88娱乐城
Originally, founder Ceiriog Hughes anticipated mining would account for a large portion of turnover but supplying equipment to the glass industry became the company鈥檚 mainstay.
Recently, English expatriate John Whitfield took up the opportunity to buy a 50% share in the company and has taken up the role of president 鈥� mining division with Longwall Services.
Whitfield, an experienced electrical engineer from the UK, has worked as a supplier to the coal industry with British-owned Victor Products for 32 years. Whitfield has represented Victor in the US for the past 23 years, most recently as vice president.
He is now focused on increasing the company鈥檚 mining side of the business, but not simply as a third-party agent. The company has substantial mechanical and electrical expertise and it is this service Whitfield will provide to clients. Advice with specifications, equipment design and compatibility between different types of equipment are all on offer, he said.
鈥淥ur mission, we believe, is to become the predominant supplier of original equipment manufacturer (OEM) parts and equipment for longwall operations,鈥� Whitfield said.
In the last few months, the company has already increased its product lines to incorporate a twin-pull bretby, new longwall lighting and innovative steel piping to supply hydraulic fluid to pumping stations and shields. The company hopes to be able to offer longwall communications equipment as well, but is still negotiating with potential partners.
The Tiger Bretby is a product supplied by Australian company Senior Thermal Engineering. It differs from the predominantly used side-pull cable-handlers in the US and is the only top-loading twin-pull available. The Tiger Bretby has been sold in the US since 2000 and several dozen are currently installed in longwalls.
Longwall Services is also representing Burn Brite Lights, another highly respected Australian company that is celebrating 50 years of designing and manufacturing lighting solutions. The company supplies longwall lighting to the vast majority of Australian longwall mines and has manufactured 38 Australian longwall lighting systems.
The most recent project is the mini-build for the Ulan mine longwall, for which Burn Brite is supplying lights. Ulan will be Australia鈥檚 widest face at 400m when it comes on-stream later in the year. The BHP Billiton Douglas mine mini-build is soon to follow.
In China, the new Daning longwall mine (majority owned by Asian American Coal), chose Burn Brite lighting for its new project. The China Coal Institute recently purchased Burn Brite lighting fixtures to illuminate their roofbolters.
To facilitate entry into the US market, Burn Brite is in the process of submitting its longwall lighting to MSHA for approval.
Longwall Services has also become the new American agent for pipe manufacturer Hamacher. The German company has been trying for some years to gain widespread acceptance for its HyPres system 鈥� Hamacher first exhibited the pipes in the US market at the 2000 Las Vegas MINExpo.
Made from galvanized steel with screw-type couplings, the system is re-useable and offers at least twice the lifespan of conventional hoses and significant cost savings due to reduced pressure drop with flow.
The American Eagle operation near Charleston in West Virginia was the first mine to use the high-pressure flexible steel pipes instead of hoses.
It鈥檚 taken time but recently other mines have begun trialing the system and Whitfield has high expectations of acceptance increasing.
He believes there is the potential for six to eight orders this year.
