REBUILDS & REPAIRS
more closely aligned . And thats a major change as at the beginning some of them started out as joint ventures or working with independent distributors – today thanks to a lot of this being brought under the Cummins corporate umbrella , we have been able to drive a lot more consistency at the MRCs . That said there remain some distinctive features at certain facilities .
State of the art painting area at Cummins ' new European Master Rebuild Centre for high horsepower engines in Krakow , Poland
might try to extend Komatsu ’ s planned downtime and shorten the hours on ours so the truck will only have to have the extensive maintenance in one event . As already mentioned , PrevenTech is a really great tool for us – and for customers it really saves maintenance cost in the long run .
Q Given the importance of the Nordic region in large scale European mining , was there not consideration of having the rebuild centre there ? GG : I would say the southern European market is equally important – you have major mines there such as Ellatzite and Asarel Medet in Bulgaria plus the Bor and Majdanpek operations in Serbia , now part of Zijin Mining . All these operations are running large mining trucks and excavators with about 400 high horsepower engines in that region . As stated , they have traditionally used more of a TCO approach for their trucks and just replaced engines with new ones but today are becoming more maintenance savvy and are already using strategies like extended oil interval changes and are now looking at options for rebuilds . Looking at Turkey , for various reasons engines in mining there are handled by our existing facility in the country , were we also conduct rebuilds . Elsewhere mining is also growing in Europe – one of the major mines in Spain is increasing the size of its mining trucks to increase efficiency and also lower emissions with new and larger engines – so there will be opportunities in other areas as well . Also , our focus is not only on mining as we see great opportunities in other segments like marine , rail or powergen .
Q If you compare the new Krakow rebuild facility to others in major mining hubs such as in the US but also in Brisbane and Calama – is it similar or are there any major differences ? Is each ‘ tuned ’ to the particular customers in those specific markets ? BS : That ’ s a good question . They are not rubber-stamped carbon copies of each other . For a start they are different sizes reflecting the fact they handle different numbers of engines . There are global teams in place to help drive quality and process at the MRCs . So when we identify a quality issue in Denver , lets say , then the team in Krakow is going to know about it and take it on board . So each MRC can learn from what is going on at similar centres globally . From a process perspective they are getting much
Q Do you give the option to upgrade engines during the rebuilds , with the latest sensors for example ? Or new components ? Or is it always just back to original new state ? BS : Adding PrevenTech is best done when replacing an engine ie at engine exchange . As then you are tracking from the very beginning of the engine life plus its not only on the engine – it is in the aftertreatment area plus various sensors and antennas have to be installed . But we can do upgrades – if a customer wants to improve the ownership experience with their engine , for fuel delivery they can go from HPI ( High Pressure Injection ) to MCRS ( Modular Common Rail System ) for example . MCRS delivers a better experience for the operator , plus it has better characteristics for reliability and fuel consumption . This HPI to MCRS switch is becoming more common , but it depends on the miner and commodity . In the US it is more prevalent in those metallic commodities that currently have better margins , as opposed to coal or taconite , for example . The oil sands is a unique market and they do think quite strategically about value of the equipment over the very long term .
Q Is it fair to say that the vast majority of large miners using mining class Komatsu trucks are doing rebuilds and are part of a rebuild program ? That is is the normal approach ? BS : Taking North American and Australian mining as examples , I would say 100 % it is the norm . As Goran has outlined , there are other areas such as southern Europe where it is coming as part of an evolution in the market . And those customers now have the advantage of the MRC in Krakow – plus their teams can visit the facility and see first hand what we do and the technology we have at our disposal . Actually , in major mining regions we often invite the customer to the MRC to witness first hand the tear downs of their engines – they can learn a lot about their maintenance practices that way . Our service engineer can show them piece by piece what they are doing and why . Plus it is important to say that Komatsu is not the only major OEM that uses Cummins engines in mining – you have numerous Liebherr , Hitachi , BELAZ and other units using them – plus new players as well . And Chinese mining truck OEMs XCMG and NHL both have units in Europe running today with Cummins engines . Plus it isn ’ t just about trucks – excavators represent a very important market for our high horsepower engines as well .
Q When will the first rebuild take place at the Krakow MRC ? GG : The first one is already set to be conducted in February / March 2024 but the schedule is filling up fast for the rest of the year , both for Komatsu equipment from the Nordic region but also for engines from other OEM equipment and from other parts of Europe . The processes we need on everything from reuse criteria to supporting documentation plus the equipment we need are in place , it is just a question of ramping up to full capacity now . with those of a new machine from the original manufacturer . The real test track features a loading and unloading bay , up and down ramps , a tractive effort test , etc .
The entire history of assembly and testing of parts is kept up to date on Aramine ’ s servers , to guarantee perfect traceability of the machine .
“ The whole process takes around four months of work for a very demanding complete reconditioning , with the support of good planning and spare parts logistics . Once the machine is delivered , a technical engineer is sent
out to start up the machine , carry out all necessary tests in front of the customer , train the technical staff and operators , so as to demonstrate Aramine ’ s total commitment to the project and create the strongest relationship with the local teams .” IM
FEBRUARY 2024 | International Mining 71