After decades of supporting infrastructural progress with efficient mining equipment in India, Gainwell Engineering has turned its focus to Australia.
With an emphasis on achieving a better tomorrow through sustainability, innovation and excellence, Gainwell Engineering is ready to establish itself as a leading mining equipment supplier in Australia and the Pacific region.
The company offers an array of products for its global customers, including underground room and pillar equipment and its highwall miner, the latter of which offers an innovative method for extracting coal.
“We provide safe, reliable and productive equipment, and we are now another choice for customers in the original equipment manufacturer (OEM) business here in Australia,” Gainwell Engineering Pacific managing director Paul Mulley told Australian Mining. “We’re very familiar with the Australian regulations and standards and Australian customers. The team here at Gainwell Engineering Pacific has a long association with industry operators, so we understand what our customers are looking for.
“We know where we need to pitch in order to provide a product that’s competitive and safely maximises production.”
Gainwell’s engineers are on hand to deliver technical service, and to answer any questions customers may have.
“We’ve got some of the smartest engineers around in underground coal mining,” Mulley said. “We’ve got great people and great products.”
Gainwell recently achieved multiple milestones in Australia, such as nearing the completion of the first machine assembly that will go to the Kestrel coal mine in Queensland’s Bowen Basin to be used on its longwall moves.
A 2022 technology licensing agreement for underground mining equipment with Caterpillar allowed Gainwell to manufacture medium and high-seam underground room and pillar equipment to support coal production in India and around the world.
Early 2022 also saw the company partner with Vitrinite to support the Vulcan Mine Complex in the Bowen Basin, marking Gainwell Engineering’s first entry into Australia with the Gainwell Highwall Miner.
“The significance of this is twofold,” Mulley said.
“It gives Vitrinite a product that will mine as low as they want need to maximise productivity very high-quality coal, and it gives Gainwell entry into a new market we believe has many opportunities for this product.
“We can set it out to be superior for lots of reasons, but we’ve never sold one into Australia. This is the first.
“We have sold them in India, many in the US, to Russia and Indonesia, and hope to add more countries to this list in the near future.”
Gainwell also won its first machine rebuilds with Anglo American’s Moranbah North underground longwall mine in Queensland in April 2023.
In a global market full of OEMs that specialise in underground mining, Gainwell stands out as one that doesn’t just manufacturer products, but also sells and operates them in India.
“For that particular part of the mine, we manage the panel where we are mining coal and we’re responsible for giving the customer an agreed number of tonnes of coal at a cost per tonne, Mulley said. “We’ve got a huge amount of background and experience in this sort of business. That doesn’t just go for underground mining, but for highwall mining as well.”
The future looks bright for Gainwell.
“We’ve got good orders, a strong order book, and we’ll be looking to introduce more products into the market in the next one-to-two years,” Mulley said. “These products will be varied; not just diesels or highwalls, but others that are critical to underground mining, such as the Gainwell Continuous Miner and the Gainwell Feeder Breaker.
“We will be out there in the market to find customers that need equipment and a partner that’s got proven experience and demonstrates quality service and product.”
This feature appeared in the September 2023 issue of Australian Mining.
