2008 was a good year for Phillips Machine, both in terms of increased sales volume and in the addition of facilities geared toward serving the mining industries of the future.  Core capabilities, including new machine manufacture, machine repair and rebuild, were enhanced with the addition of new facilities and new distribution networks.  The headquarters facility in Beckley, West Virginia, USA continued to expand by beginning the construction of an additional 12,000 sq. ft. building that will be finished in mid 2009.  This will increase the efficiency of manufacturing, fabrication and rebuilding for the entire company, as well as providing an immediate improvement in capacity at Beckley.

For the first time in the 33 years since opening its doors for operation, Phillips can now offer complete rebuilding and repair services in the West of the US, thanks to the new shop and sales offices that were opened in Delta, Colorado during 2008.  

International capabilities were further increased by setting in motion the construction of a new manufacturing and sales facility in Middleburg, Mpumalanga, Republic of South Africa.  Shanxi Phillips Machine Service, Ltd., Phillips Machine’s joint venture with the Jincheng Anthracite Mining Group and located in Shanxi Province, Republic of China, prepared for the construction of new, larger buildings in a new location in order to better address the needs of the Chinese coal mining industry.  In order to improve and back up Phillips Machine’s increasing presence in the coal and potash mines of Canada, multi-faceted Wajax Industries, Ltd. was appointed as the sales and service distributor for Canada

Equipment development did not take a back seat at Phillips during 2008. MINEXPO 2008 provided the venue for the introduction of Phillips’ new, unique Diesel-Electric Freedom Car ™ .  This car and its twin were then successfully installed in a potash mine in Saskatchewan Province, Canada.  One of the “Ice Road’s” diamond mines in Canada’s Northwest Territory was also the recipient of a pair of newly developed, extra high haulage capacity, Battery Powered Freedom Cars ™ .  The United Kingdom called upon the ability of Phillips Machine to produce modified continuous miners for special tasks with the sale of a continuous miner, rebuilt and reworked so as to enable it to clean and excavate underneath a belt conveyor while simultaneously discharging on to the same conveyor.

Phillips’ recently restructured and enhanced management team continues to be optimistic about the future of the world-wide underground mining industries that it serves.