Metso invests in optimism for NSW mining and quarrying

The Hunter region is a significant contributor to the New South Wales economy, producing 60% of the state’s mineral exports and having a share of more than 40% of its mining spend. For the Hunter, 2016 was a year of mixed sentiments and fortune. Early in the year, a truly bleak outlook was sparked for the coal industry, and in particular the Newcastle-Hunter region, when Australia’s second-largest coal producer, Anglo American, went through a global restructure that resulted in a 60% downsizing. Yet against the backdrop of 4–5 years of job losses and mining operation sell-offs, 2016 also saw a growing number of optimistic proponents. Recent rebounds in coal prices have validated that optimism.

Despite all of the pessimism that prevailed early in 2016, resolute in its support of the industry, Metso is one company that decided to buck the trend with its investment of close to one million dollars into a new East Coast Service facility at Tomago.

Metso has been supplying equipment and services to the broader mining and quarrying industries from its East Coast Service centre based in the Newcastle suburb of Carrington since 1959. After more than 50 years at Carrington, the company has relocated its service centre to a new 2000 m² facility in Tomago, 20 km northwest of Newcastle. The facility houses around 35 personnel, comprising a proportion of Metso’s East Coast services staff, part of the company’s HSE team and associated support staff. The facility provides extensive services to the coal and metalliferous mining industries along the entire East Coast of Australia, and also services the company’s clients in the quarry industry.

Metso’s service offering to mines in particular includes diagnostic services; mechanical, structural and electrical inspections; on-site technical support and supervision; and planned outage, shutdown and emergency breakdown services. On the equipment supply and refurbishment side, the facility houses fully integrated assemble, test and paint capabilities. The service centre caters for a broad scope of components, assemblies and complete equipment for mining and quarrying, including mining and quarry screens and all types of crushers, as well as mineral processing equipment like pumps, pulleys, motors and trommels.

Investing for efficiency and customer focus

Shrinking business volumes in the last 4–5 years have caused many mining suppliers to close their operations in the Newcastle–Hunter region. The suppliers who remain today had to beat shrinking business volumes through increased market share. So why if already in a strong market position, and after 57 years of success at Carrington, did Metso decide to invest in new premises?

Roger Taylor, Metso’s vice president of services operations, explained: “Our Carrington facility already offered a comprehensive range of equipment supply and services. Whilst we are bullish about the medium- to long-term future of mining, ultimately the decision to invest was based on a core theme of increased efficiency. We also chose a location that brought us physically closer to our customers. The 20 km move from Carrington to Tomago might not sound significant, but it cuts travel time to the Hunter Valley by 30 minutes and so allows our team to respond more rapidly to urgent customer issues.”

Combining efficiency with safety

Improved efficiency, safety and flexibility are high priorities at the new facility. “Over the years our business has survived by constantly improving its practices,” said Jason Richards, service manager for Eastern Australia. “The new centre has provided a leap for us in both efficiency and productivity. The quicker processing times, and overall reduction in costs, are a benefit for us as well as our customers.”

Richards sights the facility’s greatly improved lifting capabilities and innovative new paint booth as two examples of significant efficiency improvements.

The paint booth can be retracted upwards when not in use and then lowered over the equipment as required. This allows the floor space to be used for other purposes when the booth isn’t required. It also saves the time that would be needed to move equipment in and out of a fixed paint booth.

Richards added that safety continues to be a key focus at Tomago. He said that the facility’s safety record got off on the right foot, with the relocation project being completed according to plan and with a perfect safety record.

Commenting on the success of the new centre, Taylor said, “Whilst we do have a positive outlook for business in the region, ultimately we wanted to improve the service that we provide to our customers with a new facility that matches a more cost-effective supply model. The benefits of the new centre were immediately recognised by both our customers and personnel. We are confident that we are very well positioned to service a rebound in the mining and quarrying industries.”

Image: A scalping screen being moved into the screen test bay at Metso’s new service centre in Tomago.