The 300th MacLean Engineering SL3 Scissor Lift has come off the production line in the company’s Owen Sound, Ontario, manufacturing facility, some two decades after its initial introduction to the mining industry, destined for a longstanding customer’s mining operation in the Sudbury basin.
As one of the original MacLean Mine-Mate™ Utility Vehicle solutions for mine services installation and repair, MacLean says the SL3 “continues to provide mining operations around the globe with an elevated work platform that delivers safety, versatility, and productivityin onepurpose-designed package, manufactured to meet the rigours of the underground work environment.”
Over the years, the design of the SL3 has evolved to meet customers’ changing needs. Notably, the MacLean SL3 Scissor Lift now comes with the option of six quick-connect attachments (Fan Handler, Pipe Handler, Cable Reeler, Cable Pusher, Spool Cradle, Raised Deck), along with single-operator remote drive and deck side-shift and forward-shift capabilities, which all enhance the unit’s versatility and productivity.
The increasing output of mining vehicles from the MacLean Owen Sound facility is another important part of this product milestone. The plant has ramped up itsproduction contribution across the MacLean continental manufacturing platform (in South Georgian Bay, Ontario,and since 2020, in Mexico), following an expansion project in 2019 that added eight new full manufacturing bays. The facility is a major employer in the community, counting some 175 workers, whose skilled efforts get proudly shipped to mining customers the world over.
“Two decades ago, a northern Manitoba visit to a mining customer produced purchase orders for the three very first units in what would become a product line stalwart for us –MacLean Mine-Mate Utility Vehicles, an enduring and important element of our fleet offer,” notes Bryson Lehman, Product Manager, Utility Vehicles – Elevated Work Platforms. “This product line has continued to evolve since that time, and it now constitutes a central part of our production support mining vehicle offer, with all of the parts commonality, servicing efficiency, and reduced Total Cost of Ownership that comes with that.”
“Much has changed in mining in 20 years, but one of the many things that hasn’t is the need for a safe and productive elevated work platform in the underground environment,” remarks John Botelho, Product Manager, Utility Vehicles – Material Handling. “It is fitting that this milestone unit is going to the same customer who purchased unit #1 all those years ago. The SL3 was and continues to be, a true ‘Mine-Mate’around the globe.”
