Capital Equipment News August 2019

one of the only 5% of local manufacturers of its size to be ISO9001:2015 certified. Reiterating the company’s testing capabilities, Schoepflin makes special mention of the company’s variable speed drive that has been connected to the test bench with specialised monitoring software. This allows Kwatani to experiment with the gearbox at different speeds. “This allows us to be more accurate when specifying the required drive for the vibrating screen or feeder, so that we can specify the right size and capacity in a more scientific way,” she says. “For instance, we may find that a smaller drive can provide the motion required without necessarily needing a larger drive, allowing the customer to save on energy costs. We are able to size the drive to the need, because often a larger drive means bigger upfront costs, and higher energy consumption.” Uptime and maintenance costs Schoepflin says in a sales situation, often customers opt for the cheapest unit in terms of capital cost. However, in most cases the cheapest vibrating screen tends to be the most costly in the end because of lack of required efficiency, breakdowns,

maintenance costs and related downtime. “The fact of the matter is that customers need to compare the actual efficiency of the units, lifetime costs, downtime and how much and difficult the maintenance is. With Kwatani screens, only wear parts and drive components are maintenance items. Typically a steel part is not a maintenance item because it is built to last,” she says. “One of the most important things in cost of ownership, especially considering the importance of a screen on a mine, is plant uptime,” says Schoepflin, adding that regular, cost-effective maintenance is essential in ensuring plant uptime. “Regular service is probably one of the most important elements in achieving optimal cost of ownership.” Schoepflin reasons that the industry is currently suffering from a lack of skills. To help close this gap for its customers, Kwatani probably has the highest number of tertiary qualified staff of any OEM of its class. In fact, the company has a building that houses highly-qualified engineers only. When it comes to maintenance, Kwatani offers customised service level agreements. “We offer customised service level agreements because not every customer is the same. In some instances we

have to continuously audit the screens and maintain them ourselves. In other cases we can train the customer’s workforce to oversee maintenance,” she says. “Our service programmes are not catalogued – it depends on the individual needs of the mine, which is an important factor. Together with the design, quality, efficiency and fitting the infrastructure, we find the service element being an important parameter in the cost of ownership equation,” says Schoepflin. Kwatani also offers a cost per tonne operational basis. “We also have a cost per tonne agreement, where instead of getting paid for our screens, we get paid on a cost per tonne basis. This type of contractual relationship aligns the interests of both the mine and supplier. This formula of sharing tonnage and risk positions Kwatani as a provider of value,” she says. To help customers extend the lifetime of their machinery, Kwatani also offers refurbishment programmes. “We refurbish our large screens. They lend themselves to refurbishment. When they come for refurbishment, we also look at the wear patterns and advise the customer on possible changes that can prolong the life of their screens,” concludes Schoepflin. b

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