Having serviced the Australian mining industry for over 20 years, Canadian industrial brake OEM Johnson Industries has plans to establish a permanent Australian presence.
Quality is the name of the game in an industry hauling million-tonne payloads every year.
Operators need to know their equipment can keep up with the demands of the harsh environments synonymous with the Australian mining sector.
Enter Johnson Industries.
“We strive to make our products last, especially in the mining environment,” Johnson head of sales Gil Sondraal told Australian Mining. “Taking a look at the industries we deal with – mining is number one.”
After more than 20 years in the Australian market, Johnson is keen to go one better – establishing a specialised local service offering for its Australian customers.
“We want someone on the ground in Australia who has a mechanical and electrical background,” Sondraal said. “Someone who is familiar with what our clients need and can make sure it’s done correctly.”
The world of mining equipment is highly niche, and maintenance requires specialised knowledge across a range of areas, particularly for industrial brakes.
According to Sondraal, things don’t always go to plan.
“We’ve had cases where a third party has taken apart a brake and put the springs back together wrong,” he said. “Suddenly, the customer isn’t getting the torque they expected, or they think our brakes aren’t working properly.
“They’re not working because they weren’t repaired correctly. That’s why we need to offer a Johnson-approved maintenance solution that eliminates the need for an unknown third party.”
Sondraal said Johnson brakes are designed to operate in harsh and dusty mining environments with minimal maintenance. The OEM aims to consistently upgrade its offering to improve reliability, reduce maintenance and simplify service and adjustments.
In a modern mining industry where operations run around the clock, downtime is the enemy. Johnson’s goal is to eliminate all downtime caused by the brake system.
“Our goal is to optimise our brakes as much as possible,” Sondraal said. “Whether that be a feature like double seals or a drain port, our mission is to make the product last as long as possible for the customer.
“We always say if we can make a break that requires no maintenance – that’s the optimal brake. And when we do need to do maintenance, we prioritise minimising downtime.”
Johnson’s primary offerings within the Australian mining industry are conveyor brake systems, and lever brakes for ball, semi-autogenous grinding (SAG), and autogenous grinding (AG) mills.
In fact, the OEM has been supporting the mining industry with conveyor brake solutions for over 40 years.
Johnson manufactures brakes for everything from small transfer conveyors to large downhill conveyors, supplying full programmable logic control (PLC) with power monitoring.
Johnson’s conveyor brakes feature changeable, on-the-fly deceleration functions for various loading conditions. Operators can also work with the conveyor supplier to integrate the brakes logic into the main conveyor PLC controls.
“We have three different types of brakes so we can offer the best solution for a particular application,” Sondraal said. “Hydraulic brakes, air brakes, electric brakes – where other manufacturers often offer one type of brake, we’re a one-stop-shop for the best conveyor brake solution.”
Featuring spring force compensation and toggle link mechanisms, Johnson’s SAG brakes boast lower operating pressure, enhancing and prolonging component life in the process.
Sondraal said the SAG system is safer to operate, with less chance of leaks. And fewer actuators reduce the amount of plumbing maintenance required.
“Our brakes have a modular design,” he said. “If there’s an issue with the actuator, you can just unbolt it and replace it, as opposed to other designs where the actuator is connected to the rest of the brake.”
“If the customer needs to increase the force or the torque, we can just plug in a new actuator and go.
“It’s that customisability of our brakes that sets us apart.”
This feature appeared in the December 2023 issue of Australian Mining.
