Tag Archives: Peter Forsyth

Austin partners with Belarus-based equipment dealer to further Eastern Europe sales growth

Equipment maintenance, Mining equipment, Mining services, , , , , , , ,

Austin Engineering Ltd has appointed Engineering Company Mining Technology LLC as its partner for the Eastern Europe region, covering Belarus, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Ukraine, Poland, Serbia, Bulgaria, Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The appointment is part of Austin’s strategy to form partnerships in new jurisdictions, enabling the mining equipment solutions provider to widen its networks into new and existing global markets, resulting in further potential sales opportunities and benefits from a local partner’s customer relationships and local knowledge.

Austin says it is keen to grow the business in regions that it has traditionally not widely serviced, including Brazil and Eastern Europe.

Belarus-based Engineering Company Mining Technology LLC has developed a wealth of professional contacts within the regions it operates, with large original equipment manufacturers, mining companies and contractors, according to Austin. It has already sourced several important tender opportunities for Austin to enable users in these regions to benefit from light-weight mining attachments to enhance productivity.

The appointment follows the establishment of Austin-ETT Africa in South Africa in 2020.

On this relationship, specifically, Austin said it recently shipped 17 Austin Ultima truck bodies and two Austin High Performance buckets to Egypt through the Austin-ETT Africa, with more orders expected from active tenders across the African continent.

Austin Managing Director, Peter Forsyth, said: “We are aggressively pursuing global growth initiatives. We have a fantastic suite of products and services and we operate successfully in our traditional markets. However, we see an opportunity to grow our business and provide improved solutions to miners in new territories like Eastern Europe. In Engineering Company Mining Technology LLC, we believe we have found the right strategic partner in this region and we’re excited for our relationship to further strengthen through shared success.”

Austin Engineering lauds APAC performance as it heads for FY21 guidance hit

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

Austin Engineering Ltd is on track to hit its earning guidance after securing new orders for more than 100 products, including truck bodies, water tanks and buckets totalling more than A$35 million ($26 million) in revenue over the past few weeks.

This order flow supports previously announced earning guidance of an underlying net profit after tax in excess of A$9 million for its 2021 financial year (to June 30, 2021), which remains in place, Austin said.
Recent confirmed notable purchase orders received include:

  • Seventy-eight truck bodies for a large global miner in the Pilbara region of Western Australia for delivery throughout the balance of the current and next Australia financial years;
  • Twelve truck bodies for a large global mining contractor for delivery into Queensland, Australia – manufactured in Austin’s Indonesian facility;
  • Eight truck bodies for a large global gold miner in Western Australia; and
  • Three stairway access water tanks for a large global miner in Queensland, Australia – manufactured in Austin’s Indonesian facility.

Austin’s order book and committed work is now in excess of 70% of expected revenues, in line with this time in 2019, it said.

The Asia-Pacific region is outperforming expectations with key workshops in Perth and Indonesia well positioned to remain close to capacity for the balance of the financial year and beyond, the company added.

The economic environment in North and South America is less supportive than contemplated at the start of the financial year, Austin said.

“The continued backdrop of the US election and ongoing COVID-19 position in the USA appears to have impacted customer confidence in deploying capital in the short term,” it added. “Austin expects an improvement to this position, post January 2021, with annual budgets of US customers replenished on a calendar year basis, along with a completed Presidential transition. Ahead of this, Austin is currently quoting on a large volume of work in North America with decisions expected early in the third quarter (March quarter) of this financial year.”

Business conditions in South America have been similarly impacted by COVID-19, which has delayed several tender decisions for long-term supply contracts for both new equipment and repair and maintenance in Chile, Austin said. “Austin is well positioned for a number of opportunities but has seen short term softness due to the deferment of decisions,” it added.

Austin Managing Director, Peter Forsyth, said: “The Asia-Pacific region is performing exceptionally well at the moment with a strong line of sight to keeping our two large facilities in Perth and Indonesia close to capacity, and I am very happy with the level of orders and further opportunities in this region. Offsetting this strength, the Americas are currently facing challenging operating environments, and this is a product of the broader economies in those regions. I am heartened by the scale of opportunities in the US, Canada and Chile and we remain confident that the tide will begin to turn early in the New Year in these regions.”

In other innovation-focused developments, Austin said it was recently asked to provide a solution for a Canadian customer that had two key requirements when sourcing truck bodies for their operation: first, to achieve the maximum payload possible; and second, to ensure that the truck bodies would not require any maintenance before replacement.

Austin designed an ultra-light weight body that offered a substantial payload increase on previous designs with sufficient structural integrity to remain maintenance free for a shortened design life of less than two years, it said. This solution will enable the customer to achieve a lower cost per tonne and provides Austin with a more regular replacement cycle of equipment in this mine.

Austin truck bodies, buckets on their way to Egypt, Ukraine, Argentina and Dominican Republic

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

Austin Engineering’s growth initiative to expand the company’s presence into new markets appears to be working, with the company having recently won contracts to deliver products to Africa (Egypt), Eastern Europe (Ukraine), and South and Central America (Argentina and the Dominican Republic).

This is the first time in the company’s history that product has been supplied to these countries, it said.

The total value of orders, consisting of truck bodies and buckets, received is in excess of A$6 million ($4.3 million) and is anticipated to provide a springboard for further sales into these markets, the company said. The majority of the orders received by value have been provided from subsidiary companies of large global miners, it noted.

The order received in Egypt was made possible by the Austin ETT joint venture partnership entered into earlier this year. Prior to this partnership, Austin would not have been in the running for this opportunity, further cementing the value in collaborating with the right strategic partners in territories that Austin does not currently have a physical presence, the company said.

In line with this strategy, Austin Engineering has also recently signed a contract with a representative in South America to work with potential clients in Brazil and is in the process of finalising a representative to support Austin in Eastern Europe.

“Both of these markets have a large field population of mining trucks and shovels and could be important markets for Austin in the medium term,” the company said.

Austin Engineering Managing Director, Peter Forsyth, said: “These new territories are important to Austin’s growth aspirations, as there are a number of mining regions around the world that are still largely operating with standard OEM products for truck bodies and excavator buckets. Adoption of Austin’s innovative replacement products in these regions would enhance production metrics significantly.

“Partnerships are proving key to our success in entering these new regions and allow us to leverage our experience with our partners’ commercial contacts to achieve great outcomes for Austin, our clients and our partners.”

Austin Engineering expands into South Africa with ETT partnership

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

Australia-based Austin Engineering says it has signed a partnership agreement with South Africa’s ETT to market and support their combined mining-oriented product ranges throughout Africa.

The agreement, which follows around 12 months of talks, will bring together two of the southern hemisphere’s largest mining equipment design and manufacturing entities, Austin said.

Austin has more than 50 years of global experience in engineering and manufacturing equipment for the mining industry with operations in Australia, Asia, North and South America, and now South Africa. ETT, meanwhile, is a privately-owned South Africa-based company with products already distributed in more than 20 countries around the world.

Austin Engineering Managing Director, Peter Forsyth (pictured on the left), said: “We are looking forward to growing this partnership. It gives both companies a solid and reliable platform from which to offer customers throughout the continent proven world-class products backed up by world-class service.”

ETT Managing Director, Andre McDuling (pictured on the right), added: “ETT’s manufacturing and innovative record, as well as our strong presence and product supply into Africa, is one of the key reasons why this partnership was formed. We are confident that the industry is ready for a partnership like this that will provide the widest range of mining attachments and support products in the world.”

The combined product range of the new partnership will include customised dump truck bodies, water trucks, diesel lube trucks, gooseneck-equipped recovery vehicles, tyre handlers, low bed off-road trailers and excavator buckets.

Austin Westech on 50 years of mining truck body innovation and records

Equipment maintenance, Mining equipment, Mining industry recognition, Mining maintenance, Mining services, , , , ,

Westech has been designing and manufacturing customised truck bodies for more than 50 years and Austin Engineering Managing Director, Peter Forsyth, has recently reflected on building specialty OEM equipment for the mining industry worldwide.

“One would have to wonder if the guys at Westech knew what they were getting into when they expanded into building off-road mining truck bodies in 1969,” he said. “What were their plans and what were the goals because today, some 50 years on, Westech bodies are still leading the world in design, construction and performance.”

Speaking at a recent function to mark the company’s half-century milestone, Forsyth said since the first bodies rolled off the production line in 1969 the business had established and maintained a strong reputation for innovation and performance.

In June 2011, at Peabody Energy’s North Antelope Rochelle coal mine in the US a body designed and manufactured by Westech for a Liebherr T282C Ultra Class haul truck set a record at 405.78 t, or a volume of 470.35 cu.m. The Guinness World Book of Records officially recognised the record on July 19, 2011.

“Then came the patented design of the Flow Control Body® with its revolutionary floor design to control the flow of material during dumping as well as improve the overall stability of the truck,” Forsyth said. “The Flow Control Body remains one of the industry’s most significant design and safety features for mining truck bodies.”

The company has shipped around 12,000 bodies since 1969. It provides bodies for all the major OEM truck builders, including Caterpillar, Komatsu, Liebherr, Hitachi plus underground mining equipment OEMs including Sandvik and Atlas Copco.

In 2007, Westech was acquired by Brisbane-based Austin Engineering in a move that, the company says, gave Westech additional manufacturing capabilities (through the buyer’s plants in Australia and South America) and also helped both companies to increase their overall market reach. (Westech also had a licensee agreement with Austin Engineering prior to the acquisition.)

“The acquisition was a good fit with us and complemented our own growing range of engineered mining industry equipment,” said Forsyth. “It also expanded our technical and design capabilities and gave us direct access to the extensive experience bank Westech had built up since delivering its first body in 1969.”

Today, Austin Engineering says it is the world’s largest non-OEM designer and manufacturer of mining dump truck bodies. The company also designs and manufacturers excavator and wheel loader buckets, water tanks, tyre handlers and other specialised mining machinery attachments for the global mining sector.

Today, at International Mining Events’ inaugural Truck & Shovel 2019 conference, in Singapore, Austin Engineering’s Global Manager Market Development & Innovation, David Pichanick, will present ‘Truck dump bodies: Thinking outside the box’