Sandvik Mining and Construction Ltd., a Sweden-based equipment and services provider for the mining and construction industries, opened a new research and development center Tuesday in Shanghai.

The opening is a part of Sandvik's Innovation in Action event, which was launched at Sweden Pavilion at the Shanghai Expo Tuesday morning.

The company said, the center would focus on product development in the Chinese market, as well as service provision for local production and assembly factories.

Lars Josefsson, president of Sandvik Mining and Construction, said the new R&D center proved the company's confidence in the Chinese market, even though it was not yet the top market share for Sandvik.

He said in September 2009, Sandvik's largest manufacturing facility started operation in Shanghai, and it was important to have a local R&D center connected to the factory.

He said Sandvik had launched a management trainee program with local university students to localize the R&D ability.

Currently Sandvik has more than 5,000 active patents and 2,400 employees working with research and development.