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Oils well that ends well

An Australian manufacturer of lubricants for the mining industry has been awarded a contract with O&K- Carraro that will see its products used in machines right across the sector.

O&K- Carraro, a leading manufacturer of transmissions, hydraulic drives, axles and gears, said it awarded Anglomoil the contract because of the ‘excellence’ of their products.

O&K is a member of Carraro Drive Tech, an 83-year-old German company that is represented across the Asia-Pacific region by Australian company Cram Fluid Power.

Cram Fluid Power founder Kevin Moore said Anglomoil lubricants are well-suited to the extreme operating conditions in final drives, slew drives, undercarriage components and drill rigs.

Moore said end users are frequently looking for Australian-made products that provide them with better quality because the high-value machines they’ll be helping to run include high ­capacity shovel loaders, slew drives, winch drives and a wide range of undercarriage driver systems.

Moore said his company also works closely with Anglomoil to providing solutions to customers with great results.

Anglomoil has supplied grease for use in heavy mining applications such as loaders and haul trucks and Cram has been supplying this grease to one of its heavy excavator fleets for nearly four years.

“During this time there have been no failures in their fleet,” Moore said.

“Prior to using the Anglomoil grease, they were experiencing a grease related failure rate of, on average, two per month. Cram supplied and manages this grease product in bulk 1.5 tonne bins. This is typical of the stories we are hearing from our mining companies.”

Cram now has operations in Wollongong, Newcastle, Singleton, Mackay and Perth so it can readily service the mining sector.

In other efficiency-related news, a new technology contract will ensure future fuel cost savings for Anglo American’s coal operations in Australia.

Canadian company Blutip Power Technologies will supply Anglo American with their Advanced Universal Controller (AUC) for coal haulage, after successful trials on Caterpillar 797, 793, 789 and 785 series haul trucks at the Dawson, Capcoal and Drayton mine last year.

Blutip president Chuck Knott said he was very proud to be working with Anglo American to help them achieve fuel effi­ciency objectives.

“We are committed to assisting Anglo American maximize their efficiency by allowing them to reduce the fuel consumed per tonne-hour across their fleets and by providing real time fuel management analytic tools,” he said.

The new AUC provides engine remapping that reduces fuel consumption while maintaining engine power output and other functionality of the original equipment provider’s electronic control unit.

Blutip said the improvement in Anglo American’s fuel efficiency through use of the new AUC would reduce particulate matter emissions, in turn helping Anglo American to reduce its carbon footprint.

The controllers provide data analytic tools for engine loading time distributions, GPS data and the capability to evaluate other fuel saving initiatives.

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