industries.

National Group Managing Director, Mark Ackroyd, sees the acquisition of Wolff Group as an expansion and believes it will provide niche business opportunities.

“Adding Wolff to the National Group will allow us to deliver additional services in autonomous operations, so it was a logical choice for us” Ackroyd said.

“Terry and his team at Wolff have a very similar organisational culture to ours and that was one of the most important things we spoke about during our discussions. The other was their work in autonomous operations and the focus towards the future of mining.”

“We want to provide our customers with the best there is and staying on the cutting-edge of technology goes a long way in allowing us to do that”.

As part of the acquisition, National Group and Wolff have agreed to adopt a ‘business as usual’ approach to ensure minimal to no effect on the current Wolff workforce and customer base.

Wolff’s existing Managing Director, Terry Wolff, will stay actively involved in the business and is excited for Wolff to be joining an experienced industry player such as the National Group, with a key focus on growth.

“National Group met all of our foundations and culturally aligned with the way we already do business here at Wolff, so that made this decision a lot easier for us. We couldn’t think of a better company to pass on the baton to” Terry Wolff said.

“National Group values our people, autonomous expertise and our ability to operate in the segments where we have a depth of knowledge and experience”.

Wolff is well-known in the industry for their focus on innovation and technology and already have an established partnership with Caterpillar and Hastings Deering to implement and optimise Semi-Autonomous Tractor System (SATS) technology in a world’s-first application into a mining production environment.

“Here at the National Group, we are excited for the future and look forward to further extending the range of automated features for our expansive fleet of dozers and drills” concluded Mark Ackroyd.

The National Group recently completed the acquisition of Wolff Group, with Wolff now being officially a part of Mark Ackroyd’s National Group.

About the National Group

The National Group comprises of leading companies from the mining, resource, logistics and personnel supply industries.

About Wolff Mining

Wolff Mining provides a range of automated and innovative solutions such as large scale satellite bulk dozer push, contract mining services, excavator pre-strip fleets, civil earthworks, blast hole drilling, site clearing and rehabilitation works.