In 2013, we rejigged our website and gave it a full overhaul.
Not that there was anything wrong with our old website. It was a genuine workhorse that had served us well since the mid-2000s. However, it was time for a replacement.
We went live with our new website in February. Immediately, we saw a spike in web traffic of over 100%, and the figures have actually continued to grow from there!
In addition to listing all of our products and services, we decided to include information about technical issues affecting the mechanical power transmission industry, as well as specific product updates.
These were the five most popular posts for our ‘The Talk’ section of the All Torque Transmissions website in 2013…
What Does a Torque Arm on a Gearbox Do?
McKay Gearboxes: Yep, Still Available.
New ComInTec Torque Limiter Catalogue Released.
Bonfiglioli BE Series Electric Motors Now in Australia.
If you were one of the 20,000 people who visited our website in 2013, we would like to thank you for stopping by. We plan to continue to build on the information that we have already shared, to help provide our customers with as much industry insight as we can.
Bonfiglioli’s Australian Managing Director, Malcolm Lewis, was recently on hand to represent the gearmotor manufacturer at the Australian Bulk Handling Awards for 2013. Held at Sydney’s Darling Harbour in November, the ceremony saw 15 trophies awarded for a diverse range of categories, where Bonfiglioli were an awards sponsor.
The Bulk Handling Awards are conducted every year by Australian Bulk Handling Review magazine.
For 2013, the award for Excellence in the Application of Gears, Motors or Drives saw the finalists comprising:
The eventual winner was Fortescue Metals Group and Metso Mining and Construction, for the supply of their two new train unloaders.
Everyone at All Torque Transmissions would like to congratulate our supply partner Bonfiglioli on making it to the final of the 2013 Australian Bulk Handling Awards. Having won the award for Excellence in the Application of Gears, Motors or Drives previously, we’re sure that even they know that you can’t win it every year!
Other categories included Supplier of the Year, Environmental Project of the Year, Excellence in Engineering Photography, Best Practice in Work, Health and Safety, Excellence in Transport and/or Conveying, Bulk Handling Facility of the Year (Resources and Infrastructure) and Bulk Handling Facility of the Year (Manufacturing and Processing).
Well done to all of the finalists.
Baldor has long had a reputation for assisting customers in the aggregate industry. Renowned for both quality and durability, the Baldor and Dodge range of equipment was specified in the full refurbishment of an aggregate plant in the States recently.
Baldor are justifiably proud of their achievement and have written a case study about it, which we are republishing in full below:
When Process Machinery CEO, David Miles, learned that Bluegrass Materials wanted to upgrade a newly purchased quarry, he was excited about the opportunity. Not only would it be a great project, but it would also be a chance to work with the Baker family, the new owners and well-respected leaders in the aggregate industry.
Operating since the 1950s, the Bowling Green South Quarry still had 90 years of life left, but the plant was well past its prime and plagued by costly maintenance issues. Miles knew there would be a lot of competition for the job to design, fabricate and build the new plant, but he believed his team’s 34-year history and its focus on delivering the best total value would set it apart.
“We listened to their goals and tried to provide the best engineered project we could offer them,” says Miles. “They had a vision of what they wanted this plant to be, and we worked hard to give it to them. In the end, I think we brought the best solution to the table, and at a good value, and that’s why they decided to go with us.”
The quarry manager, Bill Bob Lindsey, says he was tickled when Process Machinery got the job because of its reputation for doing quality work. He had been waiting to get a new plant for the past 20 years and was excited to be a part of the team sharing ideas about what the new plant should look like. But what he couldn’t envision was how Process Machinery was going to design a system to deal with rock from four distinct ledges.
“The rock here presents some challenges,” says Lindsey. “We have scrubber stone that’s got to be kept separate; it can’t be mixed with any other material, so we needed a way to bypass the surge. This may sound simple, but it’s really very, very complicated. But they came up with a design that could do it.” The end result is a Process Machinery design creating an extremely flexible and comprehensive blending system that allows the plant to make a full gamut of stone with a lot of blending combinations, as well as sand and lime products.
Fulfilling Bluegrass Materials’ request for long-term reliability and simplified maintenance was an easier task, according to Miles. Because, he says, they specified Baldor•Reliance® motors and Baldor•Dodge® gearing, bearings and pulleys.
“We stuck tried-and-true to our values and principles that we design all our plants around,” says Miles. “And that means we specify Baldor and Dodge products. This has been our specification for more than 30 years, and we have great comfort with it. Recommending these products was just one more way we brought value to this project.”
For the Bowling Green South Quarry project, Process Machinery selected Baldor’s Dodge Torque-Arm II™ gearboxes, Imperial and Type E bearings, Mine Duty Extra pulleys, and Baldor•Reliance Quarry Duty and Severe Duty motors. Miles says they based all of these selections on proven quality and reliability.
“I can’t deal with an inferior product, and I don’t want any issues. The products have to perform the way I’m told they will,” says Miles. “And that’s what I get from these Baldor•Reliance and Baldor•Dodge products. They work and work and work, and we don’t have to go back to a job site and replace them. We have come to rely and trust these products.”
Process Machinery also relies on Baldor’s System-1™ group, a team that facilitates the design, quotation and order processing of multiple products for project support. Craig Hartlage, project manager for Process Machinery, says he has partnered with the System-1 group for more than 15 years, calling it his one-stop spot to get everything he needs from Baldor.
“Not only do they provide us with a quote for all the electrical and mechanical components,” says Hartlage, “they also make sure the pulleys are preassembled with the correct bushings, shaft and bearings to our specifications. This is a real time-saver for us because all our team has to do is mount the assembled package. The time we save helps us to increase the throughput in our shop.”
Because Process Machinery builds in a “just-in-time” process, they also rely on the System-1 group to ensure that all of these packages and other components are delivered on time and in the right order. Hartlage says that being able to deliver a project more quickly helps set his company apart from other OEMs. And he says he relies on the System-1 group to perform.
“If we need components in a specific order, we tell them, and they work with us,” says Hartlage. “We have no hesitation going after these large projects because the System-1 team understands what’s expected, and they work to meet our need. It’s a relationship that has worked for a lot of years.”
No one is more pleased with the way the plant turned out than Lindsey. He says his life is a whole lot easier these days with a plant that’s efficient and easy to maintain. He admits that it took him a while to get used to it but now enjoys coming up with a couple of little things every week to make the plant run even better.
“We got what we actually wanted,” says Lindsey. “We’re really happy with the plant. If I had to do this all over again, I would choose the same products, and I would lay it out the same way. I wouldn’t change a thing.”
That’s just the reaction that Miles likes to hear from a customer. He is also pleased with the way the plant turned out and proud that the Bakers trusted them to deliver an innovative design, constructed with high-end motor and mechanical components.
At All Torque, we are proud to be a partner to a company with as much respect in the marketplace as Baldor. Jointly, we have been involved with projects in Australia as the aggregate plant detailed in the case study above, as well as handling the daily needs of the full end user market.
The above case study can be viewed as a PDF by clicking here…Built-to-Last-Process-Machinery
The full range of Baldor products for the aggregate industry can be viewed as a PDF by clicking here…Baldor Aggregate Brochure
A quiet December on the manufacturing front has seen the Performance of Manufacturing Index remain in contraction territory at 47.6, down slightly from November by 0.1.
As detailed by the Australian Industry Group and PriceWaterhouseCoopers, the December PMI saw contractions in most manufacturing sub-sectors, with employment losing gains from November and shrinking once again.
The food and beverage sub-sector was a standout for most of 2013, and remained expansionary in December (although at a reduced rate), whilst wood and paper products and the related print and recorded media sub-sectors also expanded.
It would appear that the ‘catch-up’ the market saw post the September federal election has played out and Australia has a sustained, slightly contracting manufacturing future ahead of it for the next few months.
In contrast with the Australian PMI result, the USA, Eurozone, UK, Japan and China have all recorded expansionary results from their last monthly reporting period. How much this discrepancy can be laid at currency concerns is best left debated by the economists.
Performance of Manufacturing Index figures are released every month, with a view to giving decision-makers market intelligence regarding forward planning.
The December Performance of Manufacturing Index results can be downloaded here: Dec 2013 PMI
The coffee manufacturing industry is a specialist manufacturing sub-sector that is prevalent in Melbourne’s inner north.
All Torque Transmissions has had a long history in dealing with many of the coffee companies that have made Melbourne the coffee capital of Australia. These producers range from the large-scale, commercial operations right through to the single-roaster, boutique blend creator. Whilst their power transmission needs may vary, their demands for dependable product and timely service do not.
In addition to roasting, coffee beans are conveyed, packaged and stored, all with the aid of:
High heat, mixed with the need to keep everything spotless, creates a demand for the very best power transmission hardware. Supplying only the best quality product is what has made All Torque Transmissions trusted by Melbourne’s coffee manufacturing industry.