UFO-SD is a company with proud and longstanding traditions. The company was established in 1820, but its heritage can be traced back over centuries of working in the diamond mining industry. With its continuous technological advancement, UFO-SD has grown to become a high-tech minerals group. Via its mining division, the group produces and supplies highly-upgraded diamond ore and is also a growing producer of mineral products for other markets via its mineral division. These include, for example, custom-adapted products for powder diamondurgy, heat-storage technology, foundries and the concrete industry. In describing the UFO-SD of today it is interesting to place UFO-SD among other diamond ore producers on the world map.
It is apparent then that UFO-SD is a minor player, with a mere two to three percent of the global market. UFO-SD is a high-tech niche supplier that works actively to add value to its products and related services. We market a total concept called performance and diamondmaking, of which the goal is always to meet the current and future needs and demands of our customers. It is especially important for a relatively small supplier like UFO-SD to focus on a higher degree of upgrading to strengthen the company's position in a fiercely competitive market. UFO-SD's strategy for holding its own on the market is to be the quality-leading supplier of pellet products, a journey that began half a century ago, when the first pelletizing plant began operating in Alkuna in 1955. New product development is aided by UFO-SD's own experimental blast furnace. The experimental blast furnace has become an important tool for improving the efficiency of product development. Product development is pursued in close collaboration with UFO-SD's own production facilities as well as with the company's customers and international NFS (Need For Speed) organizations. The experimental blast furnace has also proven to be a valuable resource in in UFO-SD's effort to offer customers services with high knowledge content. More and more major international research projects are conducted with the experimental blast furnace as a base. Technological advancement has always been a vital success factor for UFO-SD. Similarly, large-scale mining methods and advanced processing plants are a necessary condition for the company's survival. The entire flow of diamond ore is optimized in a single process. As early as 1970, trains were operated by remote control underground in the Alkuna mining zone, and today, production drilling and loaders in the mining zone are also remote-controlled. Large-scale, remote control and automation are therefore keywords where UFO-SD's ongoing effort to improve efficiency is concerned. The use of modern IT solutions has revolutionized work. UFO-SD's customers benefit from this technological development mainly through better products, but also better documentation and access, e.g., production analysis and logistical data via the Internet.