Conveyor drives for a coal terminal

March 2011 Electrical switching & drive systems & components

An example of excellent long term relationship management combined with product quality is Hansen’s relationship with one of South Africa’s better known coal terminals, which has trusted Hansen for more than two decades as a specialist supplier of large industrial drives for its conveyors.

Hansen recently supplied 28 conveyor drives for an expansion project at the coal terminal. The contract, valued at just under R7 million, included Hansen Transmissions gearboxes ranging in size from 20 kW to 485 kW. Hansen delivered the first four gearboxes, which were destined for a critical conveyor, within six months of receiving the order. The remaining 24 gearboxes were delivered as required by the customer, on schedule, nine months after the order was placed.

Armed with plant knowledge gained from a long term relationship with the client, Hansen’s engineers were able to deliver on the customer’s stringent gearbox specifications. Hansen has more than 400 gearboxes, driving tipplers, conveyors, stacker reclaimers and ship loaders at this facility. With just over 85% of the gearboxes operating with proven reliability at the plant, the customer has standardised on Hansen gearboxes. The terminal has been operating with a number of second generation HP gearboxes for more than 15 years and these workhorses are only now being phased out over a period of 10 years, from 2007 through to 2017, a record breaking innings of reliability and quality.

The Hansen I4 Invertible gearbox was designed more than a decade ago by local Hansen Transmissions engineers who were very familiar with the tough South African mining and materials handling conditions. It was designed for either handling in order to eliminate the need for separate spare drives on multiple conveyors. The I4 gearbox range has been expanded to include 6 sizes with torque ratings up to 100 kNm. It has met with such overwhelming success that many leading local mines have adopted the unit as a standard for underground conveyors. The design is also accepted as a standard for underground conveyor drives in the mining industry globally.

“The initial purchase price is only part of the package - the life cycle cost of a product plays an extremely important role,” says Fritz Fourie, managing director of Hansen Transmissions. “We have several factors in place to ensure lower cost of ownership by using only products of the highest quality and by selecting the appropriate product for the application in terms of mechanical and thermal ratings. Appropriate maintenance at regular intervals also plays a pivotal role in the life cycle of any product and our technicians are on standby to offer this service to our customers,” he concludes.

For more information contact Fritz Fourie, Hansen Transmissions, +27 (0)11 397 2495, [email protected], www.hansen.co.za

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