Altra Motion may have been recently acquired by Regal Rexnord, but the key OEM and partner of the Australian mining industry hasn’t changed in identity, values, culture or commitment to customers.
Following the successful completion of Regal Rexnord Corporation’s acquisition of Altra Industrial Motion, a globally renowned original equipment manufacturer (OEM), Regal Rexnord chief executive officer Louis Pinkham spoke about how the two companies’ well-aligned cultures and shared values will provide the larger entity with strong market offerings.
While cultural alignment is critical to any fruitful acquisition, it also helps that the combined entities have the attributes to expand the offerings of the buyer.
This is precisely the case with Altra Motion.
“Altra’s automation and specialty platform transforms our existing automation portfolio into a meaningful, global automation solutions provider,” Pinkham said.
“Altra’s power transmission technologies business significantly enhances our power transmission portfolio, in particular our industrial powertrain offering, by adding complementary products in brakes, gears and clutches.
“The combined power transmission, automation and powertrain capabilities of the new Regal Rexnord provides customers with a significantly enhanced value proposition across a wider range of end markets.”
Altra Motion brings the expertise and capabilities of 26 well-respected power transmission brands, including Svendborg Brakes, Twiflex, Marland Clutch, Wichita Clutch, Industrial Clutch and Stieber, to Regal Rexnord. Altra also brings a strong Australian customer base, many of which are key players in the Australian resources industry.
Altra Motion Australia managing director Junior Eltagonde told Australian Mining that while the acquisition provides an exciting future with expanded potential for the power transmission capabilities of the combined company, for now ‘it is business as usual’.
“We still need to remain focused on what we do well, and what we currently do well in Australia is market and service high-quality industrial brakes and clutches,” Eltagonde said. “It’s important that, as our organisation grows, we don’t lose that focus.
“From a strategic viewpoint, Regal Rexnord supports our existing growth initiatives that reinforce our commitment to developing and maintaining strong partnerships with our customers. Down the line, there’s obviously some synergies between the combined companies that we can leverage; however, particularly for us, we’re very much business as usual since Regal Rexnord has given us the autonomy to continue doing what we do best.”
Altra Motion remains focused on respecting and supporting its people, ensuring employees can reach their fullest career potential and satisfaction.
This philosophy is also shared by Regal Rexnord, as it promotes from within, utilising its team’s skills and extensive market experience in the expanded organisation.
Altra Motion supports its Australian mining customers throughout the product lifecycle, not only as the OEM behind its 26 brands, but also by providing support from its after-market, engineering, sales and service divisions.
Alongside its Melbourne and Sydney offices, Regal Rexnord Australia operates facilities in Perth, Mackay and Newcastle, the customers’ first port-of-call when issues arise or new parts or products are requested.
Mackay and Newcastle are in the heart of the mining-rich Bowen Basin and Hunter Valley regions of Australia, respectively, enabling Altra Motion to provide on-site support efficiently and seamlessly for our customers.
“In Mackay and Newcastle, we’re a key mining partner, especially for companies operating draglines and shovels,” Eltagonde said. “This is through our Wichita Clutch, Industrial Clutch and Twiflex brands, where we offer the products and local service, engineering and sales to support this equipment.”
As for Western Australian, Altra Motion has engineers and service personnel located across the state to ensure customers are supported throughout this expansive mining region.
While Altra Motion has an established product range, the OEM is always evolving and expanding its offerings through its innovative research and development (R&D) division.
“We’re always looking to improve our technologies,” Eltagonde said. “There are some new products we are currently introducing to the mining market, such as IIoT (Industrial Internet of Things) solutions from Svendborg Brakes.”
Altra Motion Australia national sales manager Rex Sinclair told Australian Mining that while IIoT has been a focus for several years, the company believes there are always opportunities to expand this technology.
“IIoT has enabled us to assist our customers in monitoring their equipment out in the field,” Sinclair said. “The data is stored in a cloud and can be readily accessed by the customer to assist them with preventive and predictive maintenance.”
IIoT solutions for Svendborg brakes and Marland backstops will be showcased in the Altra Motion stand at the AIMEX mining conference in Sydney this September.
Sinclair highlighted the Svendborg Brakes UC Case, which is a portable IIoT tool that allows the servicing, commissioning, and troubleshooting of customer braking systems.
“If a customer needs to troubleshoot from a remote mine site, we can send the UC Case to his site or have an Altra Motion technician deliver it on-site,” Sinclair said.
“The customer can connect to the system allowing us to troubleshoot from anywhere. If high-level support is needed, our engineers in Denmark can provide software upgrades or make adjustments to the brake system – all through the UC Case.”
“Altra Motion Australia may have a new owner, but we are the same Altra Motion that has supported the Australian mining industry with extremely reliable power transmission solutions and service for decades,” Eltagonde said.
“We are proud of this achievement and acknowledge this will continue as Regal Rexnord and Altra Motion collaborate and deliver their like-minded people, ideas and capabilities.”
This feature appeared in the July 2023 issue of Australian Mining.
