Modern Mining June 2018

PRODUCT News

With mining operations remaining under pressure to optimise plants, original equip- ment manufacturers (OEMs) and suppliers must be more dynamic and focused in terms of their overall market offering. This is the message from Johannes Kottmann, MD of MBE Minerals SA, who says the company’s strong relationship with and understanding of its customers’ operations allows it to provide optimum value support and services, all of which is aimed at ensuring that operations perform optimally. MBE Minerals’ support options are MBE focused on support for optimal performance customised to suit specific customer requirements and can range from basic maintenance contracts, which would typically include on-site service person- nel, and can extend to consignment stock facilities and progress right up to compre- hensive Service Level Agreements (SLAs). At this level, support is provided through fully fledged regional service centres capable of undertaking ongoing equip- ment condition monitoring, maintenance and service support. Customers are able to leverage the expertise and in-depth experience MBE

tioning and a multi-disciplined approach needs to be instituted when designing a plant. Kottmann maintains that OEMs should be tasked with the continued and consistent maintenance of equipment in the plant to ensure that it is carried out cost effectively and downtime is reduced. “We have seen a trend developing within the industry whereby customers are moving away from maintaining plants in-house to an SLA or life-cycle contract with the OEM. This implies that the man- ufacturer is not only selling a piece of equipment but is also supplying the cus- tomer with a comprehensive maintenance plan,” Kottmann explains. “Coupled with this is the importance of the OEM’s location in relation to its customer’s operations, and we currently operate a fully-fledged service centre in Kathu in the Northern Cape to cater for these iron ore and manganese operations and in Middleburg to service various cus- tomers in the coalfields,” Kottmann says. As a result, the MBE Minerals teams have developed first-hand knowledge of how its equipment is operating within the various plants, enabling application- specific design improvements that result in an enhancement in the operational life and efficiency of the equipment. MBE Minerals, tel (+27 11) 397-4660

Minerals SA has acquired across the full spectrum of services to a large footprint of customers. “With an OEM supporting the equipment in the plant directly, it is possible to implement effi- ciency improvements as a result of ongoing input and interac- tion with the plant personnel. In addition to this, training is undertaken that benefits the plant personnel both in terms of operator needs and mainte- nance,” Kottmann says. T h e m a i n t e n a n c e o f equipment in mineral pro- cessing plants is equally as important as its optimum func-

The MBE Minerals teams have first-hand operational knowl- edge of its equipment. This is a view of a BATAC jig.

Fuchs Lubricants invests R125 million in grease plant expansion Fuchs Lubricants South Africa has officially opened a R125 million grease plant expansion at its factory in Isando.

Fuchs investing in a state-of-the-art grease plant that will manufac- ture a large variety of specialty grease grades. “Fuchs sees the importance and demand for speciality grease growing significantly and wants to be in a position to support this increase in demand from our customers. But importantly, the rea- son for building the new grease plant is not only for capacity, but to inject new levels of process excellence and quality into our grease manufacturing. “As one of the most automated and advanced grease plants in the Fuchs organisation, and indeed the world, we will be looking to export grease from this plant across Africa and to other parts of the world,” he said. The project is a collaboration between South African and German engineers, and system and component suppliers. The proj- ect team was made up of a technical team from Fuchs Lubricants South Africa and Fuchs Germany who were responsible for the pro- cess design of the plant. DRA was appointed to project manage, design, procure and construct the plant. The automation of the plant was contracted to a Fuchs supplier from Germany. Fuchs, tel (+27 11) 565-9600, website: www.fuchs.com/za

Paul Deppe, Managing Director of Fuchs Lubricants South Africa, said the project has been almost three years in the making with

The new plant is one of the most automated and advanced grease plants in the Fuchs organisation.

54  MODERN MINING  June 2018