Mining and Heavy Industries

Finding efficiencies in conveyor systems

End-to-end solutions on offer from conveyor companies are improving the material processing industry through quality, innovation, and reliability resulting in reduced maintenance costs and increased productivity for their worldwide customer base.

End-to-end solutions on offer from conveyor companies are improving the material processing industry through quality, innovation, and reliability resulting in reduced maintenance costs and increased productivity for their worldwide customer base.

One thing REMA TIP TOP’s customers want is “longer service life for increased plant availability and production” Joss Lynch, National Product Manager for Conveyor Components at the company says. This has become even more important following the economic shocks of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Our customers want their conveyor assets to last longer, produce more and cost less to maintain,” he says.

Earlier this year a client wanted to move to a 16-week shutdown cycle to increase productivity and save on downtime costs. However, the polyurethane belt cleaning blades they had available were not durable enough to handle that kind of extensive use.

The business contacted Rema Tip Top, which worked to provide a solution from its extensive belt cleaner product line.

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After confirmation from its main research and development centre in Germany, Rema Tip Top determined that based off belt speeds of 5.5 metres per second, tonnage of 14,000 per hour, material grade, hours of operation, and tension, a high-grade long life REMACLEAN polyurethane blend was recommended for the site’s belt cleaners.

Results showed the REMACLEAN blades still had 35 per cent blade life remaining after a full 16-week production period with no down time for belt cleaner maintenance. The previous blades had a blade life of nine weeks and generally resulted in an hour of downtime maintenance over a 12-week period. This cost the business upward of $500,000 in production loss, product, and maintenance costs. Rema Tip Top are now applying this model to various other conveyors across the site with similar savings expected.

Wade Richardson, National Product Manager for Conveyor Belting at Rema Tip Top, says taking an end-to-end approach and listening to our extensive maintenance team on site means the company can provide reliable components and conveyor belting exceeding customer expectation.

“Rema Tip Top Materials Processing is focussed on manufacturing high quality conveyor belting and conveyor components, to drive performance and deliver longevity which enables savings to the benefit of our customers,” he says.

“At Rema Tip Top we have developed our processes by taking advantage of our onsite representation and expertise in the field including problem solving for our customers, filtering back information to our national product team allowing for enhancement of our manufactured product.”

Rema Tip Top’s people are the backbone of the company. The business offers one of the largest experienced service divisions in the country. Specialists can provide anything from problem identification, product recommendations, scoping, quotes, shutdown execution, project tendering plus act as site based in-field experts for belt cleaning, tracking, belting and rollers.

To support this service presence, Rema Tip Top invests heavily into training. It has established a facility to provide Certificate 3 qualifications for new employees and all site-based crews who undergo additional education while on the job.

Lynch says, “Without qualified people in the field, it makes delivering what we say we are going to do for our customer much harder. Our people really complement our product range and showcase we are a one brand, one source, one system solution provider for our customers.”

“Customers appreciate how up close and personal our team likes to get when it comes to solving problems. We’re not afraid to get our hands dirty to find out what has to be done.”

Rema Tip Top plans to continue innovating both its products and its people. The company is targeting industries it has not traditionally been involved with and providing new ideas and products, such as its Idler rollers and chevron belt for the quarry and recycling industries.

It will also add alternative high-tensile-strength rubber belting and other compounds to its local range, developed though engineering centres around the world.

“We have end to end solutions that can go the distance,” Richardson says. “We want to innovate with our customers to help them improve availability, reduce downtime and save them money.”

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