HEAVY ENGINEERING & WEAR PARTS
pack them into 40 ft ( 12.2 m ) containers and ship them to a location nearer the customer for unpacking and final assembly .
Singleton explains the reasoning for developing such a concept : “ One of the key problems with truck bodies is that they are difficult to move around the world as they are so big and heavy . The cost of moving them is also out of kilter with the value of the product itself . We have seen examples recently where , with freight costs being four-to-five times higher than past years , the cost of transport from one place to another is around the same as the cost of the truck body itself .”
Having come up with the ‘ containerised ’ truck body idea around a year ago , the company is now enacting a ‘ hub-and-spoke strategy ’ where it is building bodies in central hubs like Batam , packing them into shipping containers , shipping them to a port nearby to the operating site and , with the help of ‘ spokes ’, or third-party partners , carrying out the final assembly of that truck body thereafter .
“ We have now sold nearly 40 of those style of truck bodies around the world ,” Singleton said . “ From something that was a good idea a year ago , it has become a fast-selling solution .”
Austin is also helping its customers on their sustainability journeys , partnering with major customers to evaluate the feasibility of recovering used truck trays and buckets , cutting and re-melting them to produce ‘ as-new ’ products .
“ Sustainability and reducing the environmental footprint are important subjects for our customers , so they are also seriously important to us ,” Singleton said .
The company is also keenly observing progress on ‘ green steel ’ developments and those related to the use of hydrogen in the steel reduction process in place of coal .
“ As soon as those light , hard abrasion resistant ‘ green steels ’ are available , we will do test work on them to confirm their characteristics and then make them available to customers ,” Singleton said .
With higher revenue and profitability forecast at Austin , Singleton is confident the company can keep up its innovative steak while sating industry demand for its products .
“ Despite the effects of COVID , we are likely to be more profitable this year than at any time in our history ,” he said . “ We ’ re seeing the benefits of all the hard work that has been done over the last 12 months – so credit to everyone involved – and we and our customers will reap further benefits in the future .”
Milestones in manufacturing
Schlam has also seen an uptick in demand for its truck trays and buckets , with several high-profile contract awards in 2022 .
Having recently reached the milestone of manufacturing its 1,500th Hercules dump body in Australia with a delivery to a mine in New South Wales , the company is set to deliver dump bodies and buckets – including the company ’ s newly-released Hercules EXO – to iron ore major Fortescue Metals Group .
The contract , which comes alongside an agreement related to Schlam People Solutions to provide skilled on-site mechanical and fabrication services for a minimum of three years with options to extend , could come with revenue of over A $ 90 million .
Schlam Chief Executive Officer , Matt Thomas , said Fortescue will be one of the first operators to receive the Hercules EXO since its successful trial and market release .
“ 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 ,” he said . “ 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 .”
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 part of the agreement related to Schlam People Solutions also underpins Schlam ’ s journey to introduce the latest robotic technology to transform its manufacturing processes and develop a “ state-of-the-art advanced manufacturing facility ” in Western Australia , Thomas said .
Schlam is also working with BHP to scrap some of its used dump bodies , which are taken off-site and scrapped by a third party in Port Hedland . To date , it has scrapped around 200 dump bodies for the mining major , which equates to around 7,000 t of steel .
It is also in discussions with SSAB to join its EcoUpgraded program , which would help save CO 2 both in steel production and across the lifetime of its Hercules dump body . The material efficiency and transport efficiency both contribute to the CO 2 savings , according to Schlam .
“ The end product can be designed lighter with high-strength steel , meaning less CO 2 is used to make the steel for each tray ,” the company explained . “ The wear-resistant , high-strength steel in the end product also lasts longer , meaning the CO 2 used to create the steel is
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
utilised for longer . Plus , the lower weight in the end product needs less fuel for the same work , meaning emissions are potentially lower with every trip . All this adds up to significant CO 2 savings across the lifetime of Hercules dump body .”
Expanding ESCO
Weir ESCO has continued a steep growth trajectory since it became a part of the Weir Group in 2019 .
While ground engaging tools ( GET ) continue to be its mainstay , it has also branched out into other complementary areas that improve equipment component longevity as well as mine site safety .
Recently the company acquired Carriere Industrial Supply Limited ( CIS ), a manufacturer and distributor of highly engineered wear parts and aftermarket service provider to Canada ’ s mining industry .
The transaction builds on a long relationship with CIS , acting as Weir ESCO distributor in Eastern Canada for many years , while delivering on ESCO ’ s strategy to have direct sales channels in major mining markets .
Nate Jones , Weir ESCO Director , Strategic Planning , told IM that the acquisition presents significant opportunities for Weir ESCO in the underground hard-rock mining space in Canada and beyond .
“ Our customers challenge us to innovate and develop new products , and that same commitment is evident in CIS ’ strong product and service offering : surface mining buckets , GET and truck bodies , as well as underground LHD buckets , GET and underground truck bodies , not to mention the abrasion resistant wear liners and other products that are essential to all mining operations ,” he said .
The company ’ s immediate focus is on the underground mines of Quebec and Eastern Canada that CIS has started servicing more recently .
60 International Mining | JUNE 2022