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Thiess expands into digital and asset services with investments in LAAMP, Mechatronix

Careers in mining, Environmental, Equipment maintenance, Mining mergers and acquisitions, Mining services, Mining software, Sustainable mining, , , , , , , ,

Thiess says it has acquired significant stakes in two Australian businesses, LAAMP and Mechatronix, as part of its plans to expand its offering as a global services provider, outside of the traditional mining operations.

Both companies have been working with Thiess for several years to manage and grow two of the mining services provider’s key value drivers: its people and equipment.

LAAMP is a digital platform that delivers streamlined training and assessments to remote workforces, while Mechatronix is pioneering carbon-fibre structural reinforcements to dramatically extend the life of trucks and, ultimately, boost payload capacity, Thiess says.

Thiess Group Executive Chair and CEO, Michael Wright, said: “The investments in LAAMP and Mechatronix will provide wider benefits for our valued clients and people, while helping us reach our goals in sustainability and innovation. LAAMP aims to ensure our people have the right competency and capability, with the latest thinking in training and assessments, while Mechatronix has a global focus on fleet sustainability and asset longevity.”

Thiess first approached Mechatronix, a family-owned business, in 2020, with an ambitious target to double the expected operating life of its existing mining trucks, from about 60,000-70,000 hours (typically about 10 years on-site) to about 110,000-120,000 hours. For Mechatronix founder, Andrew Middlin, it was good timing. An engineer by trade, he had spent 30 years in the mining industry analysing machines for stress and fatigue, before working with an industry-first solution to extend the life of these critical assets.

Around 2014, Middlin realised there was a limit to what could be done with all-metal solutions and pioneered the use of carbon fibre – a material stronger than steel, yet significantly lighter – to reinforce truck chassis and structural components, which are generally not economically repairable after major and repetitive fatigue cracking.

Along with extending asset life, another major focus for Mechatronix is ‘lightweighting’ vehicles by replacing heavy steel structures with hybrid metal-carbon fibre alternatives. This will provide an immediate payload benefit on current assets and will assist the sector with the transition to electric or hydrogen powered machines, offsetting the impact of payload reduction from heavy batteries or fuel cells, Thiess says.

“If we can take 10 t of weight out of an asset – that’s an extra 10 t a truck on a mine site can carry on each load. Overall, that increases productivity, while providing a smarter and more sustainable solution for existing assets,” Middlin said. “It’s a genuine win-win situation where we have a high-profile partner to help us showcase to the industry what we can do, while for Thiess, our technology allows them to be a differentiator in their sector and make strong inroads into their sustainability commitments.”

Thiess is also set to install Mechatronix-designed and built kits to assets of its own, and to those of its clients, at the new Rebuild Centre on Batam Island in Indonesia.

Wright said: “We have one of the largest fleets globally in the mining sector, with about 1,200 off-highway mining trucks, so it makes sense for us to invest in this capability. Our industry is always looking to extend the life of existing assets and transition to electric vehicles. This is a natural partnership.”

The company’s other partnership, with Adelaide-based LAAMP, goes back to 2019, when Thiess was looking at improving its training, assessment and staff records across a disparate global workforce.

“At that time, we had staff spread across Africa, the Americas, Indonesia, Mongolia, India and Australia and the content was being delivered in different ways, without the consistency we would have liked,” Wright said. “We wanted to change not only how the content was delivered – to make it interactive, multilingual and relevant – but also how and where it was delivered.”

For Thiess, the driving principle has always been that improved competency and capability will deliver both a safer workplace, and one that is more productive.

LAAMP founder and Managing Director, Tim Angel, who had started his career in the mining industry in the early 2000s, had seen an unmet need for organisations to centralise and digitise induction, training and assessment. LAAMP not only delivers content to remote work sites, but it also maintains a digital record of training and assessment to maintain a vetted and verified ‘skills passport’ for each person. This allows staff to move more easily between sites and organisations – a point-in-time oversight of their workforce skills base.

Just five years after he established LAAMP, Angel said the company has conducted more than 12 million training events, and it is being used in mining, construction, hospitality and healthcare across Australia, North America, South America, Asia and Africa.

Angel said: “There are benefits for employees, too, as the LAAMP platform allows workers to access and share their own `skills passport’, rather than keeping track of paper certificates and qualifications. The support from our team to make this a global success has been tremendous. In particular, Mark Butcher and Beau Rybajlak have been instrumental in our success to date and will play a pivotal role as we continue to empower the global workforce of the future through LAAMP.”

Austin Engineering eyes US expansion with Wyoming government-backed grant, loan package

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

Austin Engineering says it has achieved a significant development milestone and moved a step closer to undertaking a major rebuild and expansion of its US manufacturing base in Casper, Wyoming, after securing the benefit of a $20 million grant and loan package through the City of Mills, Wyoming and the Wyoming Business Council.

The funds are designated for the construction of a proposed new circa-69,000-sq.ft (6,410-sq.m) manufacturing facility and a 15,000-sq.ft paint and blast building on the site of Austin’s existing manufacturing facility, on land already owned by Austin. The grant and loan facility is made to the City of Mills, which will build the facility to Austin’s requirements, and lease it to the company.

North America is Austin’s strongest performing business unit on a revenue and margin basis, the company says. The expansion of the Casper facility would significantly increase the manufacturing capacity for Austin’s customised mining haul truck bodies primarily for the US and Canada. It will also be capable of manufacturing other product lines such as mining buckets, water tanks, and tyre handlers.

The $15 million grant and $5 million loan package application was approved by the State Loan and Investment Board. It requires final approval from the Wyoming State Attorney General and the Austin Board after a full review of the business case. The Austin Board does not expect to give final development approval for the new facility until the end of the year after a full business case has been completed and assessed.

If final approval is given, construction could commence sometime in late financial year 2024 (to end-June 2024) following board approval, final facility design and permitting, with the build forecast to take up to two years. The construction will not affect the existing production output and it is envisaged that it would create circa-50 new permanent jobs in addition to the current 110-strong staff base.

As part of the investment, Austin would need to commit a further $5 million capital funding for the facility, the majority of which would need to be spent during its 2025 and 2026 financial years.

As part of the package, Austin has agreed to donate approximately 25 acres (10.1 ha) of land, that is mostly industrially unusable, due to being part of a floodplain, and not required for production or storage, to the City of Mills for future community development projects and public facilities.

In the last 12 months, Austin has undertaken expansions of its Indonesian and Chilean-based facilities, enhancing both output and manufacturing efficiencies across the business. However, this investment would be the biggest undertaken to expand capacity.

Austin CEO and Managing Director, David Singleton, said: “We are extremely pleased to have been awarded this funding package from the Wyoming Business Council to undertake a much-needed rebuild of our existing facilities. As well as being part of the local community in the City of Mills since 1940, and Wyoming since 1938, our Casper facility is the hub of our rapidly growing North American operations.

“North America’s financial year 2023 revenues were up 13% year-on-year. We had recently taken a short-term lease on a facility to meet increased orders in the region. A larger, permanent facility would enable Austin to increase its output further in line with expected growth.

“This rebuild will also ensure Austin US stays at the forefront of designing and building customised truck bodies, mining buckets and other equipment. The determination to improve mining efficiency in North America has seen a strong growth in demand for trays and buckets, particularly in recent years, and is expected to continue.

Metso looks to grow mining truck body, bucket exposure with Häggblom buy

Equipment maintenance, Mining consumables, Mining equipment, Mining mergers and acquisitions, Mining services, Steel and iron ore, , , , ,

Metso says it has signed an agreement to acquire Ab A. Häggblom Oy, a privately-owned Finnish engineering and manufacturing company with a key offering that includes mining truck bodies and buckets.

Häggblom’s service portfolio includes wear parts, truck body and bucket refurbishments, as well as related field services. It has partnered with Metso for several years in the manufacturing of truck bodies.

The acquisition will broaden Metso’s offering in bodies and buckets by providing complete end-to-end loading and hauling solutions, while  strengthening the company’s position in the aftermarket, according to Metso. The aim is to leverage Häggblom’s strong engineering and manufacturing expertise in collaboration with existing partners on a regional and global basis.

Heikki Metsälä, President, Consumables business area, Metso, said: “Loading and hauling is a growing business, and our goal is to further develop our capability to serve our customers. Häggblom’s product range, manufacturing know-how and engineering capabilities, as well as service expertise, are a good addition to Metso’s wear parts portfolio. Häggblom’s employees will bring valuable skills to Metso, and we look forward to building on the great partnership we have developed over the years,”

Jukka Karhula, CEO, Häggblom, said: “This is the beginning of an exciting new chapter for our company. We have successfully cooperated with Metso for many years, and we are now excited to become part of an international company. We are confident that our expertise and products will align well with Metso’s loading and hauling offering. This acquisition will benefit our customers and employees who are our most important assets.”

The acquisition is estimated to be finalised in August 2023. The parties have agreed not to disclose the transaction value, which has no material impact on Metso’s financials, it says.

Matrix and GRT-VALLEY RUBBER collaborating on truck lining sensor solution

Mining equipment, Mining events, Mining services, Mining software, Steel and iron ore, Sustainable mining, , , , , , , , ,

Indiana-based Matrix Design Group is entering the truck bed analytics and monitoring market through a partnership with rubber body manufacturer GRT-VALLEY RUBBER, IM discovered at the SME MINEXCHANGE 2023 Annual Conference & Expo in Denver, USA, last month.

Matrix, renowned in mining for its proximity detection and vision-based safety solutions, recently entered into a partnership with Arkansas-based GRT-VALLEY RUBBER. The two companies have deployed a prototype ‘smart’ truck body solution to showcase the benefits of GRT-VALLEY RUBBER’s rubber truck bed liners (RTBL).

GRT-VALLEY RUBBER is a well-known name in the wear resistant moulded rubber products sector, providing both OEMs and mine sites rubber lining solutions that, the company says, reduce maintenance associated with consistent shovel and payload interactions, while improving the operator experience.

Michael Redford, Head of Operations: Analytics at Matrix, and Greg Elliott, Product Manager – Haul Trucks at GRT-VALLEY RUBBER, revealed this new development at the Denver event.

At a mine in the Iron Range of Minnesota, Matrix has installed an integrated solution consisting of a series of sensors on a steel truck bed, and one truck with GRT-VALLEY RUBBER’s rubber truck bed liner solution. The system is benchmarking the results of shovel loading on truck beds both with and without the bed liner.

Having this setup established for over six months now, the two companies have been able to quantify a significant reduction in “energy events” when using GRT-VALLEY RUBBER rubber-based solution, Redford told IM.

Matrix and GRT-VALLEY RUBBER have been able to quantify a significant reduction in “energy events” when using GRT-VALLEY RUBBER rubber-based solution compared with a steel truck bed

Initially, the project was scoped to outline the maintenance benefits of using rubber-liners on trucks, yet it has also highlighted the significant improvements in reducing operator impact forces and noise reduction that come with using GRT-VALLEY RUBBER’s solution.

“In terms of attracting and retaining haul truck drivers, these results could prove to be very important,” Elliott said. “Not only is there less physical harm done to operators by using our rubber linings due to reduced shock impacts, the reduction in decibel levels from a noise perspective is massive.”

The two companies are planning to roll out this solution on several other rubber-lined haul trucks in the next few months.

“We service several industries – not just mining – with a wide range of rubber products,” Elliott said. “We have many companies interested in seeing the benefits at their sites, so it is just a matter of getting the hardware installed and getting it speaking to the software.”

Redford said truck impacts may be the initial focus of this sensing system, but there is scope to expand into productivity improvement functions – educating shovel operators of optimal loading patterns, for instance.

He concluded: “We’re very much at the beginning of where this technology will go.”

Austin Engineering’s ultra-lightweight High Performance Tray finds its market

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

Austin Engineering says it has received orders for, or been notified of award of, in excess of 210 truck tray orders in the December 2022 to January 2023 period, improving the company’s order book and revenue outlook for the second half of 2023.

The orders over the period represent approximately 40% (approximately 500 expected in the 2023 financial year) of orders received in a normal full year.

These orders have come from multiple customers across the globe and will be manufactured and delivered from Austin’s four operating sites located in the Asia Pacific (Australia and Indonesia), North America (Wyoming) and South America (Chile), it said.

Production of the trays is either already underway or planned to commence shortly, with most of the deliveries scheduled through 2023 but with significant revenue to be booked in the second half of the 2023 financial year.

Approximately 120 of the truck tray orders are for the recently launched, ultra-lightweight High Performance Tray (HPT). The HPT can, according to Austin, deliver significant additional ore per year due to its lighter weight and increased volume efficiency. In an early application, the truck body design could deliver an additional 45,000 t/y of ore per tray compared with previous comparable truck trays developed by Austin.

Austin expects the market interest in the HPT to continue due to its attractive design and operational benefits, it said. Austin has received several proposals to tailor the design for different geographies, suggesting it will become a mainstay in the company’s global product portfolio, complementing Austin’s existing four truck tray types.

Austin has previously announced manufacturing capacity expansions to deal with an anticipated surge in demand, which has now occurred. The expansions, now largely complete, were in Indonesia, Chile and in Western Australia, where a specialised bucket facility for Austin and Mainetec buckets has been commissioned.

Austin CEO and Managing Director, David Singleton, said: “The increased orders reflect an increased win rate in contracts across the business aided by the release of improved product designs such as the HPT, which is receiving significant market interest because of its attractive operational efficiencies.

“We had confidence to commit capital to capacity expansions at some of our major manufacturing sites, namely Indonesia, Chile and Australia. We have also invested in upgraded equipment in the workshops to enable efficiency and quality improvements across our product lines.

“Pleasingly, the capacity expansions have aligned with increased orders ensuring customer delivery timeframes can be maintained. The continuing and increasing strength in the order pipeline suggests that high utilisation levels in all jurisdictions will continue.

“We believe that our commitment to product design and development, our focus on cost control and developing capacity to meet our mining customer needs is driving this improvement in workload.”

Austin Engineering eyes multiple operational benefits with Mainetec acquisition

Equipment maintenance, Mining consumables, Mining equipment, Mining mergers and acquisitions, Mining services, Mining software, , , , , ,

Austin Engineering Limited says it has successfully completed the acquisition of Australia-based mining equipment manufacturer, Mainetec Pty Ltd for an initial amount of A$19.6 million ($12.3 million).

The acquisition, Austin says, provides it with numerous operational benefits, both immediately and in the long-term.

Mainetec’s premium range of “Hulk” buckets will complement Austin’s JEC-HP high performance and standard bucket ranges, as well as bolster the company’s presence on the East Coast of Australia by leveraging Mainetec’s existing strong market share in the region, it said. This is anticipated to have a cascading benefit to Austin’s Austbore Mackay repair and maintenance service business.

Beyond Australia, Mainetec’s electric rope shovel dipper bucket is a high-value product that Austin is already progressing plans to offer across the US, Canada and Chile markets, which are markets that have a high demand for large dipper buckets and where Austin already has an established presence, it says.

Additionally, Mainetec’s condition monitoring software system, ‘Mainetrack’, will be used across the Austin’s fleet to maximise productivity.

Austin CEO and Managing Director, David Singleton, said: “It is very pleasing to finalise our acquisition of Mainetec which will deliver significant and tangible value to Austin. This acquisition ticks all of the right boxes; it will complement our core product range, enhance our market presence in Australia and beyond, and is set to deliver enhanced earnings.

“I am looking forward to working with the founders of Mainetec and their workforce as we collectively strive to achieve a phase of prolonged growth.”

Duratray trialling SmartTray 4.0 tech at Chile and Australia mines

IoT, Mining consumables, Mining equipment, , , , , ,

With the purpose of not only diversifying its line of products but also walking towards technological advancements that transform the way mining operations work, Duratray International is trialling its latest product, the Smart Tray 4.0, across Chile and Australia.

The main goal of all Duratray’s products has been to maximise customers’ mining performance through high technological solutions. The design of the company’s staple product, the Suspended Dump Body (SDB), offers just that by reducing carry back, increasing payload and reducing maintenance cost, the company says. However, Duratray is committed to take the truck and tray’s performance even further.

Duratray says it has developed the first Smart Tray on the market, the Smart Tray 4.0, which allows customers to make decisions in real-time via data monitoring and alerts, as well as plan maintenance based on analysis of historical data and advanced and automated analytics that can predict failures.

“We achieved this by using modern technologies such as digital sensors, cloud storage, wireless connectivity and our own platform and infrastructure that glues all the modules of the system together,” Pablo Rossi, Project Leader of the Smart Tray 4.0, says.

The Smart Tray 4.0 technologies are independent of the truck manufacturer and, as such, can be deployed on hybrid fleets, allowing the customer to access their whole fleet from a single system for a fraction of the cost, according to Duratray.

The system that supports the Smart Tray 4.0. is modular and customisable so it can be designed to support any type of mine or quarry in the world, and has the capability to integrate existing sensors on the trucks.

“The interoperability and universality of the system allows the comparison of performance across different trucks, different materials being transported, different loaders, different climates, etc, enabling us to identify and share best practices for the mining and construction industries,” Rossi added.

Currently, the Smart Tray technology is operational at mine sites in the north of Chile and Western Australia, the company concluded.

(photo courtesy of De Beers Group)

Philippi-Hagenbuch expands rear eject dump body lineup with Volvo A60H units

Equipment maintenance, Mining consumables, Mining equipment, Steel and iron ore, , , , , , , ,

Philippi-Hagenbuch has expanded its rear eject engineering capabilities to include one of the largest articulated haul trucks on the market, the Volvo A60H.

These trucks feature a body volume of 43.9 cu.yd (33.6 cu.m) with a 2:1 heap ratio, making these rear ejects 50% larger than the most common rear eject bodies available, the company said.

In partnership with G.W. Van Keppel, a dealership based in Kansas City, Missouri, Philippi-Hagenbuch shipped its first two rear eject bodies for Volvo A60H trucks to a mine in Oklahoma. Each of these rear ejects features an interior width of 156 in (3.96 m) and a loading height of 148 in and is built exclusively out of high-strength, abrasion-resistant Hardox® 450 steel for exceptional life and to handle the extremes they are put under within mining environments, the company says.

“Philippi-Hagenbuch is committed to detail in design, professionally engineering their products, understanding the applications and using only the best steel,” Taylor Killion, General Sales Manager, G.W. Van Keppel, says. “This makes them a great partner to provide strong and durable haul truck solutions that help our customers maximise their efficiency.

“We were confident in PHIL’s experience and ability to take on this project and produce a custom solution that would meet this client’s objectives.”

Philippi-Hagenbuch says it has custom-engineered hundreds of rear eject bodies for a variety of makes and models of off-highway haul trucks to increase productivity, safety and stability for many operations. With Philippi-Hagenbuch rear eject bodies, operators can effectively and safely discharge material without having to stop and raise the truck bed, even when the truck is out of position, driving up a hill or under overhead barriers with low clearance. Operators control the ejector blade to push material out of the body while the tailgate mechanically lowers. Rear ejects effectively dump even the stickiest material, further improving hauling efficiency by reducing carryback, according to the company.

Josh Swank, Philippi-Hagenbuch Vice President of Sales and Marketing, said: “We have complete trust in our engineering and manufacturing capabilities, which gives us confidence to take on projects that other companies may shy away from. In the past, we have engineered even larger rear eject bodies and trailers, so we are no strangers to projects of this size. The PHIL team works closely with each client to understand their application and specific needs, while simultaneously working with the dealer to achieve their priorities and the OEM to interface our equipment with their haul truck seamlessly.

“For this new entry to the haul truck market, we have created a new standardised solution for the Volvo A60H that can be easily implemented for other clients in varying industries.”

The A60H is the largest Volvo articulated hauler with a 33.6 cu.m body volume and 55,000 kg payload capacity.

Philippi-Hagenbuch recently updated its rear eject technology to include a newly engineered single, three-stage, double acting hydraulic cylinder that is robust enough to keep its rear ejects operating in extreme cold or in equatorial warm-weather locations, the company says. This cylinder was specifically designed for horizontal movement so it will not buckle or bind when it is fully extended while operating in a variety of dynamic environments.

Schlam to supply Fortescue with new Hercules EXO truck body

Mining consumables, Mining equipment, Mining services, Steel and iron ore, , , , , , , ,

Schlam says it has been awarded a multi-million-dollar supply agreement with Fortescue Metals Group Limited for both its products (Schlam Payload Solutions) and services (Schlam People Solutions) divisions.

The contract will see Schlam Payload Solutions supply Fortescue with dump bodies and buckets – including the company’s newly-released Hercules EXO – while Schlam People Solutions will provide skilled on-site mechanical and fabrication services for a minimum of three years with options to extend, it said.

The agreement solidifies Schlam’s decade-long relationship with Fortescue, the company added.

Schlam Chief Executive Officer Matt Thomas said that he expected the agreement’s value to reach over A$90 million ($62.7 million).

“Fortescue will be one of the first operators to receive the Hercules EXO since its successful trial and market release,” Thomas said. “The Hercules EXO is a 240-t-class iron ore specific dump body that is 20% lighter than the company’s already class-leading Hercules. The decreased weight gives miners a greater payload potential, while a complete redesign and innovative material selection have resulted in a 100% increase in service life.”

Thomas added: “Like Schlam, Fortescue is a proud and innovative West Australian company. This relationship strengthened when we trialled a Hercules dump body suited to their fleet of 240-t-class trucks in 2018. At the time, it was the lightest 240-t body we had manufactured and, through working with innovative partners, like Fortescue, we’ve been able to develop the next generation of payload products, including the Hercules EXO.”

To date, Schlam has supplied almost 60 Hercules bodies to Fortescue’s fleet of mining trucks and will deliver a further 50 in the next financial year alone.

The agreement brings Schlam Payload Solutions and Schlam People Solutions under the same set of terms and conditions. The latter expands Schlam’s portfolio of Tier-1 clientele, for which it supplies heavy-duty mechanics, boilermakers, auto-electricians and other skilled labour.

“The agreement will underpin our journey to introduce the latest robotic technology to transform our manufacturing processes and develop a state-of-the-art advanced manufacturing facility right here in Western Australia,” Thomas said.

Austin order book swells with mine truck body, bucket, water tank and chute contracts

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

Austin Engineering Ltd saw out 2021 with a bang, receiving over A$60 million ($43 million) of orders during November and December and ending the first half of its financial year with a strong order book, the company says.

At the end of November 2021, Austin’s order book was 19% higher than at the same time the previous year.

The new product orders are for over 100 truck bodies, excavator buckets, water tanks and mine chutes, in addition to repairs and maintenance works received across Austin’s operations in Asia Pacific, and North and South America.

Delivery of new products will be to Canada, the US, Mexico, Chile, New Zealand, Indonesia and both the West and East Coast of Australia.

The increased sales activity comes as Austin continues to progress a number of initiatives across its operating regions, it said.

Austin’s new facility at Fort McMurray in Alberta, Western Canada commenced operations on December 1, 2021. Four of seven truck bodies being manufactured on site have been completed and are ready for delivery to customers in the region. Alberta has one of the largest concentrations of heavy haul trucks in the world thanks to the nearby oil sands, and the new facility is ideally placed to provide a much enhanced local level of customer support to what was previously possible, according to Austin.

Austin will undertake a A$450,000 expansion of its La Negra facility in Chile to accommodate an anticipated increased workload in the second half of its 2022 financial year. The facility has been operating at high utilisation rates for some months now and a capacity expansion is deemed necessary. Austin expects the investment to be fully paid back in the second half of the financial year.

A recent expansion of truck body, final build and assembly locations in Eastern Australia and New Zealand has led to a competitively-won new order with global gold miner OceanaGold Corp in New Zealand with deliveries to commence shortly. The order for over 20 bodies uses Austin’s recently developed modularised truck body designs developed to overcome shipping logistics issues, with final build to be undertaken close to the mine site.

In addition, Austin’s previously announced partnership with Melter in Mexico has led to further orders for a large dragline bucket and other equipment, further reinforcing the strength of this regional relationship under Austin’s “hub and spoke” strategy being rolled out globally, the company said.

Austin CEO and Managing Director, David Singleton, said: “We are pleased to see increasing momentum in sales activity across the board for both new products and repairs, and the recent uptick in orders sets Austin up for a strong sales performance in the second half of financial year 2022. With a strong order book, and strong commodity prices, our facilities are operating at high levels of throughput as we start the new year. I am particularly pleased that our recent initiatives aimed at improving cost competitiveness and driving sales have so rapidly led to an increase in orders. It gives me confidence in our approach and forward strategy.

“In addition, we will be launching some updated products in the current half with improved efficiency and safety features which, we believe, will further cement our leading position in the mining products industry.”