COAL AND SOFT-ROCK DEVELOPMENTS
“ We are confident we can offer longwall customers the most productive machines on the market that enable them to extract coal in the most efficient way possible ,” Eickhoff says
to offer the best product worldwide in all areas ,”
Eickhoff explained .
“ In the future , we see potential to significantly optimise the decades-old conflict between machine size and installed power with new technologies . In the area of room and pillar – an area where we have recently achieved production records of over 70,000 t consecutively in India with continuous miners – we are planning to expand our product range with large continuous miners , with the aim of better satisfying the market demand for machines in the 90-130 t range .”
And the company ’ s long-term thinking is evidenced by not only an aim to serve all customer needs today , but also research technologies that could positively disrupt the coal mining process of the future .
“ We continue to carry out research on what comes after the shearer ,” Eickhoff said . “ If you take the example from modern-day electric vehicles , you could potentially have a shearer with a high torque motor , no gearbox and no ranging arm . This would result in a much more compact machine that would enable , for example , an elimination of performance losses associated with extraction at the snake ends .
“ Right now , it is not technically and commercially possible to achieve this , but that is not to say it won ’ t be over the medium-to-long term .”
HBT aims for full longwall integration
No doubt the biggest news in the longwall coal
market of late has been the sale of Caterpillar Global Mining Europe GmbH , and the associated companies in Australia , USA , Russia , India and
China , to Hauhinco Holding GmbH . The Germany-based company , which also owns Hauhinco Maschinenfabrik , the leader in water hydraulic systems , has since established HBT GmbH as the new longwall company .
Its mining offering has continued to grow beyond this too , with , in April , the completion of a transaction to take over German automation specialist EXPPROTEC GmbH ( formerly Bartec ).
HBT now aims to solve demanding electrical engineering challenges in various industries , expanding its electrical engineering solutions for potentially explosive atmospheres such as longwall coal mines .
Even with such new-found diversification , the Caterpillar influence stands out at HBT GmbH when casting an eye over the management team .
Long-time Caterpillar Product Manager for Underground Technology , Jay Armburger , is on board as Chief Technology Officer of HBT Longwall and Automation , as well as CEO of the US arm , HBT Americas LLC ; Caterpillar veteran , Dayven Johnston , is General Manager of HBT Americas ; Kevin Parsons , a former ex-Caterpillar Commercial Manager , has taken on the dual roles of CEO HBT Australia and Chief Sales Officer of HBT ; Roland Hecken , a former manager at Zeppelin Systems , holds the HBT COO role ; and two new Directors lead the China team – longtime ex-Cat employees , Neil Li and Cindy Yang . Initial action items , post completion of the Caterpillar deal , were set out earlier this year and include lowering communication barriers ; improving contact and communication from the headquarters to regions and end users ; building and strengthening joint ventures in India and China , and customer service teams and distribution channels ; and increasing capacity and improving automation processes .
Armburger told IM recently that the aim is to become a leader in fully integrated longwall mining systems and service solutions , for coal and other soft-rock applications .
He gave an example here : “ Within the Americas and Australia , we have completely integrated the longwall mining team with the traditional Hauhinco team that provides not only high-pressure water hydraulic solutions for mining , but for other industries as well .”
The company has also recently strengthened its engineering and product support expertise and capacity in India by establishing HBT Engineering Private Limited , a joint venture in the country with GMMCO Technical Services Ltd ( GMMCO ).
Armburger said such a partnership allowed HBT to pull learnings and experience across different industries from GMMCO while benefitting from the large footprint and market recognition the company has established in India .
More broadly , HBT continues to evaluate options of improving its supply chain , providing increased service levels to its clients . This could eventually lead to less outsourcing and leveraging more in-house manufacturing capabilities , according to Armburger .
As indicated by the JV with GMMCO , HBT sees opportunities to expand its reach in India . Armburger also saw market opportunities in Australia , USA and China .
“ We have a lot of headroom from a market perspective to grow our longwall presence ,” Armburger said of the Chinese market opportunity .
And , while the Caterpillar presence may still be prominent in the managerial line-up at HBT , Armburger said the formation of the new company has opened many new doors .
“ We are already in discussions about supplying the likes of longwall shearers and armoured face conveyors to potential new clients that Caterpillar typically hasn ’ t served in the past ,” he said .
In the meantime , products initially developed under Caterpillar have been enhanced and are now supplied by HBT , such as PMC-R 2.0 control units for roof support control systems and certain components for armoured face conveyor drive units , are still rolling off the production line and being sold in key longwall markets , according to Armburger .
HBT , like the Caterpillar longwall business before it , says it is dedicated to exploring and evaluating the latest technologies to enhance the safety and efficiency of its operations .
The company can look back on many technology milestones in Caterpillar ’ s longwall past for inspiration , including the introduction of the Automatic Face Alignment function in the US in 2018 , and the successful installation of Cat ’ s first-generation personnel proximity detection system at the Harvey Mine , also in the US , in 2017 .
AUGUST 2023 | International Mining 61