DHHI is growing its market share across Australia, delivering major balanced machine contracts for some of the country’s biggest mining companies. ABHR learns how DHHI plans to take advantage of its onshore and offshore capabilities.
International shipping can be a hassle at the best of times, especially for Australians. But when the purchase in question weighs hundreds of tonnes, things get even more complicated.
Minerals Resources (MinRes), one of Australia’s major pit-to-ship mining services providers and an operator of iron ore and lithium mines in Western Australia, was in this situation. As part of the company’s Onslow Iron project, MinRes needed five massive machines – a transhipment vessel loader (TSV Loader) and bridge reclaimer at its port operation and a bucketwheel reclaimer and two stackers at its mine.
One of the key constraints the company had was minimising the time spent getting the machinery operational. That’s where Dalian Huarui Heavy Industry (DHHI) came in.
“In projects like these, erecting, commissioning, and testing these machines takes valuable time and space that many sites just can’t afford to lose”, Harald Grosshammer, chief executive officer at DHHI, told ABHR.
Related stories:
- A case study of stacker chute analysis using DEM and scale modelling
- Newcastle trio transforms stacker throughput
- BULKtalk: Designing a modern bulk port
“For the MinRes port operation, we designed, supplied, and commissioned a bridge reclaimer with a 10,000 tonne per hour design capacity – one of the biggest of its type in the world.
“Like the TSV loader, we fully assembled and commissioned the machine at DHHI’s Dalian facility in China, then delivered as a complete unit on a flat-deck carrier. The machine was able to go into commissioning within weeks of delivery, not months”.
Delivering the bridge reclaimer and TSV loader in this way allowed MinRes to de-risk the entire project. Instead of erecting the equipment on site with an intense construction team and requiring high-risk tasks such as working at heights, the reclaimer was able to be put to work and commissioned rapidly.
The project’s Ken’s Bore mine, linked to the port by a dedicated haul road, features a 55m-long boom reclaimer and two stacker units with a 37m boom length. These machines were also erected in full and commissioned in Dalian. But because road transport was required, the machines were disassembled into modules for ocean freight and road transport.
They were then re-assembled over several weeks and then re-commissioned. The first stacker, delivered to the site in large modules, is completed and ready for operation.
DHHI investigated several options when it came to transporting the machines to MinRes.
“It’s a massive undertaking – not many machines have been delivered like this,” Grosshammer said.
“We worked very closely with MinRes. DHHI takes a partnership approach with the clients to discuss how we could best deliver the project, and alert them to any issues that arose”.
Grosshammer said DHHI has developed a “new way of working” to support its customers around the world.
“To provide the Australian market with what it needs, we need to ensure we have local support. We are fully set up in Australia with our Perth office, where we manage our projects,” he said.
“We have project teams in Australia and China, and they work very closely with each other. Our Australian engineers will support the quality control, documentation, and make sure everything aligns with Australian standards.”
When DHHI first established itself in the Australian market around eight years ago, it built up a team and provided office and aftermarket support. This “new way of working” allowed the company to react to local client needs. Now, the company in Australia, has full lead engineering, procurement, site supervision, installation and commissioning capabilities. It can support almost any project from the very beginning to the end of life and deconstruction process.
Grosshammer said it’s no longer the ‘new’ way of working – it’s just business as usual.
“DHHI has established itself in Australia with its offering of balanced machines, and we plan to continue growing in this space,” he said.
“We support all the major mining companies in Australia that require these complex and vital machines.”
With both the engineering capability and fabrication capacity, DHHI is poised to continue growing locally. It is undertaking reviews into its processes to find new ways of reducing risks, improving reliability, and supporting aftermarket needs.
DHHI maintains an aftermarket team to ensure that its balanced machines receive the support and care they need throughout their lifespan.
“We value building strong relationships and supplying our clients with everything they need to succeed,” Grosshammer said.
DHHI’s main products in the Australian market are bulk materials handling machines – reclaimers, stackers and shiploaders. It also manufactures cranes, wind turbine components, electrical components, and machinery for the plastics industry. Across its more than two million square metres of facilities, the company manufactures approximately 600,000 tonnes of structural and mechanical equipment each year.
Over the past 15 years, the company has established itself as a global expert in engineering and designing low-cost, high-quality machinery for Australia’s miners.