Høgmo Fjellsprenging, based on the outskirts of Trondheim, has built up a flexible fleet of equipment to handle everything from roadworks and tunnel maintenance to foundations

and safety bolts. With a growing need to move quickly between small and large jobs, the company has invested in compact, specialized rigs from Epiroc, includingthe SmartROC T25 R and the SmartROC T40. But for Jan Erlend Askjemshalten, Construction Manager at Høgmo, what matters more than the machine is the personal relationship behind it. Thanks to the presence of experienced Epiroc service engineer Hallgeir Vean in Trondheim, many issues are solved before they become problems. Mining & Construction magazine brought Vean and Askjemshalten together to talk about trust, service under pressure, and what it means to truly understand each other’s work.

Your working relationship stretches back a long time. How did things begin?
 

JAN ERLEND ASKJEMSHALTEN: “I actually remember the first time I was told to call Hallgeir. I was just getting started, and my boss handed me his number and said: ‘This is who you call when something goes wrong.’ I didn’t know then we’d be working together for nearly two decades!”

HALLGEIR VEAN: “That’s true. You were still out in the field back then. I think you started on the wheel loader, right? And then you moved onto the rigs.”

JEA: “Yes, and then eventually into the office, which you were very annoyed about!”

HV: “Only because we lost a great operator. But it’s been great to continue working with you.”

What has the experience of working with Epiroc as a relatively small contractor been like?

JEA: “Honestly, I feel lucky. We’re a small team, but we work with a global company that finds time to support us. That’s not something I take for granted.”

HV: “And from our side, it doesn’t matter if a customer has one rig or ten. Every customer is important. What’s great about working with a smaller company like Høgmo is the flexibility. If something breaks down, we are able to solve it quickly without having to jump through so many hoops. But I also feel responsibility, because I know if they have a problem, the economic impact can be immediate.”

JEA: “But if Hallgeir is busy, he still finds time to help us with a temporary solution on the phone until he can visit in person. That matters a lot for us. We don’t have a huge fleet to fall back on. If a machine stops, that might mean a whole job stalls.”

It sounds as if your working relationship goes beyond a written service agreement?

JEA: “What I really value is Hallgeir showing the operators what to look for: signs of wear, loose cables, things that could become serious. It’s like a free training course every

time he visits.”

HV: “I see it as a partnership. I’m not just there to fix things. I’m there to teach, guide, and help the drillers avoid problems before they happen. If we share that knowledge, we reduce the number of callouts. The machines run better, and the operators gain confidence.”

Such flexibility also means that Høgmo is quick to try new solutions?

JEA: “Absolutely. Our boss has always been one step ahead of everyone else. Back in 2006, we were among the first in the region to invest in a SmartRig D7C with a silent kit. At the time, few saw the need, but we were already working in urban areas and knew noise regulations were coming. It gave us a competitive advantage.”

HV: “That was a smart move. I remember when that machine was delivered. Another company in the same area bought the same kit a couple of years later, but Høgmo had already been using it on projects for some time.”

JEA: “We actually hired that company as a subcontractor so we could use two machines with silent kits on a job. It was a requirement of the contract.”

What is the most challenging part of the work right now?

HV: “For us, the biggest thing we are working on now is improving the availability of spare parts for new rigs. It has been an issue for Høgmo, and it’s something we are well

aware of.”

JEA: “Hallgeir has always found a way to source spares from other locations or helped us make cables, for example, but it’s an area I’d like to see improved.”

HV: “Workarounds make all the difference for clients with one or two rigs, but it’s no replacement for a permanent solution.”

What does the future of this partnership look like?

HV: “I can’t always be available for service requests, so we now have a second service technician based in the region, which will mean faster service response times.”

JEA: “We’ve already seen the benefit of that. We recently had an issue with an older FlexiROC T20 R, which was stuck in the middle of the road with Friday rush-hour looming. Even though his working day had finished, the new engineer arrived and fixed the issue with a 1.5-hour response time.”

HV: “And with more Epiroc equipment in the Høgmo fleet than ever before, I’m sure we’ll be seeing more of each other in the years to come.”

JEA: “That’s very true! We recently sourced three excavators with a drill application, but I insisted we must have Epiroc rock drills on the application. The main reason is the good experience we’ve had over the years with Hallgeir. Long may it continue.”