Capital Equipment News August 2020

EQUIPMENT REBUILDS

Equipment refurbished or rebuilt by BLC Plant.

A vibrating screen before being rebuilt by Haver & Boecker Niagra.

“Cost is always a key driver, as is turnaround and, of course, quality of rebuild. The ability to support the asset once it returns to operation is a factor to be considered very carefully, in terms of both skilled technical personnel and parts.”

vital to the production value chain. If these are unavailable, this value chain is compromised and the owner’s business is negatively affected. “Saving some money on a rebuild but having capital tied up in an asset which is unable to produce because of a poor quality rebuild or back-up service is counterproductive and often stems from viewing a rebuild in terms of initial quoted cost, rather than cost per ton, or uptime.” He says a reputable service provider will also ensure that all product updates or upgrades are carried out (or give the owner the option to have this done), which will further enhance the value the machine can add. “Back-up after the rebuild is key, too: does the service provider have a wide enough footprint to support the machine or component once it leaves their premises? Do they have skilled and qualified personnel and approved parts?” The service provider should also have a good relationship with the OEM and have “deep experience” of the machine. “Lastly, and very importantly, the supplier must support the equipment owner’s health, safety, environmental and equity or transformation goals.” A rebuild performed by a reputable provider will be more reliable, safer and cheaper to operate in the long term: “After all, there is a reason most of will not have our personal vehicles maintained by just anyone; our lives depend on the quality of the service.” Metric Automotive Engineering’s Yorke says failure of mission-critical components and unavailability of equipment will cripple production and possibly entire operations. “Considering a reputable service provider is simply not enough,” he says. “In-depth technical site visits to the service provider’s facilities are critical. Ensuring the provider has the necessary resources including equipment and skills allowing the

Ryan Gaylard, head: Barloworld Remanufacture Centre, Barloworld Equipment

“The mining sector is no newcomer to challenges throughout history, and equipment or machine rebuilds are just one of many cost- saving tools that we at Haver & Boecker Niagara offer to our customers.”

Ricco Britz, sales manager, SA, Haver & Boecker Niagara

“It is essential to recognise the difference between a repaired component and a remanufactured component. The most obvious difference would be that the repaired component offers more of a saving than the remanufactured one.”

Andrew Yorke, operations director, Metric Automotive Engineering

TALKING POINTS

Importance of the service provider “Given that cost matters a great deal,” says Barloworld Equipment’s Gaylard, “and even more so at the moment, there is a very real temptation to send the rebuild to a service provider with the lowest initial quote.” However, he says, mission-critical capital assets are procured as they are

exact root cause of the problem and re-engineer component replacements, providing equipment that will operate at peak performance, with a maximised lifespan.” He says the entire rebuild can, in many cases, be completed much faster than the lead time of purchasing a new screen.

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