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Mike Griffin, managing director of
Multotec Rubber |
Multotec Cautions Market Re Mill Liners
Multotec Rubber has cautioned the
market regarding mill liners which is especially
relevant when the international mining sector is in
a time of uncertainty. A common reaction to the
current financial situation is to adjust buying
policies to purchase on price alone and this could
have severe long-term ramifications in terms of
operating cost. In turn, this could at the end of
the day result in purchases costing far more than
the actual perceived saving achieved through this
policy of buying cheap.
“Often project houses and OEMS select product based
purely on purchase price and not on total cost of
ownership or life cycle cost,” Mike Griffin,
managing director of Multotec Rubber, tells
Engineering News.
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“However, the market would be wise to
acknowledge that there are three pitfalls to this
approach. The first, and most obvious, is a shorter
life which means more downtime. The second is the
need for more frequent relines and the third is
catastrophic failures,” Griffin adds.
| Spike Taylor, director Multotec Rubber,
adds that lower cost products are not necessarily better
products as often companies/suppliers, in seeking to reduce
the cost of production, use cheaper, out-of-specification
raw materials which ultimately results in inferior products.
“This can cause premature or catastrophic failures whereas
the use of good quality products results in extended running
time with longer periods between shutdowns, thus offsetting
against a higher purchase price.” Griffin says that the solution can be found in improved
design and technology, coupled with greater involvement and
closer cooperation with the rubber liner suppliers as well
as the customer. In this way, all parties operate smarter,
resulting in a lower cost per ton milled.
“Multotec Rubber’s operating ethos has always been one of
closer partnering with our customers to arrive at viable
solutions and ensure that the lowest life cycle cost is
achieved on installation,” Taylor says. |
Spike Taylor, director Multotec
Rubber |
“Tests conducted over the past eight years have proved the
superiority of the Multotec Rubber mill liner, which is
associated not only with the high grade of our rubber
formulations but is also due to the high closing pressure on
our presses,” Taylor adds.
Griffin says that being successful in the rubber mill liner
market can be attributed to a thorough understanding of the
processes and milling technology.
“We make a continued investment in our rubber manufacturing
facility; in our skilled, competent people and in the
technology and design capabilities used to achieve superior
products. We invested in new plant during the recent boom
and this has given us added versatility because of the
alternate manufacturing technology now available. We hold
extensive intellectual property for our product technology,
which allows for a wider range of solutions for our
customers,” Griffin adds.
“All this investment has resulted in a direct and tangible
improvement in the performance of our mill liners,” Taylor
adds. “We design according to the conditions that need to be
accommodated, which often vary depending on the milling
circuits. This necessitates on-site assessments by our
engineers, whereafter the most appropriate mill lining
solution is offered to the customer.” In a recent
installation by Multotec Rubber some 30% more life has been
achieved by supplying an application-specific rubber
formulation.
“Combinations of regular condition monitoring provide the
necessary information for improvement and delivery accuracy
and lower inventory levels for mines which benefits the mine
through cost containment,” Taylor says.
“Through our alliance with high steel alloy mill liners
company ME Elecmetal, we have become a single source supply
of rubber and steel mill liners,” Taylor says. “This
includes mill liners for autogenous, semi-autogenous, ball
and rod mills, concaves for primary gyratory crushers, and
track pads for electric shovels and hydraulic excavators.”
ME Elecmetal is a global leader in the supply of high
quality mill liners and other mining/crushing related wear
parts and differentiates itself from its competitors in a
number of ways, including the use of a superior computer
controlled melting practice and sophisticated computer
modelling to ensure soundness of all new components; as well
as unsurpassed vacuum moulding for dimensional control and
consistency and 100% inspection to ensure dimensional
accuracy and correct BHN hardness values.
Multotec Rubber is able to offer customised service level
agreements in line with mine and application requirements.
Since no inventories are required, this means a lower risk
to the mine. “In this way we not only eliminate emergency
shutdowns because maintenance is controlled, but we also
provide customers with improvements in productivity and
lowered operating costs. This sort of arrangement has proved
to be beneficial to both us as suppliers as well as to our
customers, and we anticipate a growing trend towards this as
a result of the current situation,” Griffin concludes. |
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