Tag Archives: truck trays

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 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’