A practical partnership

Treotham has been integrating igus products to keep Australia’s mines running smoothly for more than three decades.

The mining sector is no stranger to massive equipment processing millions of tonnes of rock every day. In fact, it’s exactly what the industry does.

But in the events things go awry, operators need a quick and effective solution. Treotham offers a one-stop shop for industrial cable management solutions on which mines can rely.

Treotham supplies over 10,000 high-quality components and systems to industries across the country, with a keen eye on mining.

Treotham has partnered with German-based manufacturer igus to deliver solutions to mine sites for more than 30 years. The companies have fostered a relationship built on knowledge-sharing and staying on the cutting edge of technology solutions.

According to Treotham’s igus product manager John Sharp, igus products recently achieved $1 billion in sales, a feat made possible through collaboration and expertise in what is a niche field. The partnership has set Treotham up with a method for success.

“We understand our product applications on a deeper level, and we can identify potential problems at the design stage,” Sharp said. “Our whole product range is customisable depending on the customer application. No two systems will be exactly the same, so we’re not just offering something off the shelf.”

Treotham boasts a workforce of engineering experts who harness the creativity required to customise a unique solution for each project.

“Typically, a client comes to us with a concern or problem they are unable to solve,” Sharp said. “We find the quickest way to analyse the issue is to arrange a site visit to fully understand the problem and come up with a proposal to replace the failing equipment with an igus system.

“For clients who are seeing the efficiency of igus systems for the first time, it can mean change. So moving away from the ‘old’ to the ‘new’ can seem like making a big decision, but once the designs have been produced to the specifications and efficiencies realised, a new level of understanding and appreciation is achieved.

“We recently supported a mining customer who was having a problem with a car dumper. They weren’t able to provide much information, and they weren’t able to stop the machine for any length of time.

“The dumper is a critical piece of equipment, and they were having to intermittently shut down to change out the cables and hydraulic swivels.”

Sharp emphasised the fact mine operators don’t have time to deal with avoidable shutdowns when they have ships waiting to be loaded with ore.

“We flew to the site to establish what the issue was and what a solution might look like,” he said. “I worked with some of their fitters to build a scale model of what we were intending to do to give them an idea of how to implement the installation.

“The solution has been in service ever since with zero issues.”

igus’ E4.1 energy chains protected the car dumper’s cables from dust, rocks and other debris that go hand in hand with mining. The chains come with the advantage of an easily maintainable modular structure comprising an inner–outer link design that provides a tough solution with a small footprint.

Treotham was able to get operations back up and running smoothly, leveraging igus products to limit potential downtime and boost operational efficiency for the site.

“It’s all about creating the best result for the customer,” Sharp said.

“By collaborating with partners like igus, we often find they have insight into similar applications and can work with us to deliver the best solutions.”

Finding the best solution to a problem comes from having the best data. Across its centres in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth, Treotham is in a position to work with mine operators in Australia to determine their needs as issues arise.

“Our customers can be rest assured we have people on hand to get to the site if needed,” Sharp said. “You have to go that extra mile because so often we’re applying an alternative technology they haven’t used before.

“Operators can be a bit hesitant to overhaul a system, and understandably so. We ensure our solutions bring measurable improvements to a site that our customers will remember, so they know they can trust us, take the leap of faith, and see a huge payoff in the form of less maintenance and more productivity.”

Once a solution is in place, Treotham prioritises providing quality after-market support to help ensure customers’ continued success.

“Servicing and inspecting our solutions is highly important to us,” Sharp said.

“Customers want equipment that runs efficiently without them having to think about it. We’re more than happy to step in and make sure things keep running as they should.

“Once our customers see what we have to offer, they keep coming back.”

intermittently shut down to change out the cables and hydraulic swivels.”

Sharp emphasised the fact mine operators don’t have time to deal with avoidable shutdowns when they have ships waiting to be loaded with ore.

“We flew to the site to establish what the issue was and what a solution might look like,” he said. “I worked with some of their fitters to build a scale model of what we were intending to do to give them an idea of how to implement the installation.

“The solution has been in service ever since with zero issues.”

igus’ E4.1 energy chains protected the car dumper’s cables from dust, rocks and other debris that go hand in hand with mining. The chains come with the advantage of an easily maintainable modular structure comprising an inner–outer link design that provides a tough solution with a small footprint.

Treotham was able to get operations back up and running smoothly, leveraging igus products to limit potential downtime and boost operational efficiency for the site.

“It’s all about creating the best result for the customer,” Sharp said.

“By collaborating with partners like igus, we often find they have insight into similar applications and can work with us to deliver the best solutions.”

Finding the best solution to a problem comes from having the best data. Across its centres in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth, Treotham is in a position to work with mine operators in Australia to determine their needs as issues arise.

“Our customers can be rest assured we have people on hand to get to the site if needed,” Sharp said. “You have to go that extra mile because so often we’re applying an alternative technology they haven’t used before.

“Operators can be a bit hesitant to overhaul a system, and understandably so. We ensure our solutions bring measurable improvements to a site that our customers will remember, so they know they can trust us, take the leap of faith, and see a huge payoff in the form of less maintenance and more productivity.”

Once a solution is in place, Treotham prioritises providing quality after-market support to help ensure customers’ continued success.

“Servicing and inspecting our solutions is highly important to us,” Sharp said.

“Customers want equipment that runs efficiently without them having to think about it. We’re more than happy to step in and make sure things keep running as they should.

“Once our customers see what we have to offer, they keep coming back.”

This feature appeared in the March 2024 issue of Australian Mining.