| The new facility combines three great names under one roof. |
TerraSource Global officialy opened a large testing facility uniting Gundlach Crushers, Jeffrey Rader, and Pennsylvania Crusher for all TerraSource demonstrations and product development in Duncan, South Carolina, during May.
The move to Duncan first began in 2012, said Vice President of Power and Mining Doug Sublett, to allow testing for a range of equipment. Material, he added, can be run through wood hogs, hammermills, sizers, granulators, roll crushers, impactors and cage-paktors; U.S., Canadian, Chinese, Russian, Polish and Chilean clients are expected.
TerraSource Development Director Bryan Lanham led the $800,000 project by bringing together the three brands’ machinery and equipment while designing the 9,000-sq-ft lab. Since Q4 2013, phase two relocation of further equipment from Belleville, Illinois, and Broomall, Pennsylvania, labs, “is nearly complete,” according to Lanham; one machine was displayed at Coal Prep International from April 29 to May 1 in Lexington, Kentucky, the last machine will be installed in early May.
More than two dozen trials have been performed on-site, according to company officials. “The results have been valuable,” added Lanham. “This will help for applications and product development.” Next door lies a 1,800-sq-ft training center for sales and conferences with private office space, phones and wireless access.
Coalspur Appoints Sedgman as EPC Contractor
Coalspur Mines Ltd. announces that its preferred supplier of engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) services has been changed to Sedgman Ltd. In June 2013, Coalspur announced that Taggart Global (Forge Group North America) had been selected as the preferred EPC contractor for the Vista project. Forge has been a very strong partner for Coalspur over the past nine months.
However, following the placing of Forge’s parent company into administration and, more recently, liquidation, Coalspur completed a detailed process of assessing alternative EPC providers and the Board of Coalspur approved the transition to Sedgman, effective immediately.
Sedgman participated in Coalspur’s 2013 competitive front-end engineering and design (FEED) process for Vista and is ideally positioned to step into the role of lead EPC contractor. Sedgman will commence transition work immediately, led by its Vancouver-based team.
Sedgman’s selection as the EPC contractor for Vista is predicated, among other things, on its abilities, willingness to stand by Vista’s announced capital budget and development schedule, and agreement on key commercial terms. A detailed EPC contract for Vista is anticipated to be finalized in line with Vista’s overall development timeline.
Dräger Partners with United Central Industrial Supply
Dräger has partnered with United Central Industrial Supply to distribute safety products to the mining industry within the U.S.
United Central will distribute several key Dräger products to the mining industry, including the BG-4 closed circuit breathing apparatus, self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBAs), thermal imaging cameras and air purifying respirators.
The partnership, Dräger officials said, will enhance its customer field support by combining its portfolio with that of United Central and its comprehensive sales and support network. United Central has 25 branches throughout North America, as well as a network of product managers, maintenance technicians and service centers.
A New Look for Mining Lighting
Phoenix Products has officially unveiled its new look. The new logo is a tribute to the company’s rich history and reinforces its brand promise of quality, durability and innovation.
The new look was revealed to the entire Phoenix team at a brand launch event. George Wordingham, president and fourth-generation owner of Phoenix, said, “The foundation of quality and integrity our company has built upon has allowed us more than 120 years of success and service to our customers. We are now entering a new era of opportunity and growth, so it was fitting to rebrand Phoenix to carry our pride and progression into the future.”
Heyl & Patterson Signs License Agreement with ELB in South Africa
Heyl & Patterson Inc., a world leader in bulk material handling systems and thermal processing equipment, signed an exclusive license agreement with Engineering Services (Pty) Ltd. (ELB), a bulk material handling provider based in Johannesburg, South Africa.
This exclusive agreement combines Heyl & Patterson’s engineering skills with ELB’s local execution capability and expertise. Heyl & Patterson will provide designs of rotary railcar dumpers (also called wagon tipplers) in single and tandem configuration to unload railroad cars, as well as train positioning equipment (also called side-arm chargers) to move the railcars through the system. The license agreement covers 40 countries in sub-Saharan and Southern Africa, where ELB does business.
“This is a fantastic business opportunity and will give ELB the exclusive rights to market and sell Heyl & Patterson tipplers in Africa,” said Tony Pinto, general manager of business development with ELB. “ELB will be responsible for the marketing, manufacturing, installation, erection and commissioning of railcar tipplers, both single and tandem, and the side-arm chargers.”
The agreement was made possible through the Pennsylvania Mining Export Program (PAMEX), an initiative of the state’s Center for Trade Development that promotes Pennsylvania manufacturers in the Southern African market. ELB was founded in 1919 by Edward L. Bateman.
Rajant, Becker WMS Announce Partnership
Rajant Corp., the pioneer of Kinetic Mesh Networks, and Becker Wholesale Mine Supply (WMS), a supplier of mining electrical products and services and a subsidiary of Becker Mining America, announced a partnership. As part of the agreement, Becker WMS now offers Rajant’s Kinetic Mesh technology to help solve its mining customers broadband communication network challenges worldwide.
Becker WMS supplies underground mining communication systems, and had been looking for additional solutions to fit their growing demand for high availability, rugged and flexible broadband network solutions for surface applications.
“During the past 18 months, we’ve seen a significant uptick in the number of customer requests for rugged, highly scalable broadband communication solutions that can be rapidly deployed across multiple moving assets in surface mine operations,” said Bill Hensler, president of Becker WMS. “Since we were familiar with Rajant and their field-proven line of ultra-reliable, flexible kinetic mesh networking solutions, this partnership just seemed like a natural fit.”
Rajant and Becker WMS were recently selected to deploy Rajant’s Kinetic Mesh Network in North American Coal’s Sabine mine. The previous network installation needed to be replaced and the Sabine mine team was looking for a unified approach that delivered not only a reliable, scalable wireless network but also a robust support team.
“It is critically important to our long-term success that we partner with distributors and resellers who share the same commitment to providing top-tier communication network solutions as well as superior customer service and support,” said Bob Schena, president and CEO of Rajant Corp. “This shared vision with Becker WMS was crucial in being selected by Sabine mine. Not only did our technology excel, but Becker WMS and Rajant were able to offer a high level of onsite support to get the network up and running in a matter of hours, assuring the mine that they made the right choice.”
“The manufacturer and distributor reps were extremely helpful in the initial rollout of the Rajant equipment. They went above and beyond what I have ever seen,” said Matt Hampton, electrical supervisor at Sabine mine. “The product support, not that we’ve needed much, has also been second to none since. The Rajant gear and software is easy to learn and use.”
Like many of Rajant’s successful surface mine installations, Sabine mine is spread out over a very large area. It has two active pits with four drag lines, and consists of multiple vehicles, equipment and personnel dispersed over rugged terrain. This created a critical need for a highly flexible, self-configuring network that could establish and maintain a secure connection across multiple moving assets with no downtime.
“The Rajant mesh system can be summed up in just a few words — it works, and it is easy to setup,” said Jason Murray, manager of information technology at Sabine mine. The Rajant system took just a few days to roll out, and it worked from day one. It has been working without issues since we installed it. I would recommend it to any location that needs a new wireless mesh system in the field.”
Since the original installation at Sabine mine, the company has continued to expand its Rajant network, by adding 10 more nodes across the second pit.
