Bucyrus International, a leading manufacturer of ultra-class draglines, offers turnkey solutions for dragline relocations and refurbishments. It states that its “ability to offer a vertically integrated OEM solution of dragline parts, service, and global facilities, coupled with the company’s legacy of engineering expertise, give Bucyrus an edge in the dragline relocation and overhaul space.” A recent example was the successful relocation and refurbishment of two draglines for Luminant, in the state of Texas, USA. Despite the dragline’s unmatched ability to remove overburden at extremely low cost per tonne, the initial capital outlay and time it takes to produce a new dragline can lead mine owners to explore other alternatives. Luminant found itself in such a scenario during the planning phase of the Kosse mine, wanting to use draglines for the overburden removal needs, but looking for less capital intensive alternatives that could also reduce the required manufacturing time to acquire a new dragline. The agreed-upon solution became the purchase of two pre-owned draglines, a Bucyrus 8200 model and a Bucyrus 1570W model, requiring substantial refurbishment and the relocation of both machines to Kosse in Texas. Wanting to ensure that both machines would again operate as reliably and productively as they did upon their original commissioning in the 1970s, Luminant solicited the expertise of the draglines’ original equipment manufacturer, Bucyrus, to manage the complex project.
The complexity of the legacy dragline relocations and refurbishments for Luminant required Bucyrus Field Services to co-ordinate a cross-regional effort, entailing experienced project leadership by the Bucyrus team, as well as open lines of communication between the Bucyrus regional groups. Addressing these unique challenges helped to facilitate the completion of this extensive project, and serve to substantiate the project management aptitude of Bucyrus as it pertains to major dragline relocations and refurbishments. Jimmy Derry, the Bucyrus Construction Superintendent leading the project from the Bucyrus side affirmed, “Our experienced team of Bucyrus Tradesmen and Supervisors, working in-step with Henry Postell, Luminant’s Heavy Equipment Project Manager, and his team, were able to accomplish these dragline moves and upgrades in a safe, timely, and cost efficient manner; a feat everyone involved can be proud of.”
“The benefit of using the OEM is that it is one-stop shopping for the customer,” says Jason Scott, a Bucyrus Project Manager. “Bucyrus has a knowledgeable and experienced service group to plan and execute a relocation, a dedicated sales team to ensure the customer has all necessary replacement parts and materials, and first-hand engineering support to offer not only solutions to existing concerns, but also to offer upgrades to enhance the performance and longevity of the machines.”
While Bucyrus has established a strong legacy as a high-quality manufacturer of ultra-class draglines, rope shovels, and rotary blasthole drills, performing top-notch overhaul and relocation services for mining equipment, as exemplified by the work performed on the dragline moves for Luminant, are fundamental pieces of the Bucyrus portfolio. In fact, the ability to offer a vertically integrated solution of dragline parts, service, and local facility, coupled with the company’s legacy of engineering expertise, were important factors in Luminant’s decision to partner with Bucyrus on the 8200 and 1570W dragline projects. “Bucyrus not only provided us a cost-effective mining solution, they saw it through from beginning to end,” said George Boudreau, Director of Maintenance Support Services with Luminant. “We’re pleased with the end result and look forward to many years of productive mining at our Kosse mine.”
“OEM expertise does not only apply to the manufacturing of new machines, but it can provide value in every facet of the services and support Bucyrus provides to its customers,” states Mike Lisowski, General Manager of Projects at Bucyrus. “Bucyrus has the resources and the contacts to offer and coordinate projects of the complexity and scope of dragline moves and overhauls, and the company looks to continue providing these top-notch services to our customers for the foreseeable future.”