‘Solution factories’ mark SKF turning point
May 2 - 8, 2012
SKF is almost as ubiquitous as red dirt in Western Australia’s Pilbara region yet unlike the dust its presence is barely visible. That’s how Tom Johnstone, long-serving chief of the world’s biggest bearing company, wants things to stay – up to a point. He’s overseen large-scale investment in recent years in ‘demonstration’ centres such as the new $A6 million facility in Perth to show just how important SKF is to preventing all that red dirt from shutting down vital mining machinery.
SKM to engineer ‘truckless’ mining
April 25 - May 1, 2012
AUSTRALIAN-based global engineering firm Sinclair Knight Merz has won a $US76 million implementation contract for the ‘truckless’ component of Vale’s S11D project in Brazil.
Geobrugg forges local production link
May 9 - 15, 2012
MAY 7 – AUSTRALIAN and New Zealand mining and civil engineering users of Geobrugg high-tensile steel mesh can expect faster deliveries from a newly opened manufacturing plant in Western Australia.
Cat concludes another big Bucyrus deal
April 11 - 17, 2012
SYDNEY, Apr 12 – Major Caterpillar distributor/dealer WesTrac has taken over the sales, service and support of the Bucyrus range of mining equipment in Western Australia, New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory.
Sandvik opens Hunter plant
April 4 - 10, 2012
APRIL 2 – SANDVIK Mining has unfinished business in the coal mining equipment space, Olof Faxander indicated while in Australia last week, with the Sandvik group president believing there are still acquisitions to be made in the sector.
Reversal of fortunes
April 4 - 10, 2012
APRIL 2 - INVESTMENT bank Merrill Lynch has been impressed by visits to key Caterpillar manufacturing facilities in Illinois, saying the global giant has turned the tables on rival Komatsu with more aggressive recent expansion and better execution of its growth strategy.
Heavy metal briefs: Gekko Systems, Ludman Industries, CME
April 4 - 10, 2012
AUSTRALIAN mineral processing equipment manufacturer Gekko Systems has marked the 10-year anniversary of its foundation Canadian office in Vancouver.
Heavy Metal briefs: Atlas Copco, Nepean Engineering, Caterpillar, Teakle Composites, Sandvik
March 28 - April 3, 2012
SWEDISH manufacturer Atlas Copco has unveiled latest versions of its popular Boltec and Simba underground rigs, and a new multi-use Boomer, in the lead-up the major MINExpo mining show in the US later this year.
Shenhua expands Sandvik miner fleet
March 14 - 20, 2012
SANDVIKEN, Sweden, Mar 14 – Chinese coal mining house Shenhua Shendong has signed a SEK500M ($US74M) with Swedish equipment giant Sandvik for items including 21 bolter miners.
Polish coal miners return to ploughs
February 22 - 28, 2012
A NEW longwall-plough production record at a Polish coal mine could speed a wider move in the country to automated plough systems as national coal output declines and economic reserves shrink.
Hunter investment bonanza continues
February 15 - 21, 2012
A NEW $A40 million investment by Joy Global in a Hunter Valley ‘centre of excellence’ is the latest significant announcement by a major mining equipment supplier about service renewal in the coal mining district.
Komatsu's mining lift
February 1 - 7, 2012
JAPAN’S biggest mining and construction equipment manufacturer Komatsu says a 30% increase in full-year mining equipment demand (for its fiscal year ending March 31) will help offset a steep fall in sales for its construction division in China in the past six months and the effects of a stronger Japanese currency against the American greenback.
Heavy metal briefs: Sandvik, Caterpillar
February 1 - 7, 2012
SWEDISH manufacturer Sandvik is celebrating its 150th birthday this week.
Founder Göran Fredrik Göransson’s steelmaking enterprise, formed in Sandviken, broke new ground with the use of the Bessemer process which would revolutionise steel manufacturing. The company quickly became a significant global industrial player.
Heavy Metal briefs: ABB, Soil Machine Dynamics, FLSmidth, Keech, Caterpillar
January 25 - 31, 2012
SUB-SEA mining units employed at the world’s first large-scale submarine mine, off the coast of Papua New Guinea, will feature ABB transformers and switchgear after the engineering giant won a contract to supply the equipment to British manufacturer Soil Machine Dynamics (SMD).
Cat plows into Chinese coal market
January 25 - 31, 2012
CATERPILLAR continues to see evidence of China’s domestic coal industry transformation, and of the long-term attractions of its acquisition of Bucyrus, with an order to supply a new automated longwall plow to Lvliang Dongyi Group member Gasification Co Ltd.
Joy, Fletcher bolt together
January 25 - 31, 2012
JOY Global unit Joy Mining Machinery has struck a new distribution deal with JH Fletcher & Co, giving it the right to exclusively sell and service Fletcher equipment outside North America, Australia and Norway, and broadening its mine bolting-machine offering.
Long haul to diamond mine
January 25 - 31, 2012
A LONG-range mine haul truck with purpose-built dump body are on their way from Australia to the Ekati diamond mine in northern Canada.
Atlas Copco expands mining range
December 15 - 21, 2011
ATLAS Copco will add electric mine trucks, utility vehicles and ventilation systems to its broad underground mining and tunnelling equipment offering after closing its acquisition of fellow Swedish firm GIA Industri in the first quarter next year.
Sany gets top billing
December 1 - 7, 2011
CITI has put Hong Kong-listed Sany Heavy Equipment International on a superior valuation footing to Joy Global and Caterpillar targets in the Chinese coal mining equipment sector, arguing the Liang Wengen-controlled Sany deserves a “scarcity premium”.
Cat invests in trucks and engines in India
December 1 - 7, 2011
THE SITE for a new $US150 million Caterpillar Perkins engine plant in India hasn’t yet been determined, but the US machinery giant has expanded investment in its Chennai mining truck plant to $US170 million with its latest $62 million commitment.