Sandvik is a Swedish

Sweden

Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....

 company

Corporation

A corporation is created under the laws of a state as a separate legal entity that has privileges and liabilities that are distinct from those of its members. There are many different forms of corporations, most of which are used to conduct business. Early corporations were established by charter...

 founded in 1862 by Göran Fredrik Göransson in Sandviken

Sandviken

Sandviken may refer to:* Sandviken, a Swedish town and the seat of Sandviken municipality* Sandviken Municipality, a Swedish municipality around the town of Sandviken* Sandviken, Norway, a neighbourhood in Bergen, Norway...

. It is a high-technology engineering group and a world-leader in tooling, stainless steel alloys and materials technology, mining and construction. It has about 47,000 employees in 130 countries, with annual sales of approximately SEK

Swedish krona

The krona has been the currency of Sweden since 1873. Both the ISO code "SEK" and currency sign "kr" are in common use; the former precedes or follows the value, the latter usually follows it, but especially in the past, it sometimes preceded the value...

 83 billion.

Corporate Structure

Sandvik consists of three business areas as following:

• Sandvik Mining and Construction
• Sandvik Material Technology
• Sandvik Tooling

Sandvik Mining and Construction

The Mining and Construction business area offers solutions for many applications in the mining and construction industry, including surface rock excavation, tunneling, demolition, recycling and road rehabilitation.

• Drill rigs and tools for rock drilling
• Crushers
• Hydraulic breakers (hammers) for Excavators and demolition
  Demolition
  Demolition is the tearing-down of buildings and other structures, the opposite of construction. Demolition contrasts with deconstruction, which involves taking a building apart while carefully preserving valuable elements for re-use....
  
   machines.
• Manufacture cutters and ground engagement wear parts (Cutting tools and replaceable teeth)
• Mining machinery
• Conveyor components
• Services, including performance contracts delivered with 'On Demand' pricing models.

Sandvik Materials Technology

The Materials Technology business area specializes in development and production of advanced stainless steel

Steel

Steel is an alloy that consists mostly of iron and has a carbon content between 0.2% and 2.1% by weight, depending on the grade. Carbon is the most common alloying material for iron, but various other alloying elements are used, such as manganese, chromium, vanadium, and tungsten...

 (such as Sandvik SAF 2507, Sandvik SAF 2707 HD and Sandvik 12C27), special alloys and titanium. The materials are produced in a variety of product forms, such as tube, bar, strip, wire and various near-net shapes.

Sandvik

Sandvik Tooling

The Tooling business area is primarily concerned with the production and development of metal cutting

Machine tool

A machine tool is a machine, typically powered other than by human muscle , used to make manufactured parts in various ways that include cutting or certain other kinds of deformation...

 tools. Manufactures of carbide

Carbide

In chemistry, a carbide is a compound composed of carbon and a less electronegative element. Carbides can be generally classified by chemical bonding type as follows: salt-like, covalent compounds, interstitial compounds, and "intermediate" transition metal carbides...

 tipped tooling for metal cutting applications.

• It is composed of several brands as a result of Sandvik acquiring other corporations and keeping their brands. Tooling began as Sandvik Coromant and Sandvik Coromant remains one of Sandvik Tooling's most important brand.
• Another "Brand" is the Dormer Tools company of Sheffield
  Sheffield
  Sheffield is a city and metropolitan borough of South Yorkshire, England. Its name derives from the River Sheaf, which runs through the city. Historically a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, and with some of its southern suburbs annexed from Derbyshire, the city has grown from its largely...
  
  , England. Formerly known as the "Sheffield Twist Drill and Steel Co. Ltd" whose brand name is "Dormer".

Birmingham

Sandvik's first overseas arm was in Birmingham

Birmingham

Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...

, England. The UK headquarters is now in nearby Halesowen

Halesowen

Halesowen is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley, in the West Midlands, England.The population, as measured by the United Kingdom Census 2001, was 55,273...

, and each year the company provides the city's official Christmas Tree

Christmas tree

The Christmas tree is a decorated evergreen coniferous tree, real or artificial, and a tradition associated with the celebration of Christmas. The tradition of decorating an evergreen tree at Christmas started in Livonia and Germany in the 16th century...

, which is erected in Victoria Square

Victoria Square, Birmingham

Victoria Square is a pedestrianised public square in Birmingham, England. It is home to both the Town Hall and the Council House, and directly adjacent to Chamberlain Square....

.