Modern Mining December 2021

MATERIALS HANDLING

The New Astec: from decentralised business Until recently, Astec operated a number of businesses under a decentralised business model. Over the past several months, the company has introduced a centralised approach, taking 19 different companies serving a variety of markets, commodities and applications, and bringing them together under the Astec name. By Mark Botha .

M alachy Gribben, commercial director at Astec brand Telestack says, “We want to bring a consistent approach to the marketplace for our stakeholders. Dealing with any of these 19 companies brings the same experience in terms of client interaction and engagement with Astec.” Astec has regional offices in South Africa, Brazil, Chile, Australia and Thailand. “Our regional structure brings a local approach to our businesses around the world and brings us closer to our customers while retaining our global expertise,” says Gribben. Materials handling One of the groups within Astec Industries is the Materials Solutions Group, a number of companies specialising in crushing, screening, washing, classi- fying and material handling equipment which, in the past, was a value-added feature of the company’s materials processing platform. “We have seen, especially through Telestack over the past few years, a shift in how customers handle their materials in the mining, aggregate, seaport and terminal markets, which we serve. In the past, tra- ditional earthmoving equipment such as haul trucks and way loaders were used at mines and quarries while, in the seaports and terminals industry, station- ary cranes and mobile harbour cranes were used to

move and handle material. In all sectors we serve, there is a greater focus on handling materials using conveyor solutions. Astec capitalised on that by investing heavily in material handling solutions.” Using conveyor material handling solutions from Astec involves fewer people in the material handling process, as fewer or no trucks are needed or being driven on site. Instead of having drivers for each indi- vidual vehicle, a conveyance system requires one operator only. “Many customers, especially in the mining and aggregate spaces, are working to maintain their environmental, social and governance (ESG) respon- sibilities. Our conveyance systems are a move away from diesel-hydraulic technology and the reliance on diesel for fuel. Our electric conveyors are much quieter and produce fewer emissions than diesel- hydraulic earth moving equipment. “We believe that much of the materials han- dling focus over the next few years will be based on ESG strategies and the need to perform well in terms of ESG. This is one of the reasons why Astec

The Titan T1800-6 Bulk Reception Feeder – the largest mobile bulk reception feeder in the international market. Fed by a CAT777 payload truck, the Telestack unit loads barges at rates of up to 2 000 tph.

18  MODERN MINING  December 2021