Tag Archives: China mining

Multotec expands presence, product line in Asia with new China facility

Bulk handling, Comminution of minerals, Mineral processing, Mining equipment, Mining services, , , , , , , , , , ,

Bucking global economic trends, mineral processing equipment specialist Multotec says it has opened a new, larger manufacturing facility in China to meet growing demand.

The 3,200 sq.m factory, based in the port city of Tianjin about 100 km southeast of Beijing, is more than double the size of the previous premises, according to Ken Tuckey, Director of Multotec Screening Systems (Tianjin) Ltd. The facility focuses on producing the company’s polyurethane screen panels, including specialised panels for fines dewatering and classification.

“The expanded facility was necessary to increase production capacity, as sales have grown rapidly since Multotec became directly involved in this business in 2017,” Tuckey says. “The investment in China is also an important part of Multotec’s global strategy to get manufacturing operations closer to end-customers wherever possible.”

Multotec had taken over the business from Tema Screening Systems in 2017, which had started up in 2006 and focused mainly on the aggregate and quarry sectors. Multotec’s sales have expanded, mainly into China’s mining industry, but the factory’s increased capacity is also allowing it to produce for other parts of the world.

Running the operation on the ground since 2018 is General Manager, He Pu, a local expert with 20 years’ experience in mineral processing.

“The new factory has taken careful planning over the past year, and had to obtain a range of strict government approvals,” he says. “Even though the COVID-19 pandemic did present some challenges to our schedule, we were still able to move into the new plant in May this year.”

Multotec Screening Systems (Tianjin) Ltd General Manager, He Pu

He Pu highlighted the importance of innovation as a key ingredient for any company looking to break into the Chinese market. This has been vital to the early success of Multotec, which has a range of product advances operating in Africa and other markets. Recent improvements in China’s manufacturing sector has also underpinned the success of the local business, according to He Pu.

“The focus in the mining sector in China has shifted towards increased efficiencies and improved quality,” He Pu says. “Multotec is now well positioned to take advantage of this, especially with the innovative screen panel technology that it can offer the market. This is underpinned by our quality manufacturing processes as well as our excellent local supply chain.”

Multotec’s Chinese company is ISO-accredited with in-house quality control expertise, he says. The number of local staff members has increased and includes a strong sales team with good links to the mining sector. The company also has distributors and agents across China, bringing services and products closer to the mines.

With the new polyurethane moulding machines, the upgraded plant is running double shifts to optimise production levels. The latest technology equipment – combined with Multotec’s experience and ongoing training in factory – ensures a consistently world-class quality of polyurethane panels, it says. Accelerated in-house manufacture is also speeding up the delivery times to local customers.

“The opening of this plant marks the beginning of a new era for Multotec,” He Pu says. “We have ascended to a new level, not only by enlarging the area of the workshop but by adding new equipment.”

Talking mining truck automation with China’s pioneer TAGE Idriver

Automation, Communications in mining, IoT, Mining equipment, Mining services, Mining software, , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

In a world first, Paul Moore spoke to the senior management of TAGE Idriver, in Beijing, the leading Chinese player in mining truck autonomy solutions, both for new machines and retrofits. CEO Professor Yu Guizhen, CTO Huang Liming and Head of Marketing Li Qingshe gave their insight on this huge and rapidly growing market.

PM: Can you give some background on TAGE Idriver as a robotics solution company and how you came to be active in the mining sector?

TAGE Idriver CEO, Professor Yu Guizhen

YG: Founded in 2016, Beijing TAGE Idriver Technology Co Ltd (hereafter referred to as TAGE) is a high-tech enterprise focussed on the research and development of autonomous driving technology for open-pit mining vehicles. Open-pit mining is regarded as one of the most ideal applications for autonomous driving technology implementation as it involves a relatively restricted area where vehicle speed is low and the transportation routes are well managed. As such, we took the unmanned robotic mining truck as our chosen breakthrough point, to try to help to solve the long standing issues with open-pit mining haulage such as frequent accidents, driver recruitment difficulty and persistently high cost. And we have achieved a lot so far – our system has already been successfully implemented in the Bayan Obo iron ore and rare earths mine (Baogang Group) and the Huolinhe coal mines (SPIC) in Inner Mongolia.

PM: It seems only recently the major mining equipment OEMs in China were working on their own autonomy solutions, but now independent players are dominating…what has changed?

YG: Unmanned transportation solutions for open-pit mines involve complex systems requiring not only vehicle technology, but also autonomous driving technology, dispatching and fleet management technology, and vehicle communication technology. To independently build all those capabilities into one platform is a tough challenge for the Chinese traditional mining equipment OEMs. This is why independent players with advanced autonomous driving technology but working in close cooperation with the OEMs are in a more competitive position to deliver open-pit mine unmanned transportation solutions in China.

PM: The market for these independent autonomy system tech providers seems very competitive in China; several other companies are also active – what would you say makes TAGE Idriver stand out from the rest?

HL: First I would say system integrity. As the earliest player engaged in the development of unmanned transportation solutions for open-pit mining and the first to put them into practical operation in China, TAGE has delivered complete solutions and has a mature product portfolio including OBU (Onboard Unit) product series, RSU (Road Side Unit) and Cloud Control Platform. The OBU product series includes unmanned mine truck terminal products, bulldozer vehicle terminal products, excavator vehicle terminal products, crushing station terminal products and external on-road vehicles terminal products. Then there is functional adaptability. Open-pit mine transportation is complex, especially in China. On the basis of intellectualisation and interconnection of the unmanned mine trucks and the cloud based dispatching control platform, TAGE’s products seamlessly connect every step of mining transportation process, so as to make the system capable of working in an actual operational scenario, which is extremely critical for commercial implementation.

TAGE Idriver CTO, Huang Liming

Then there is system reliability and multiple safety aspects. TAGE’s OBU products are designed in accordance with vehicle grade certification to meet the operational reliability requirements of the harsh environments (low temperature, vibration, etc) in the mining area. Our system has achieved multiple redundant security designs, which mainly includes CCU (Central Control Unit) security redundancy, wireless network redundancy, cloud platform DHBS (Dual Machine Hot Backup System) redundancy, etc. Finally I would mention engineering design ability. TAGE has a vertically structured and expert team in the open-pit mining industry, who have rich experience in engineering design and system simulation verification of unmanned transportation in mining.

PM: Is the main potential currently working with equipment OEMs or the mines directly, or both?

YG: Both, I have mentioned already Baogang and SPIC as mining customers we have ongoing projects with and we are also closely cooperating with top Chinese OEMs like Inner Mongolia North Hauler (NHL), XCMG and Shaanxi Tonly.

PM: The Chinese market is also very price sensitive. How is it possible to provide these complex technologies to these mines at a low enough price they will accept?

TAGE Idriver Head of Marketing, Li Qingshe

LQ: In China, the ordinary consumer market is very price sensitive, but for high-tech production equipment, price is not the decisive factor. TAGE’s unmanned system is capable of creating substantial additional benefits to customers such as labour cost savings, increased operation time, reduced fuel cost and tyre wear cost reduction, and most importantly, zero accident risk to operators. Meanwhile, our prices are still very competitive – the ROI of our system is very attractive to most of our potential customers.

PM: Chinese mines are not known for having extensive comms networks or using the latest fleet management systems. How do you ensure your mining customers meet the minimum standards your systems need to work in terms of networks?

HL: When it comes to telecommunication, China has a good upstream and downstream ecosystem, and wireless communication networks have been widely deployed in mining areas in China. Some large state-owned mining areas have already deployed 4G wireless private networks, so as to realise fleet management and video monitoring under manned transportation conditions. Along with the rapid introduction of unmanned transportation in China’s open-pit mining areas, 4G private networks or 5G networks have been mainly chosen as the mainstream choices for new mining area construction and existing mining area network upgrades. Currently, the major equipment manufacturers and communication service operators are actively cooperating with us to promote unmanned transportation and 5G.

PM: Are Chinese mines now widely trialling LTE and 5G networks? Do you think many mines will go straight to these latest technologies?

HL: As I said, telecommunication technology in China is developing rapidly. China’s Government has spared no efforts to promote the macro strategy of ‘New Infrastructure Construction’. In this positive environment, many mine areas have begun promoting 5G demonstration projects, and TAGE has also carried out 5G demonstration implementation at one of our unmanned transportation projects.

PM: Is there potential for autonomous mining in Chinese underground mines and is this something already happening? Is it a market TAGE Idriver is involved in yet?

YG: China has a large number of underground mines but in many of them mechanised hauling with mobile vehicles is not the major means of transportation – many of these mines instead use conveyors, skip haulage, etc. But we are aware that a variety of autonomous transportation equipment types are being experimented with in Chinese underground mining, however, TAGE is currently focusing on the open-pit mining industry only.

PM: How would you say your system differs from those offered in the global market by Cat, Komatsu, Hitachi and ASI?

Wide-body dumpers, sometimes called tippertrucks, are used in their 100s at many Chinese mines, so their automation is a big part of the unmanned projects taking place in China

HL: To start with, TAGE’s system designs are based on China’s unique mining area circumstances and transportation process requirements, which are often more difficult and more complex than the mining situations in which overseas counterparts are working. In order to ensure continuity, efficiency, and reliability, we must consider in our offering allowing switching between various driving modes (such as from manned to unmanned or to remote control etc) so as to adapt to the unique characteristics of China’s mining areas. Secondly, the vehicle models utilised in China’s mining areas are quite diverse. There are many brands and types of rigid mine trucks but also many types of non-rigid wide-body dumpers, sometimes called tipper trucks, in China, so our OBUs have to adapt to the control characteristics of various truck models to serve the different customers. In the mining areas where wide-body dumpers are deployed, there are usually hundreds of them in the fleet and sometimes more than a thousand, which places harsh requirements in terms of capacity and reliability on the cloud-based dispatching and control system. Finally, there are a large number of existing mine trucks in China, so to offer autonomous modification solutions ie retrofits for those existing trucks has huge commercial potential. We have already accumulated rich engineering experience and made considerable commercial progress in this field.

PM: What is making big mining groups in China look at automation, is the major push a drive towards safety or productivity, or both?

YG: Both. Productivity is obviously important, but safety is probably the top concern as the Chinese Government has issued strict legal rules that impose stringent safety requirements on mine management.

PM: Most of the Chinese examples of autonomous fleets I have read about seem to be closed loop trials – are any Chinese mines actually using autonomous fleets in normal production yet?

LQ: The attempts at unmanned transportation of mining vehicles in China started much later than that in other countries. The whole industry is still in the transformation stage from small batch trial operations to large scale commercial implementation. As the leading player and the first to get commercial contracts in China, TAGE is standing at the forefront of the industry both in terms of technology maturity and user acceptance. We achieved multi-fleet unmanned operation in Bayan Obo iron mine in 2019, and by the end of 2020, all the mine trucks there will have been modified and fully put into unmanned transportation. For the non-rigid wide-body dumpers, we recently signed a large contract for 200 unmanned dumpers in the Ordos coal mining region. This project will be completed within two years, and the first batch of 50 dumpers will be in operation by the end of 2020. Some other contracts are also under negotiation, so we can say that the large scale commercial implementation phase is already underway.

PM: I have not seen reference to autonomy being applied at some of the largest operations like the Zhungeer, Pingshuo coal mines or the Julong Copper mine in Tibet, are these operations also looking at autonomy?

LQ: TAGE’s existing customers like Baogang and SPIC are giants in their respective fields. And the large mining groups Zhungeer, Pingshuo and Julong that you mentioned have also been paying close attention to unmanned transportation. We are communicating with them closely and they have clearly expressed their intention to carry out unmanned transportation projects going forward.

PM: The focus currently seems to be mining trucks. What about blasthole drill or excavator autonomy – is this an area you are also working on and can you give any examples?

HL: At present, in order to ensure the high efficiency of transportation, we have only developed and deployed unmanned systems on mine trucks. As for blasthole drill rigs, excavators, bulldozers and other auxiliary equipment, although they are still operator controlled, we have upgraded them with vehicle terminal devices to enable them to locate and interactively cooperate with unmanned mine truck fleets.

PM: On the truck side, is the focus mainly on larger trucks or are you also working on projects involving smaller trucks, eg 100 t class and smaller, including the tipper non-rigid trucks that are very common in Chinese mines?

HL: Our current solution is adaptable to both large mine trucks and non-rigid wide-body dumpers. The two types of truck are mainly different in terms of vehicle control. In addition, the transportation technical procedure is different in the mine areas using the two types of truck, so we have to do adaptive development to meet the specific needs of each fleet type.

TAGE Idriver says it is at the forefront of the mining truck autonomy industry in China both in terms of technology maturity and user acceptance

PM: How significant is your recently signed deal with NHL to work with them to produce a new NTE200AT truck – is this the first time your system will have been applied to a ‘new’ mining truck as opposed to a retrofit?

YG: Yes and no, we started to modify NHL’s existing mine trucks with unmanned technology via retrofit in 2018, and have also jointly developed drive-by-wire trucks with a pre-installed unmanned system. This year we are confident we will carry out pre-installation with our proven solution on a large scale with the new NTE200AT 186 t truck fleet for SPIC, which will be a new milestone for us and for NHL.

PM: Do you see a lot of opportunities for TAGE Idriver outside of the China market such as where Chinese trucks are being sold (eg the new NHL deal with Yancoal), or where you are able to work with older or more basic truck designs, such as in India?

YG: We hope of course to work together with Chinese mine equipment OEMs to serve their customers both in China but also all over the world, as the use of Chinese mining trucks in the global market is increasing.

LiuGong achieves wheel loader milestone as it celebrates 60th anniversary

Automation, Base metals, Coal technology, Energy minerals, Industrial minerals, Mineral processing, Mining equipment, Mining events, Mining services, Precious metals, Steel and iron ore, , , , , , , , , , ,

LiuGong celebrated its 60th Anniversary at a ceremony in LiuGong International Industrial Park in Liuzhou, Guangxi, China, today, at the same time as heralding the production of its 400,000th wheel loader.

Attendees at the event included domestic and overseas customers, distributors, suppliers, government officials, shareholders, and stakeholders who have worked with LiuGong throughout its 60 years.

LiuGong, in addition, said the milestone wheel loader achievement was made through the “unremitting efforts and proactive technological innovation of all LiuGong people in the past six decades”.

“This is a milestone worthy of celebration in the history of LiuGong,” it said.

At the same time as all of these celebrations, the company debuted at the ceremony six new products including a 990F excavator, B170DL bulldozer, S935 sugarcane harvester, TC800C5 crane, 4180D motor grader and 886H loader.

Six decades of history

Established in 1958, LiuGong not only pioneered the production of loaders, it also laid a solid foundation for the technology, talent cultivation and management for the development of the construction equipment (CE) industry in China, the company said.

In 1958, Shanghai Huadong Steel Factory allocated some employees and pieces of equipment to Liuzhou, Guangxi, to facilitate the economic development in southwest China. In a wilderness on the west bank of Liujiang River, they built a factory from nothing.

In 1966, LiuGong rolled out the first wheel loader accredited by China, which opened a new chapter in the company’s development. In 1993, LiuGong began trading on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange and became the first listed company of the CE industry and Guangxi. Since 2000, LiuGong has been looking beyond its loader business and working on cross-regional operations and expansion of its product lines. So far, LiuGong has 32 complete product lines in six categories to meet customer demands of various applications as well as extreme operations.

In April 2002, LiuGong successfully produced 899 loaders in one month, which was known as ‘899 Campaign’, a huge leap of production at that time.

“Taking this opportunity, the company launched its reform towards becoming a modern company. Afterwards, its Board of Directors promoted to build an ‘open and globalised’ LiuGong, boarding the fast lane for the company’s globalisation, which was shown in its fast growth of overseas revenues,” the company said.

“Backed by its historical legacies, LiuGong has developed the core values of “customer oriented, assuring the future by quality; people foremost, create value through cooperation”, striving to build an international brand that leads China’s machinery industry.”

Along with China’s entry into the World Trade Organisation, LiuGong started to build its eastern bases and added multiple product lines into its portfolio. In 2003, LiuGong developed its first overseas distributor in Morocco, north Africa, and started its globalisation. LiuGong has been building its global presence of 10 overseas subsidiaries, nine overseas regional parts distribution centres and more than 300 distributors in over 100 countries. All LiuGong products and customers are supported by five R&D centres worldwide.

In 2012, by the acquisition of civil construction machinery segment of HSW in Poland, the company laid a solid foundation for export of China’s proprietary technology and products to the European Union. Today, LiuGong produces its products in China, India, Poland, and Brazil.

Also, LiuGong India Company and LiuGong Dressta Machinery have been awarded the ‘Best Foreign Investor’, ‘Model Enterprise for China-India Cooperation’, and the ‘Best Employer’ by local governments.

As the “Belt and Road” initiative continues to advance, LiuGong has expanded its footprint to 85% of the countries among the 65 key countries along the route. Its products participated in many major projects along the belt such as the Pakistan PKM Motorway, China-Laos Railway, and Jakarta-Bandung Railway.

In 2008, LiuGong set up SinoEver Financial Leasing Company in Beijing, becoming the “pioneer company in manufacturer leasing” and LiuGong entered the crane business by acquiring Zhengchonganli Engineering Machinery Company in Bengbu.

In 2010, LiuGong acquired Liuzhou OVM, a world leader of pre-stressing products and technology, and started the construction of an eastern manufacturing base for excavators in Changzhou. In 2011, LiuGong bought into the piling foundation industry by holding shares of Jintai, China’s leading brand in piling machinery, and opened a JV with Cummins in Liuzhou.

In 2012, LiuGong opened its hydraulic company and, in 2013, LiuGong and Metso started a joint venture to produce mobile mining crushers and grinding mills, while the company took over an air compressor business in Liuzhou.

In 2016, LiuGong entered the modern agricultural equipment sector when the Luzhai plant, with world-class technologies, was put into operation. And, in 2018, LiuGong started forward with producing intelligent manufacturing systems, mining machinery, forestry machinery, and aerial work platforms.

R&D

“LiuGong has never stopped investing in R&D even during the most difficult years. In 2015, LiuGong launched National Earthmoving Machinery Engineering Research Centre and LiuGong Global R&D Centre, making LiuGong the only national demonstration base for technological innovation and industrialisation of earthmoving machines.

“A total of 19 product lines at LiuGong have been upgraded and 18 new products have hit the market, including a range of machinery for sugarcane planting, heavy-duty mining excavators and loaders, mining trucks, large dual-wheel cutters, smart manufacturing system, and mobile compressors.

“LiuGong has evolved to be a global provider of total solutions. In 2016, LiuGong presented the world’s first vertical lift wheel loader. And, the new generation products of H-series loaders, E-series excavators, D-series rollers and motor graders, and C-series forklifts now are available all over the world and have been contributing more and more in sales revenue.

“A custom designed torque convertor was independently developed and manufactured for LiuGong’s 8128H with many innovative technologies and approaches; and the hydraulic grab by Shanghai Jintai is among the best of its kind globally.”

In the past five years, LiuGong, OVM and Jintai had numerous achievements in R&D, including three National First and Second Prizes for Progress in Science and Technology, and 14 ministerial and provincial-level science and technology awards. LiuGong also participated in drafting of industry standards, both for international and domestic markets, making its own voice heard in the industry.

“Today, with more than 1,000 engineers and a continuous investment in R&D, LiuGong comes up with an outpouring of products with cutting-edge technologies,” the company said.

“Over the past six decades, LiuGong has kept a close bond with its customers, distributors, suppliers, shareholders, and other stakeholders to weather through difficulties and share success together.

“During industry downturns, LiuGong took a series of quick actions like capacity adjustment, organisational reform, team optimisation, cost control, sustained input into technological innovation and product development internally and optimise the marketing channels externally. As a result, distributers, direct subsidiaries and joint ventures have become new drivers of our rapid growth in China.

“As the economy warms up, the excavator business becomes our growth pillar with the highest revenue and profit and LiuGong has significantly improved market competitiveness on a global level.”

Aiming for 100

LiuGong says it is committed to providing extraordinary construction machinery products and services to customers around the world.

“Our endeavour of developing first-class advanced technologies is a valuable asset to LiuGong’s ambition to be a century-old enterprise in the world.

“Sixty years is but a brief moment for LiuGong, who is setting sail on its next journey. Amid the national reforms and industry transformation, LiuGong will adhere to a ‘Total Globalisation, Total Solution, and Total Intelligence’ approach with greater intelligence, courage, and passion.

“Standing at not only a historic stage but as at a turning point for the company, LiuGong will insist on SOE (state-owned enterprises) reform and development; insist on focusing on customer service; insist on innovation and independent R&D; insist on building a dynamic and motivated team to continue to write a new chapter for the company.

“And, in the future, we will continuously provide products and services tailored for local market; we will outdo ourselves in branding, manufacturing, R&D and marketing and strive for continuous progress; we will take on the mission of revitalising the CE industry in China.”

The company concluded: “The one who digs deep will someday leap high and become a legend. Guided by our mission and vision, LiuGong will usher in a new era with much greater confidence and look forward to a centurial business.”