Australia’s bulk handling sector is the Conveyor Components Company’s next expansion target. ABHR finds out why the US company plans to grow in Australia.
The Conveyor Components Company (CCC) story began almost 60 years ago, when its founder began manufacturing brush cleaners in his basement. Now, the Michigan-based business has its sights set on Australia, with plans to expand down under.
ABHR sat down with John Carlson, sales manager for Conveyor Component Company, to learn more about the company’s plans.
“We went to a trade show in Phoenix, Arizona, and were talking to a manufacturer of emergency stops there,” he told ABHR.
“After talking with them, we started thinking about why we didn’t have a presence in Australia. With the uptake of electric vehicles and the massive mining local mining industry, it made sense for us to be there.”
When it comes to supporting Australian customers, Carlson said CCC has plenty of experience handling international endeavours.
“We’ve had great success in Peru and Chile,” he said. “It’s given us a lot of experience dealing with international shipping.”
“We have a department to make sure it can get to the right freight order to get it where they need, when they need it.”
CCC prides itself on manufacturing rugged, durable equipment for monitoring and protecting conveyor systems. It specialises in producing conveyor controls, motion controls, level controls and bin aerators.
Carlson said the company’s manufacturing processes set it apart in the market.
“No matter what you need, we can build it and ship it within five business days,” he said. “We hyperfocus on quality and robust equipment, capable of withstanding the heavy industries they are used in.
“We manufacture almost every component of our switches and internal components, keeping raw material available to finish products in-house. That lets us build products at a moment’s notice.”
Because every project is different, CCC works closely with its customers to determine how best to deploy its products. For example, on a large overland conveyor project, the company will work with customers to find out exactly where and how to install its products.
CCC will also provide information to make the installation process as easy as possible.
One of the company’s latest developments is its conveyor safety system, a combined package that includes an emergency pull stop system, a belt misalignment system, a damaged belt detector, and motion controls.
The company traditionally offered each of these systems individually but saw the benefits of combining them into one package.
Carlson said customers who are looking to buy a single component of the CSS would benefit greatly from the entire system instead.
“When working with a conveyor system, you need all of these systems,” he said.
“Any one of these systems will alert the customer if something is not right, alerting them to any problems.
“Having quality equipment, you can trust is important for our customer’s peace of mind, especially when it comes to the emergency stop.
“It’s the last line of defence for someone in a hazardous situation, so our customers need to know it will work every time.”