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Westech™ has been designing and manufacturing customised mining truck bodies for more than fifty years now.  Peter Forsyth, Austin Engineering’s Managing Director, offered some reflections on the building of this specialty OEM equipment for the mining industry worldwide.

“One would have to wonder if the guys at Westech™ knew what they were getting into when they expanded into building off-road mining truck bodies in 1969,” Mr Forsyth said.

“What were their plans and what were their goals because today, some fifty years on, Westech™ bodies are still leading the world in design, construction and performance.”

Speaking at a recent function to mark the company’s half-century milestone, Mr Forsyth said, “Since the first bodies rolled off the production line in 1969 the business had established and maintained a strong reputation for innovation and performance.”

In June 2011, a body was designed and manufactured by Westech™ for a Liebherr T282C Ultra Class haul truck at Peabody Energy’s North Antelope Rochelle coal mine in the U.S. It set a record at 405.78 tonnes (447.3 tons), or a volume of 470.35M³ (615.2 cubic yards). The Book of Guinness World Records officially recognised this record on July 19, 2011.

“Then came the patented design of the Flow Control Body® with its revolutionary floor design, which controls the flow of material during dumping and improves the overall stability of the truck,” Mr Forsyth said. “The Flow Control Body still remains one of the industry’s most significant design and safety features for mining truck bodies.”

The company has shipped around 12,000 bodies since 1969. It provides bodies for all the major OEM truck builders, including Caterpillar, Komatsu, Liebherr, and Hitachi as well as underground mining equipment OEMs including Sandvik and Atlas Copco.

In 2007, Westech™ was acquired by Brisbane-based Austin Engineering^TM in a move that gave Westech™ additional manufacturing capabilities (through the buyer’s plants in Australia and South America). This also helped both companies increase their overall market reach.  (Westech™ also had a licensee agreement with Austin Engineering^TM prior to the acquisition.)

“The acquisition was a good fit with us and complemented our own growing range of engineered mining industry equipment,” said Peter Forsyth.  “It also expanded our technical and design capabilities and gave us direct access to the extensive experience bank Westech™ had built up since delivering its first body in 1969.”

Today, Austin Engineering^TM is the world’s largest non-OEM designer and manufacturer of mining dump truck bodies.  The company also designs and manufactures excavator and wheel loader buckets, water tanks, tyre handlers and other specialised mining machinery attachments for the global mining sector.

For further information, Austin Engineering^TM Australia.  P: 61 7 3723 8600

Austin EngineeringTM recently delivered Australia’s largest water tank to an open-pit coal mine in Queensland’s Bowen Basin.

The Stairway Access Tank

Designed and manufactured by Austin EngineeringTM, the Stairway Access Tank (SAT) is designed to increase safety on-site. It has an innovative stairway that improves access for maintenance personnel and, inside the tank, a corrugated baffle design that reduces surging to improve truck stability by up to 18%. The result is increased safety on-site for operators and all other personnel.

Custom-built to suit either 170mt (190t) or 220mt (240t) class haul trucks, the new Austin SAT features large access ports in the baffles, offering operators a direct line of travel inside the tank.

Cost-reduction & increased performance

Along with improving safety, this unique feature also reduces costs. It increases access and manoeuvrability for personnel and equipment inside the tank when they perform confined space maintenance work, saving time and, therefore, money.

Improved working conditions & safety

Additionally, to improve the worksite environment inside the tank during these maintenance periods, an air exchange system has been included in the design.

A large fill port, that incorporates a trash screen, is located in a recessed channel behind the water dam, and the tank bottom has a natural sump for ease of cleaning and tank draining.

For more information, Austin EngineeringTM.  P: 1800 996 491  E: . www.austineng.com

Austin EngineeringTM has been recognised by The Australian Financial Review (AFR) as one of Australia and New Zealand’s Most Innovative Companies of 2019 for its unique two-piece excavator bucket.

Ranked second out of 800+ organisations

More than 800 organisations across Australia and New Zealand were nominated in the Agriculture, Mining, and Utilities category of the annual AFR’s Boss Magazine Most Innovative Companies listing. Out of these 800+ organisations, Austin was ranked second.

The compilation and ranking of the annual list is completed by a panel of expert judges and are based on a rigorous assessment process. And, for the first time in 2019, organisations were ranked directly against their peers.

Assessed on our commitment to innovation

The assessment process measures a unique innovation implemented in the past twelve months. Specifically, the judges look at how valuable the problem is that the innovation is solving, the quality and uniqueness of the solution, and the level of impact that the innovation has had. 

These assessments also consider the cultural and strategic aspects of the nominated companies. This includes strategies, resources, and processes that demonstrate a sustainable and repeatable approach to innovation.

The Austin Engineering two-piece bucket

Designed and manufactured in Australia by Austin EngineeringTM, the two-piece bucket features well-defined, reusable upper and consumable lower structures. It was designed for quick and safe bucket change-outs during scheduled maintenance intervals.

The reusable upper section has been designed to maintain the overall structural integrity of the assembly for a predetermined service life through multiple change-outs of the lower, consumable, section.

Both sections of the bucket are fabricated with combinations of high-strength steel for maximum fatigue resistance and durability. The typical baseline service life for the upper section service will be in the vicinity of 30,000 hours and approximately 4-5 years, based on industry expectations of conventional one-piece buckets of a similar size and capacity.

“This is a prestigious award, and we are honoured to be a recipient,” said Peter Forsyth, managing director at Austin EngineeringTM. 

“Our commitment to the mining industry, our industry, has been one of innovation, and our product range reflects that commitment.

“We are committed to developing and manufacturing the reliable equipment our customers demand to maintain productivity and profitability,” he added. “And we are not about to change our approach.”

For further information from Austin EngineeringTM, call 1800 996 491 or contact us at .