Careers at Joy Global
Mission
Joy Global’s mission is to partner directly with customers to enable them to achieve zero harm, the highest production, and the lowest lifecycle cost for their mining operations, while making every customer a reference.
Business segments
Joy Global is a provider and servicer of high-productivity mining equipment for the extraction of metals and minerals. The firm operates two reportable business segments:
- Underground Mining Machinery (Underground) – Produces high productivity underground mining machinery for the extraction of coal, potash, salt, platinum, and other bedded mater.
- Surface Mining Equipment (Surface) – Produces electric mining shovels as well as blasthole drills, walking draglines, and wheel loaders for open-pit mining operations.
History
Alonzo Pawling and Henry Harnischfeger were employees at the Whitehill Sewing Machine Company in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Their roles and responsibilities involved managing castings patternmaking and gear machining operations within the Whitehill factory. The firm was struggling financially, and the two felt that it lacked the manufacturing and marketing discipline it needed to grow.
In 1884 they launched a machine and pattern shop to make and service equipment and components needed by larger manufacturing firms in the region. It was called P&H, the first initials of their last names. In 1887 they rebuilt an overhead bridge crane that had collapsed. Following this success, they began producing their own series of overhead cranes for warehouse and manufacturing operations.
The bank panic of 1893 lead to a drop in demand for their cranes, so they diversified their portfolio by building earthmoving machines. They also acquired the motors and controls manufacturing assets of the Gibb Electric Company, seeking more control over the application of motors to their crane line. When Pawling died in 1911 the firm’s name was changed to Harnischfeger Corporation.
By the 1920s the company had become a major provider of cranes and crawler-mounted shovels used in mining and construction operations. Over the next few decades their selection grew in capacity and size. The firm also diversified during the Great Depression by incorporating diesel engines, welding machinery, and prefabricated homes into its product mix.
By the 1970s Joy Global went back to focusing on cranes, mining/construction machines, and material handing systems. By the 1980s it had become a conglomerate called Harnischfeger Industries. In 1994 it spent $700 million to purchase Joy Mining Machinery, a supplier of underground mining equipment launched in 1919 by Joseph Francis Joy.
In 1997, a currency devaluation debacle led to the collapse of a paper manufacturing firm in Indonesia and a default on a contract with Harnischfeger Industries. As a result, the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. When it emerged, it was restructured with the new name Joy Global. In 2016 Komatsu Limited agreed to purchase Joy Global for $2.89 billion.
Logo © by Stuffled (Wikimedia Commons) under CC BY-SA 4.0
Benefits at Joy Global
Business model of Joy Global
Customer Segments
Joy Global has a niche market business model, with a specialized customer segment. The company targets its offerings at large regional and global mining companies. None of its customers account for more than 10% of its sales.
Value Proposition
Joy Global offers three primary value propositions: accessibility, performance, and brand/status.
The company creates accessibility by providing a wide variety of options. It has acquired numerous firms since its founding, enabling it to expand its capabilities. In 2011 it purchased LeTourneau Technologies, enabling it to add high-capacity LeTourneau front-end loaders for its mining operations. The same year it bought a large stake in China-based International Mining Machinery Holdings. This enabled it to enhance its access to the country’s coal-mining machinery market.
The company demonstrates strong performance through tangible results. In a prominent case example, its drill experts recommended that an Alaskan gold mine company use its Montabert HC95 drifter drill. The product produced the following positive outcomes:
- Penetration rates increased by 33%
- Consumable cost decreased by 23%
- Maintenance intervals decreased by 33%
- Noise levels decreased, improving the safety of operating conditions
The company has established a strong brand due to its success. It maintains 135 locations in 20 countries across six continents. It bills itself as the world’s largest producer of high productivity underground mining machinery for the extraction of coal, potash, salt, platinum and other bedded
mater. It also touts itself as the world’s largest producer of electric mining shovels. Lastly, it has won many honors, including the following:
- Recognition as one of “America’s Healthiest Companies” by the Wellness Council of America
- Recognition as “Corporate Partner of the Year” by Milwaukee Habitat for Humanity
- Recognition as having “Best Performance – Shovels and Loaders” in Chile's Ranking of Suppliers of the Mining Industry
Channels
Joy Global’s main channel is its direct sales team. The company promotes its offering through its website, social media pages, and participation in trade shows and conferences.
Customer Relationships
Joy Global’s customer relationship is primarily of a self-service nature. Customers utilize its products while having limited interaction with employees. The company’s website features eLearning catalogs and training guides for its operator, electrical, and mechanical training programs. It also features a “Resource Library” that includes brochures, case studies, white papers, and specification sheets.
Despite this orientation, there is a personal assistance component. The company offers the following instructor-led training programs:
- Milwaukee-Based Training – Joy Global provides training at its headquarters in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Program components include hands-on work with various equipment system components and skills practice in maintaining and troubleshooting specific products in its Training Lab.
- Field-Based Training – Joy Global sends training personnel to customers’ facilities so they can tailor training programs to their systems’ needs. In cases where instructors are not available, the firm utilizes trainers from regional service organizations.
Key Activities
Joy Global’s business model entails designing, developing, manufacturing, and marketing mining equipment and parts, as well as designing and delivering related services.
Key Partners
Joy Global’s key partners are the suppliers that provide it with the raw materials and processed inputs it needs to manufacture its products. These items include steel, copper, and engine and electronic components.
Key Resources
Joy Global’s main resources are its human resources, who include the engineers that design, develop, and manufacture its products; the salespeople that promote the products; and the training staff members that provide instruction. It maintains important physical resources in the form of its manufacturing facilities in the United States, Canada, Australia, France, the United Kingdom, South Africa, and China.
Cost Structure
Joy Global has a cost-driven structure, aiming to minimize expenses through significant automation. Its biggest cost driver is cost of sales, a variable expense. Other major drivers are in the areas of product development, a variable cost, and sales/marketing and administration, both fixed costs.
Revenue Streams
Joy Global has two revenue streams:
- Service Revenues – Includes revenues generated from repair and maintenance services, diagnostic analysis, fabrication, mining equipment and electric motor rebuilds, equipment erection services, training, and sales of replacement parts; represented 74% of total sales in 2015
- Equipment Revenues – Includes revenues generated from sales of original equipment for the mining industry; represented 26% of total sales in 2015
Our team
info: Edward L. Doheny II earned a Bachelor’s degree in Engineering at Cornell University and a Master’s degree in Management at Purdue University. He previously served as Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Joy Global’s underground business segment.
info: James M. Sullivan earned a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration and Finance at St. Louis University and an MBA at Washington University. He previously served as Executive Vice President, CFO, Treasurer, and Controller of Solutia, Inc.
info: Sean D. Major earned a Bachelor’s degree in Economics at DePauw University, a JD at Indiana University, and an MBA at Northwestern University. He previously served as Assistant General Counsel and Assistant Secretary at Johnson Controls.
info: Johannes S. Maritz earned a Bachelor’s degree in Industrial Psychology and Labor Law at the University of the Northwest in South Africa. He previously served as Vice President, Human Resources of Joy Global’s underground mining business.