Modern Mining May 2017

feature CRUSHING, SCREENING AND MILLING “Our primary objective is to help our customers achieve the lowest cost per ton in their production process.”

Screen media brand builds on FLSmidth’s global footprint

requires experience in both the manufacturing and the application of screen media, which we have in abundance.” He emphasises the importance of under- standing the customer’s operation, as the business is no longer about just selling wire screens – rather, it is about adding value to the customer’s business. Understanding the density of the material being processed, for instance, is a key aspect of specifying correctly; this allows wire thicknesses to be reduced as far as possible. “It is a fallacy that thicker wire is better,” he says. “In the production process, the wire’s tensile strength rises the more it is drawn. It is also more difficult to properly tension thicker screens, and if they are not tensioned correctly they may be prone to breakage and could fail prematurely.” Wire strands that are optimally specified will also give the screen greater open area and will reduce costs as thinner wires are used. This will also lighten the mass of the screen, making the machine lighter and more efficient. He highlights the fact that a vibrating screen is perhaps one of the best fatigue testers available. “For a strand of wire to withstand the forces of a screen moving up to 10 000 times a minute, it requires highly specialised engineering and

With a South African heritage going back over 110 years, the FLSmidth Meshcape® Screen Media product brand offers the mining sector not only a full range of wire screens and screen media but the footprint of global FLSmidth.

A ccording toRossDott, FLSmidth’s Business Development Manager for Meshcape ® Screen Media products, the market has become increasingly globalised and com- petitive, making long term relationships with customers even more vital. “With our global footprint, we are able to offer the market a total package and this is a major differentiator,” says Dott. “In addition to our wide range of screen panel solutions, we provide that unique mix of capabilities with skilled technical staff all over the world in our Supercenters and Technology Centers.” FLSmidth Meshcape ® Screen Media, with its extensive engineering expertise and high qual- ity manufacturing capacity in South Africa and Australia, is the largest supplier of woven wire product in the southern hemisphere. “Unlike many of our smaller competitors, we cater for the entire range of screening prod- ucts so we can provide solutions to any market that has a processing operation that needs to screen, sieve, sort, size, filter, protect, support, freeze, dry, dewater and reinforce,” he says. FLSmidth, through its

global network, is able to leverage technical skills as well as a logistical supply chain that ensures optimum responsiveness to customers, and this is particularly relevant to its screen media cus- tomer base. “Our primary objec- t i ve i s t o he l p ou r customers achieve the lowest cost per ton in their production pro- cess,” says Dott. “You can only do that if you specify the right wire for the application; this

42  MODERN MINING  May 2017