Tough Stuff #34

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Avoca Lime sold on Metso impactor

Buying a Metso LT1213S mobile crushing plant has opened up new markets for Avoca Lime in Whangarei.

Owner Bryce Manderson says the company now operates two LT1213S – one with a built-in screen and one without.

“They are incredibly versatile units. We have one working fulltime at our Bay of Islands lime quarry. On one side of the quarry is a soft lime seam that we crush for ag lime. On the other side is a hard lime seam that we crush for roading metal. We just walk it from one side to the other to crush on demand. It couldn’t be easier.”

The newer crushing plant was purchased second hand, but has had repairs and maintenance carried out by MIMICO before delivery.

Bryce said the company couldn’t justify buying a new machine, given the uncertain state of the market.

“We chose that crusher because we know it’s the top of the line in crushing plants. And we’re confident that when we deal with MIMICO, if we need parts or service, they are the agents and backup is important to us. Service is a real strength of theirs, and if we have to spend a bit on maintenance, its not a big deal in the long term. These machines are designed to keep going for 20 years.”

The LT1213S is in high demand crushing hard lime  stone for council and forestry roads.

“The impactor can crush limestone in wet conditions when a jaw crusher can’t, so that’s a big advantage. With the built-in screen, we can close the circuit and produce end product on site with one machine. And the production is good enough to produce chip on demand, without needing to stockpile. It’s ideal for us.”

The truckies love dealing with freshly crushed limestone because it trails properly, whereas it won’t if stockpiled.

The computer automation also means the Metso plant can also be operated by a digger operator and a loader driver.

“Now we’ve got the unit in Northland, we’re picking up contract lime crushing on farms and for other operators, plus some greywacke blue and brown metal for contract crushing. And operating one machine in tight spots is another plus.”

Bryce says the impact crushing process also produces a great cubical end product and a high proportion of fines – ideal for roading.

Avoca are also combining lime with superphosphate to produce dicalcic phosphate. After combining the two and letting it cure for a month, the material needs to be crushed and screened into a 10mm product again with the impactor.

“Versatility is the word for this machine.”

The Metso LT1213S on a contract crushing assignment.

 

Portafill screens are tough but compact

MIMICO’s new range of Portafill mobile screening plants are perfect for contractors wanting a smaller plant that’s tough and easy to transport.

Portafill range features compact screens that don’t compomise on strength, output or quality. Most models in the Portafill range fits snuggly inside a standard 40 foot container.

Portafill make five models – four on tracks and one on wheels. All the tracked models fit inside a standard container, reducing transport costs.

MIMICO are the New Zealand distributors for Portafill screens.

These units – manufactured in Ireland – are small but extremely tough and designed to handle quarry rock, sand, gravel, landfill, gabion rock, topsoil, bark, wood, and recycled materials.

The company has been around for 16 years, and is built around the experience of Malachy Rafferty, who owned and managed Masterskreen International Ltd prior to his involvement with Portafill. Rafferty has 40 years experience in the screening industry.

The Portafill 3000 range with onboard conveyors was introduced in 2003 and is now in use on every continent. This versatile unit is the model best suited for use in New Zealand.

MIMICO Managing Director Rex Davies says the Portafill range of smaller screening plants fits neatly with the larger Metso mobile screens, giving MIMICO the ability to supply a robust quality screen for every application.

The Portafill 3000 – tough but compact.

 

Waiotahi put hire plant to the test

MIMICO’s mobile cone crusher and Keestrack screening plant have come up trumps for Waiotahi Contractors in Opotiki.

Opotiki manager Spike Petersen said the company wanted to experiment with hiring quality crushing and screening equipment to process river metal hauled out of the local rivers.

First, Waiotahi Contractors stockpiled raw river run at its Opotiki yard and hired a Keestrack Novum screening plant from MIMICO.

“We took 65mm and up from the first belt – that’s our gabion material. The second belt produced 30-65mm which we stockpiled for crushing. And the third belt produced our material up to 30mm for farm tracks and general roading metal.

“The Keestrack screen can fair motor along. On a good day we would process 800 cubes of river run. The Keestrack is not that big, but we had a 20 tonne excavator loading it and it was kept pretty busy. And we had two loaders working with 3 cubic metre buckets and it kept them going flat tack all day.”

The Keestrack processed the stockpile in approximately 65 hours.

“It’s a great machine – easy to use, solidly built and there’s nothing that’s going to break on it.”

Next, Waiotahi hired an LT200HP mobile cone crusher from MIMICO to crush the 30-65mm material for a full range of roading chip.

“The screen had scalped off 2000 cubic metres of 30-65mm stone. We backed the cone crusher in to the stockpile, set it at 14mm and it produced all the different chip sizes we needed. It made a nice job of giving us at least 70% broken faces,” Spike said.

Thirty hours later, the stockpile was gone.

“We’ve got all the sealing chip we need now to service the Gisborne and Opotiki areas. The hire gear performed really well and the chip quality was excellent. Now we just need to crunch the numbers. If they stack up, we’ll be using the hire machines again.”

Waiotahi Contractors employ a total of 120 staff at their Whakatane quarry and head office, and at depots in Opotiki, Kawerau and Taupo. The Opotiki depot employs 35 staff to run a readymix plant and operate 12 trucks and six excavators.

 

Fulton Hogan check out the options

Fulton Hogan have struck two winning hire combinations in recent months.

Quarry Operations Manager Tim Kennedy says the first was matching a Metso LT95 jaw crusher with a Metso LT200HP mobile cone crusher to process 6000 cubic metres of rock at Fulton Hogan’s Matawai Quarry near the Waioeka Gorge to produce GAP 40 and 65 aggregate.

“We were crushing greywacke blast rock and we wanted an all-in product for forestry roading – subbase and basecourse. We were consistently getting 105-110 tonnes per hour on that job, and that kept the gear busy for a couple of weeks.”

The second job was another double act – a Metso LT80 jaw crusher feeding a Metso ST272 screening plant.

“We took it up to Tolaga Bay to rescreen oversize and waste metal to produce gabion rock. First we screened out all the fines and then we ran it over the screen again to produce oversize gabion rock and minus 65.

“We screened 5000 cubes to produce 3000 cubes of product, so that was a good opportunity and a great result from waste material. It was certainly cheaper than blasting new rock.”

Tim says the company uses a variety of hire plant for different one-off applications.

“Those machines – for the right applications – go really, really well. But often we are dealing with tough product in tough conditions.

“We’ve used a lot of hire gear. We were very impressed with the Keestrack screening plant. We thought it might be too small for what we wanted but it went really well.

“We’re checking out the best hire options, should we need to handle a supply peak, and we’re also looking at options for possible upgrade of plant.”

Fulton Hogan operate at three hard rock quarries in Poverty Bay and five river sites, covering a big area from Te Araroa to Mahia to Matawai. The company double-crews its own primary/secondary mobile crushing plant. The quarry operations supply roughly half the product for Fulton Hogan contracting operations, and half to private customers.

The LT95 and LT200HP in action for Fulton Hogan.

 

 

MIMICO appointed ZF distributor

MIMICO has been appointed the New Zealand OEM supplier and repairer for ZF off-road transmissions, drivetrain components and axles.

MIMICO Managing Director Rex Davies said the announcement from ZF recognises MIMICO’s:

experience and track record as an OEM parts supplier and service agent

investment in New Zealand’s first ZF transmission test bed

successful sales history with ZF concrete mixer drives.

Rex said MIMICO already has dedicated ZF sales staff on the road promoting parts sales and MIMICO’s transmission repair service.

“We are looking to grow our existing markets in parts and service in the earthmoving and industrial markets, and we are looking at possible new service opportunities in the agricultural machinery market. There are large numbers of ZF transmissions and drive components in agricultural equipment in New Zealand. We are looking at what services we can offer that market, and having discussions with ZF.”

Rex said one of the key advantages for MIMICO clients would be the flow of technical expertise and information from ZF to MIMICO’s service technicians.

“Our technicians will now have access to ZF’s international knowledge base which will deliver long term benefits to our clients in New Zealand.

 

Peter flies the flag for ZF

Peter Erasmus – ‘Raz’ to his friends – is on the road flying the flag for MIMICO and ZF.

MIMICO is now confirmed as the New Zealand OEM supplier and repairer for ZF off-road transmissions, drivetrain components and axles. ZF transmissions and components are found in a wide range of offroad machines – mainly in earthmoving, industrial forklifts and agriculture.

Raz has identified a long list of businesses operating heavy machinery with ZF transmissions, and he’s visiting them all.

“These businesses need to know MIMICO is a one-stop-shop for all their ZF parts and service needs,” Raz says. “We have just serviced a transmission for a large hire company and they are so pleased with it, they’ve promised to send all their transmissions to MIMICO from now on.”

MIMICO operate New Zealand’s only ZF offroad transmission test bed. This allows every transmission to be run – and faults dignosed – in the workshop. Repairs are made, then the transmission is run again to test every aspect of its performance before it goes back to the client. All repairs are made with genuine ZF parts.

“My job is to visit our existing clients and create an awareness with potential new clients, promoting our service and selling parts,” Raz says. “This is the first time MIMICO has had staff focusing solely on the ZF side of the business.”

Raz is originally from Zimbabwe. He came to New Zealand in 2001 with wife Alison, who also works for MIMICO.

“My background was in sales of mining and industrial equipment to the mining market, generally aftermarket parts and accessories. But when you move to a new country, you take the jobs you can get.”

Raz worked for Pearsons assembling hydraulics on new slurry tanks, then moved to Beaurepaires, managing three different tyre stores over four years. Then he spent two years milking cows.

Now that he is working regular Monday to Friday hours, Raz hopes to play a little golf in the weekends and maybe re-discover the form that earned him a 10 handicap in Zimbabwe. And as summer approaches, he plans to dust off the surfcasting rod and wind down on a lonely beach somewhere.

But right now, he’s on the road talking about ZF transmissions and parts. If you’d like to find out what MIMICO can do for your business, phone Raz on 021 566 936 or email raz@mimico.co.nz

 

Peter ‘Raz’ Erasmus.

 

 

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