Tag Archives: Indonesia

Metso Outotec to provide PT Huafei Nickel Cobalt with Planet Positive Larox filters

Base metals, Environmental, Mineral processing, Mining equipment, Mining services, Sustainable mining, Water management, , , , , , , , , ,

Metso Outotec has been awarded what it says is a major contract for the delivery of sustainable tailings filtration technology to PT Huafei Nickel Cobalt’s greenfield laterite nickel ore project in Indonesia.

Metso Outotec’s scope of delivery consists of the engineering, manufacturing and supply of the Planet Positive Larox® FFP3512 filters, as well as installation and commissioning advisory services and spare parts.

The fully automatic fast-opening filter press (FFP) combines the benefits of membrane technology and sidebar design with high mechanical and process performance, providing safe and sustainable high-volume dewatering of tailings with low operating and life cycle costs, Metso Outotec said.

The hydrometallurgical plant has a targeted annual output of 120,000 t of nickel metal and is expected to be in operation during the June quarter of 2023.

Metso Outotec’s Planet Positive portfolio, which the Larox FFP3512 filters are a part of, focuses on the most environmentally efficient technologies – of which there are more than 100 – in the company’s current portfolio, responding to the sustainability requirements of its customers. The customer requirements relate to energy or water efficiency, reduction of emissions, circularity and safety, Metso Outotec says.

Jussi Venäläinen, Vice President, Filtration business line at Metso Outotec, said: “For our customer, the key criterion for selecting Metso Outotec’s filtration technology was safe and sustainable tailings processing with proven service capability. In addition, we were able to meet the customer’s wish for a quick delivery time.

“We are very pleased to have been chosen as the solution supplier, and we look forward to working together with our customer on this important project.”

Metso Outotec’s filtration product portfolio is the largest in the field and the energy, emission and water efficiency is in a league of its own, the company said. It has carried out over 14,000 filtration tests and delivered more than 5,000 filters for various applications worldwide. Most of the filters are sold under the Larox product name along with Metso Outotec corporate branding. Metso Outotec also accommodates all filtration-related service and spare parts needs through its global service network.

The value of the order is over €30 million ($33 million), and it has been booked in Minerals’ Q1 (March quarter) 2022 orders received.

Widespread demand for truck trays and buckets boost Austin’s order book

Equipment maintenance, Mining equipment, Mining finance, , , , , , ,

Austin Engineering Limited says it has received A$82 million ($61 million) of new orders across its business in the three months until end-February 2022, as orders for its specialist truck trays and buckets continue to come in.

This boost represents a 100% increase in its order book level compared with the same period of its last financial year.

Austin says it is now confident it has received sufficient orders to cover its 2022 financial year revenue guidance. In addition, Austin has also received a very encouraging level of orders for its 2023 financial year pipeline. Overall, enquiry levels and contract win rates remain strong in all home markets, it noted.

The new contract wins have resulted in a significant order book lift from December 2021, when Austin reported an increase in orders of 35% year-on-year.

The order book improvement is across all of Austin’s home markets but dominated by the US, Chile and Indonesia.

Austin explained: “The truck tray business has remained strong but is now widespread across more jurisdictions and has been supported by a much stronger level sales of buckets and other equipment. Austin’s new JEC High performance bucket range has attracted considerable attention and, with four months to go in the current financial year, the company has already achieved a record level of sales of mine buckets compared to recent years.”

Austin has previously announced a series of measures aimed at improving its competitiveness by sharpening its focus on the needs of its customers, both in Australia and overseas. As an example, this approach has led to an update to its core Ultima truck trays to meet increased demands around safety and weight carrying capacity.

The design updates have been coupled with cost efficiencies from the advanced manufacturing approach and the hub-and-spoke build strategy, increasing Austin’s product quality and cost competitiveness in the market, it said. This action has already delivered a material level of new order wins, strengthening the current financial year order book, and driving momentum into the next financial year.

Austin is now rolling out the initial phase of its advanced manufacturing plan, following an intensive design phase, which aims to increase production efficiency, safety and quality, thereby reducing costs and increasing productivity. The company is now initially rolling out the new production system in Batam, Indonesia, because that facility is running at an elevated level of throughput in a trend that is expected to continue.

The company flagged in its first half 2022 financial year results that it was entering a challenging period in Western Australia, which is currently under Level 2 Government restrictions due to rising COVID-19 cases in the state. Potential risks, which to a limited extent are now being experienced, include loss of productivity due to staff shortages and shipping delays, which could impact scheduling and deliveries for Austin and its suppliers. The current level of restrictions is not anticipated to remain in place for long, with Western Australia’s COVID-19 caseload peak expected in the next few weeks. Contingency planning continues to reduce risks where possible.

RCT continues to support PT Freeport Indonesia on technology journey

Automation, Base metals, IoT, Mine operation news, Mining equipment, Mining services, Precious metals, , , , , , , , , , , , ,

PT Freeport Indonesia has successfully operated one of the largest mining operations in Indonesia for decades thanks to its ability to embrace technology solutions to enhance its mining operations, smart technology specialist and Freeport supplier RCT says.

Freeport runs copper, gold and silver mines across five separate underground and surface operations in the highlands area of West Papua in Indonesia.

For over 30 years Freeport has enlisted the services of RCT to achieve its goals of making mining operations safer for workers and to optimise operations.

In the early 1990s, Freeport implemented RCT’s ControlMaster® remote control solutions across its mixed Sandvik and Wagner production mining fleet operating in the DOZ underground mine and the Grasberg open pit.

ControlMaster was the ideal solution for Freeport’s mixed mining fleet due to its ability to integrate with any machine type and grant the user effective control of the machine from a safe vantage point, according to RCT.

This has seen RCT go from supplying ControlMaster remote solutions, to performing full machine rewiring projects on-site across the underground LHD fleet. It also included deploying the ControlMaster remote control technology across the surface mining fleet, including Cat D11 and D10R dozers, and installing teleremote technology onto a Cat 994 wheel loader within the open-pit mine.

RCT has also previously commissioned ControlMaster Line-of-Sight remotes onto a variety of surface drills, including a Commando drill and Cubex drill rigs as well as a fixed position rockbreaker.

Over the years Freeport’s technology requirements have evolved and every time RCT has supplied technology in-line with changing expectations, from providing analogue communications equipment through to more current digital networks, RCT said.

At present, RCT is providing bespoke technology solutions to Freeport’s entire fleet of specialised equipment.

RCT Account Manager, Shane Smith, said the local environment presents many unique challenges and Freeport is determined to address these issues with technology, and mine in a safe way.

“Due to hazardous conditions in the underground mines, such as wet muck rushes, Freeport sought to automate water cannon trucks, mobile rockbreakers and other highly specialised equipment,” he said. “Global OEMs were not able to deliver technology to meet Freeport’s standards and so we customised our own technology to create a solution that suits their specific applications. This has been so successful that Freeport now instructs global OEMs that their machines must have an RCT solution fitted at a factory level.”

He added: “The current working relationship between Freeport and RCT is built on the foundations of many years of hard work in delivering effective automation solutions and supporting that technology.”

In 2015, Freeport asked for a RCT specialist to be deployed permanently on-site to provide a high level of support for the extensive range of automation solutions implemented across the mines.

These solutions include deploying the ControlMaster semi-autonomous technology on Cat R1700 and R2900 loaders, which can be managed by operators in Freeport’s central Remote Operation Room (ROR) on the mine’s surface.

Other projects include automating 24 chute systems spread across the Big Gossan, DOZ and DMLZ mines and relocating the chute operator from the gantry to the ROR.

Freeport has also implemented RCT’s Haul Truck Operator Assist technology to optimise underground truck loading operations.

Most recently, RCT commissioned a secondary breakage fleet at Big Gossan, including Getman and Elphinstone water cannon trucks, mobile rockbreakers and Cat skid steers. The mobile rockbreakers have been commissioned with RCT’s autonomous ControlMaster technology and enables personnel to manage machine operations from the safety of the ROR.

Smith said going forward the team will enhance the Multi Fleet Select capability, which will enable site personnel to operate multiple machine types from one Automation Centre on the mine’s surface.

“We will soon have nine new Automation Centres located in Freeport’s ROR and we will fully support local personnel in the ramping up of their autonomous fleet operations,” he said. “Freeport is at the forefront of embracing technology to enhance their mining operations and we are very pleased to support them in this journey.”

Nickel Mines targets further CO2 cut with SESNA solar power MoU

Base metals, Environmental, Mine operation news, Power supply for mines, Sustainable mining, , , , , , , , , , , ,

Nickel Mines Ltd has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with PT Sumber Energi Surya Nusantara (SESNA) to implement, if certain economic parameters are met, 200 MWp of solar capacity within the Indonesia Morowali Industrial Park (IMIP).

The MoU provides for SESNA to undertake the role of “Project Initiator” for developing, financing, constructing, commissioning, owning and operating a 200 MWp solar farm project to significantly scale up the supply of renewable energy to the company’s Hengjaya Nickel (HNI) and Ranger Nickel (RNI) nickel processing operations within the IMIP.

Under the proposed agreement, Nickel Mines will be the long-term offtake partner for SESNA and will not be required to contribute any capital funding. The indicative tariff for electricity is considered competitive with other similar scale solar projects, the company said.

SESNA is, Nickel Mines says, an established and leading solar development company in Indonesia, owning and operating a portfolio of solar feed-in-tariff (FIT) and microgrid projects as well as providing services and solutions such as engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) capabilities, solar financing and other technical development support to commercialise solar projects.

The potential 200 MWp solar project supplements the existing 396 kWp plus 250 kWh battery storage project which the company has entered into with SESNA for integration into the facilities at the Hengjaya mine (pictured), which is scheduled to commission this quarter. The Hengjaya mine, which hosts a JORC compliant resource of 185 Mt at 1.3% Ni and 0.08% Co, currently sources its power from diesel-powered generators. It is anticipated that the Hengjaya mine solar project will reduce diesel consumption by approximately 31 million litres over the 25-year projected project life.

Nickel Mines Managing Director, Justin Werner, said: “It is estimated this solar project could supply up to 20% of HNI and RNI’s current electricity requirements and, in doing so, account for a material reduction in annual CO2 emissions. This solar project marks an important first step in our ’Future Energy’ collaboration with our partner Shanghai Decent and our joint commitment to a more sustainable future for Indonesia’s nickel industry.”

The solar project may be implemented in stages with SESNA committing to finalise and deliver a project proposal within three months of signing the MoU, at which point the company may elect to proceed or terminate the MoU at its discretion.

Eramet re-energises Argentina lithium development with help of Tsingshan

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Eramet plans to restart construction of its lithium production plant in Argentina after signing an agreement with Tsingshan that will see the China-based steel group finance the build in exchange for a 49.9% interest in the project.

The construction of the 24,000 t/y lithium carbonate equivalent plant will start during the March quarter of 2022, with commissioning scheduled for early 2024.

Eramet and Tsingshan have an existing relationship with the two companies jointly owning the Weda Bay nickel operations in Indonesia.

“With this project, Eramet will become the first European company to develop sustainable and large-scale lithium production, supported by a performing process developed in-house by its R&D centre,” Eramet said.

This is a two-step process that, firstly, uses an active solid to extract and concentrate the lithium. Developed by Eramet in liaison with IFPEN (the French Institute of Petroleum and New Energies) and Seprosys, this works like a sponge, capturing the lithium contained in the brine. Fresh water is then used to release the stored lithium. To further concentrate the extracted metal, two successive processes are then conducted: nanofiltration and reverse osmosis.

The lithium is then purified, after which a reaction occurs with sodium carbonate to convert it to lithium carbonate. Once filtered again and washed, it achieves the chemical quality of the finished product, Eramet said.

The lithium project was mothballed in April 2020 during COVID-19, as the conditions were not met to launch construction.

“Based on the partnership signed with Tsingshan and factoring in solid fundamentals as well as excellent outlook for the lithium market, the group’s Board of Directors has considered that the conditions are now met to launch the plant construction,” Eramet said.

Eramet will control the project, with a 50.1% interest. For its part, Tsingshan will contribute up to $375 million to the project through the financing of the plant’s construction, leading to it earning a 49.9% stake in the project.

Eramet owns perpetual mining rights over a major lithium concession, in the form of brine, located on the Andean highlands in Salta Province. The project plans to extract brine from the salar and process it into lithium carbonate. The 24,000 t/y LCE project is expected to have cash costs of around $3,500/t LCE ex-works, with large-scale drainable resources.

A pilot plant installed on the site since 2020 has demonstrated, in real conditions, the lithium carbonate production, which brought very high direct extraction yields of around 90%, according to the company.

“The project has strong ESG performance, notably as demonstrated by the quality of the relationships tied with local communities during the preparatory phase of the project,” the company said. “Eramet’s process also presents an advantage in terms of hydric resources use compared with projects supported by a conventional extraction process. All Eramet’s CSR standards will be applied on the activity.”

Christel Bories, Eramet Group Chair and CEO, said: “Our decision to carry out our lithium project in Argentina is in line with the dynamic of strong market growth. It is a key milestone in the deployment of our strategic roadmap, which aims at positioning Eramet as a reference player in metals for the energy transition.”

Thiess to continue mining at PT Wahana Baratama Mining coal mine in Indonesia

Coal technology, Mine operation news, Mining services, , , , , , , ,

Thiess says it has secured a three-year A$220 million ($164 million) contract renewal to continue providing mining services at PT Wahana Baratama Mining’s coal mine in South Kalimantan, Indonesia.

Having operated at the project since 2007, Thiess will provide full mining services for Wahana, which is owned by Bayan Resources, including mine planning, environmental and water management, drill and blast, and mining and pit hauling services, it said. The contract renewal commences from November 2021.

Thiess CEO and Executive Chairman, Michael Wright, said: “This extension builds on our long-term partnership with Wahana and recognises Thiess’ ability to deliver sustainable and competitive mining solutions tailored to their operational needs.”

Thiess Executive General Manager Asia, Cluny Randell, said: “We’re proud to continue delivering value at Wahana, a unique operation where Thiess has mined two adjoining mines for two different clients. Our team is focused on continuing to optimise resource recovery and extending the mine’s reserves to deliver long-term value for Wahana.

“Alongside this, we’re looking forward to building on our COVID-19 vaccination efforts, extending our employee and family vaccination program into the community next month.”

Bayan Resources says the Wahana Baratama mine currently produces around 1-2 Mt/y of high calorific value bituminous quality coal.

BME continues to make blasting strides in Indonesia

Explosives and blasting, Mining services, Mining software, Sustainable mining, , , , , , , , , , ,

Having pursued a global expansion in recent decades, South Africa-based blasting leader BME says it is making good on an exciting new phase for its Indonesia operations.

With mainly a trading presence in Indonesia for 10 years already, the Omnia Group company has been active in full-service contracting for the past two – and is already receiving high-level recognition, it says. In September 2021, BME Indonesia was honoured with a good mining practice award in the blasting services category by the Indonesian Government.

According to Brad Bulow, General Manager of BME Australia Asia, this bodes particularly well for the company in a country with such a bright future in mineral production.

“Indonesia’s mining sector is well positioned for growth, and coal is the fastest growing source of energy production there,” Bulow said. “Coal is mainly used in Indonesia’s power generation, and the country’s supply is dominated by coal-fired power plants at this stage.”

Forecasts indicate that coal will remain a dominant energy source in Indonesia and the South East Asian region until about 2050, supporting power generation and other industry sectors, according to BME.

“Nickel is also an exciting commodity for Indonesia, which is estimated to have the largest reserves of nickel in the world – more even than Australia,” said Bulow. “As an indispensable raw material for producing electric car batteries, nickel is one of the country’s fastest growing mineral commodities.”

Investors are looking at building smelters in-country to process nickel into raw material for batteries, while nickel ore itself has been banned for export by the government since January 2020.

Commenting on the recent good practice award, BME’s Business Manager Indonesia, Agusman, noted that such recognition meant a great deal – and would help cement BME’s reputation as an innovator with world-class standards of operation. BME Indonesia has been supplying explosive products and accessories into Indonesia for over a decade. Holding company BME is a leading player in blasting services and products in Africa, with a global presence including Australia, Canada and the US.

The company has also developed specific products for the region, including a single-salt emulsion. Widely known for its superior dual-salt emulsion technology, BME was able to respond to customer requests in 2019 for a single-salt option. This was put into use in early 2020 and has since been producing excellent blasting results, according to the company. The product has even been trialled with used oil as the fuel agent, which has become an environmentally friendly and sustainable hallmark of BME’s emulsion products.

While BME Indonesia supplied mainly ammonium nitrate, packaged explosives, boosters, and electric and non-electric detonators before 2019, its large blasting services contract in south Kalimantan has opened the door for significant expansion.

“In this project, BME Indonesia has put to work four Mobile Manufacturing Units (MMUs) – our bulk explosives delivery trucks – and an on-site emulsion manufacturing plant,” Bulow said. “In addition to emulsion and down-the-hole services, we are also supplying our AXXIS™ electronic detonators to help customers achieve timing accuracy and control their blasting vibration.”

Another important aspect of BME’s technological contribution is the move by customers toward big data analytics, according to Bulow.

“Big data allows larger mines and their contractors to generate meaningful insights into their operations – paving the way to greater efficiency,” he said. “BME Indonesia is introducing our BLAST ALLIANCE™ portfolio of digital innovations, which includes our BLASTMAP™ planning software, BME Blasting guide app and XPLOLOG™ cloud data platform. Solutions such as AXXIS integration, custom development and training also fall under this brand.”

In the medium term, Bulow said the company looks forward to winning more projects and penetrating further into surface metals and underground mining – and the funding, innovation and advanced technology is in place to achieve this goal.

“Looking further ahead, BME Indonesia expects to continue growing its contribution to Indonesia in general – and local communities in particular,” he said. “This includes our transfer of knowledge and technology, the utilisation of local resources and ongoing community development.”

Volvo ADTs, excavators hit the ground running at Weda Bay nickel project

Base metals, Equipment maintenance, Mine operation news, Mining equipment, Mining maintenance, Mining safety, Mining services, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

At the Weda Bay nickel project in Central Halmahera, Indonesia, a fleet of Volvo articulated haulers and excavators are, the mining OEM says, offering excellent stability on soft ground for safety-conscious mining service contractor Samudera Mulia Abadi, while also delivering high uptime, productivity and fuel efficiency.

Samudera Mulia Abadi, headquartered in Manado, North Sulawesi, is one of Indonesia’s leading service contractors for the mining of gold and other minerals. The privately-owned company specialises in mine preparation – including infrastructure and site establishment, earthwork and land clearing, and project management – as well as excavation, loading and hauling in open-pit mines, and on- and off-road haulage.

The company’s latest endeavour is a five-year contract on a $30 billion project to extract nickel ore and transport it to the smelter at the Weda Bay nickel project in Central Halmahera. The main challenge here is the soft terrain in the pit and on the hauling roads.

“We try to remain efficient in carrying out any work in order to achieve the best return and there is no compromise on safety,” Willson Sastroamijoyo, Commissioner PT Samudera Mulia Abadi, says. “Every line of work must prioritise safety. Given the pit and hauling conditions, Volvo articulated haulers are the perfect choice as our production unit. Volvo excavators are also suitable to handle ore material like this.”

When the project began in August 2020, Samudera Mulia Abadi commissioned a fleet of 17 Volvo articulated haulers (six A40G and 11 A60H models) and 12 Volvo crawler excavators (two EC200D, five EC210D, two EC300DL and three EC480DL models), which will remain on site for as long as possible.

On delivery, dealer Indotruck Utama provided training to Samudera Mulia Abadi’s staff to promote safe operation and help them get the most value out of the machines. Since then, the dealer has continued to carry out refresher training as operator behaviour and safety procedure on site play an important part in increasing safety in eastern Indonesia.

The A60H is the largest Volvo articulated hauler with a 33.6 cu.m body volume and 55,000 kg payload capacity, while the A40G is the third largest, offering a 24 cu.m body volume and 39,000 kg payload capacity. On both models, the matched drivetrain, automatic drive combinations including 100% differential locks, all-terrain bogie, hydro-mechanical steering and active suspension ensure excellent traction and operator comfort on the most difficult terrain.

They are also designed for extreme durability and high fuel efficiency so that operators can reliably move more tonnes per hour at a lower cost, according to Volvo. The Hill Assist, Dump Support System and Rear View Camera, meanwhile, help to minimise the safety risk on site.

The Volvo crawler excavators, ranging from 20 t to 50 t in capacity, likewise offer excellent stability, fast cycle times and low fuel consumption, promoting safe, productive and profitable operation, Volvo said

“Our operators are happy to work with Volvo machines because they are comfortable and user-friendly. The quality, durability and comfort of the products have benefited us in many ways,” Sastroamijoyo says.

Volvo CE says: “Samudera Mulia Abadi works the machines hard – typically up to 22 h/d across two shifts, seven days a week – so machine availability is closely linked with productivity and profitability. It is crucial that they are durable enough to withstand such high utilisation and have simple service and maintenance requirements fulfilled by a responsive and reliable dealer. By always being ready to work, the machines help Samudera Mulia Abadi achieve its tonnes per hour and cost per tonne production targets.”

Because of this, the company has also relied on machinery from Volvo Construction Equipment on several other of its contracts over the last five years, including the Gag Island nickel project in West Papua and the Toka Tindung gold mine project in North Sulawesi.

At these two sites, Samudera Mulia Abadi operates a total of 116 Volvo machines, including 50 A40Fs, 17 A40Gs, five A45Gs and three A60H articulated haulers; one EC200D, eight EC210Bs, five EC210Ds, 12 EC350DLs, six EC480DLs, six EC950ELs crawler excavators; and one SD110 compactor.

“The overall machine performance is good and physical availability is above the target,” Sastroamijoyo says. “Of course, we are aware that the machines experience some occasional downtime, even if they are the toughest. The important thing is our how the dealer responds when these unfortunate situations occur.

“We have a good working relationship with our dealer Indotruck Utama. Their skilled service team speeds up the servicing time, while the consigned parts on site ensure high parts availability. Overall, the performance of the machines and the quality of product support increase our profitability.”

Macmahon books A$600m of work with Newcrest, AngloGold and Vale

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Macmahon Holdings has bolstered its order book with a number of contract extensions involving the Tropicana and Telfer gold operations, in Western Australia, and the Hu’u copper-gold project, in Indonesia.

At the Tropicana mine, a joint venture between AngloGold Ashanti Australia Ltd (70% and operator) and Regis Resources Ltd (30%), Macmahon has been providing mining services since open-pit mining started in July 2012 under a life of mine alliance contract.

The additional work for Macmahon follows the completion of a detailed final cutback study of the Havana pit and subsequent confirmation of the optimal method to mine the deeper ore in the Havana ore body. Macmahon has now been provided with the scheduling detail for the cutback, which will add 155 Mt to the material to be mined from 2024.

The final cutback of Havana will extend the open-pit mine life by four years, from 2023 to 2027, and is expected to generate additional revenue of approximately A$470 million ($340 million), it said.

Macmahon has also extended its life of mine contract with Newcrest for the Telfer mine.

On August 12, Newcrest announced it will proceed with the West Dome Stage 5 cutback at Telfer. This new scope of work is expected to generate revenue of circa A$138 million and will extend Macmahon’s work on site to September 2024. This new work has been negotiated on updated rates, which are forecast to achieve the company’s internal financial hurdles, Macmahon explained.

In Indonesia, Macmahon has received a letter of award to construct an 11 km access road at the Hu’u copper gold exploration project on Sumbawa island. This work is valued at approximately A$18 million and is a further step in the company’s strategy to increase its revenue from mining support services.

Subject to finalisation of contract documentation, the project is forecast to commence in September 2021 and employ approximately 150 people. The Hu’u project is 80% controlled by Vale SA. Vale has previously said the project could produce more than 250,000 t of copper and more than 200,000 oz of gold.

Macmahon CEO and Managing Director, Michael Finnegan, said: “We are pleased to have secured this additional work which adds approximately A$600 million to our order book. A key highlight is the extension of our long-term alliance contract at Tropicana, which has been a cornerstone of our surface mining business in Western Australia for many years and has recently expanded into underground mining.”

Austin kicks off plan to automate engineering facilities in Perth and Batam

Automation, Equipment maintenance, Mining consumables, Mining equipment, Mining services, , , ,

Austin Engineering Ltd says it has commenced a A$6.5 million ($4.7 million) capital investment to transform and automate its design and manufacturing facilities at its major Asia Pacific centres in Perth and Indonesia.

The capital expenditure program will involve a new manufacturing flow approach with increased automation, custom jigs, fixtures, workstations and a standardised manufacturing approach to building product. Austin will still be able to provide customised engineering solutions and products to its customers while leveraging the benefits of a production flow line, it says. In particular, Austin sees major benefits to its truck body product offering, which comprises circa-70% of Austin’s annual revenues.

Critical outcomes to the investment will be to reduce the time to deliver customised solutions to clients, while maintaining or enhancing quality outcomes. Further targets include waste reduction and decreasing the workshop capacity required, lowering the overall product cost base, Austin says.

The program of works was outlined in the second phase of Austin’s recently communicated global strategic review results, which identified opportunities for future growth and ways to optimise the company’s cost base.

The expected payback period is 12 months, post-implementation, with the majority of benefits to be realised in the company’s 2023 financial year, although incremental benefits will be achieved during the latter months of its 2022 financial year. Funding will be available through operating cash flows and surplus asset sales, according to Austin.

The approach is expected to be scalable and transferable to other Austin manufacturing operations in the medium term and will support Phase 3 of the strategic review, which focuses on further product and service improvements through technology and innovation, it says.

Austin CEO and Managing Director, David Singleton, said: “Improvements being made in Austin’s manufacturing facilities in Perth and Batam in Indonesia will elevate an already market-leading service offering. We will be able to deliver products more quickly, in larger quantities, with less waste, and with improved quality, while still offering tailored design and engineering solutions to our customers. What is exciting about our manufacturing improvement project is its scalability at a relatively modest incremental cost. This made the decision to adopt a fast follow from Perth to Batam easy. The investments made also support longer term strategies around product and service innovation as outlined in our strategic review.”