BUSINESS
field team that supports users of Osborn
machinery while in use;
• Technical Administration is a unit
which manages all the drawings of plant
and equipment; and
Part of Osborn’s manufacturing plant.
happening around them. Technology has
the ability to rapidly influence development
over a broad range of industries. Consider
the concept of automation for instance. I’m
not sure where it started but today we have
vacuum cleaners, lawnmowers, drilling
rigs and cars operating without human
intervention. A new technological feature
in one industry can find its way into a
completely different industry within a very
short timeframe. As a business we work
hard at creating ‘total innovative awareness’
and, where appropriate, embrace what
makes sense for us to further improve our
products and services.”
Highlights of 100 years
Goosen describes the top highlight of
Osborn’s history as being the securing
of a licence agreement with Telsmith to
manufacture crushing equipment, which
“changed the direction of Osborn’s business
and laid the foundation of the Osborn we
know today.
“The 1980s saw the development of a
number of coal mines to supply new power
stations. One contract that stood out was
with New Denmark, with a value of around
R80-million. That was a big number in the
80s. We also installed the complete coal
handling plant at Matla during that period.
Being able to enter the international
market, post 1994, presented Osborn with
some exciting opportunities. Examples
that come to mind are a complete crushing
plant installed at an iron ore mine in
China and more recently a significant
order for equipment going into a gold
mine in Spain. Being able to successfully
compete with global OEMs, outside
the borders of South Africa, is quite
satisfying,” says Goosen.
12_QUARRY SA| JULY/AUGUST 2019
Director of Product Development Martin
Botha is an employee who’s been with
Osborn for the largest proportion of
those 100 years. Mining technology does
not change at the same pace as in other
industries. “Because of its application, users
want basic, robust, efficient and reliable
equipment. We have equipment that is still
fully operational after 30 years, with spares
readily available and technicians able to
service it.
Mining is a tough job – so where bells
and whistles are being added to equipment
by retrofit, it aims to enable greater
automation in use on site. This requires
greater hydraulics to remove muscle
power. “We’re making our equipment
‘smarter’ and more user-friendly. Health
and safety is of paramount importance
and Osborn remains committed to
incorporating supporting features and
operational processes into our plant and
equipment.”
Botha explains that a lot of the
improvement people want from equipment
is towards greater efficiency – or doing
more with less – but that often comes with
the downside of a shorter lifespan of the
equipment due to a consequent increase in
wear and tear.
Customisation of machinery to client
requirements is a big part of what Osborn
does, including establishment of the
plant in situ. “Here the most challenging
aspect is correlating the size of the site
and the angle of the conveyor, which
are co-dependent, as the conveyor has a
maximum angle,” says McKenzie.
Some of the other customisation
solutions include: apron feeders, which
• Another unit liaises between sales and
engineering to customise individual gear
rations and speed specifications, relating
mostly to apron feeding sizes.
An Osborn primary crusher.
Engineered design
The design of the equipment is driven by
an experienced engineering team, headed
by Dave McKenzie, both in respect of
new equipment and upgrades to existing
equipment, while its experiences in the field
are fed into Botha’s R&D department.
“We do Finite Element Analysis (FEAs)
which measures stresses of any change.”
There are three sections:
• Production Engineering consists of a
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