Environmental Products

Open day showcases plant in live quarry

Much like the biennial Hillhead trade show held at Lafarge Tarmac’s Hillhead Quarry in the UK, the IQA’s Hunter Marquee Open Day was located at Boral’s working Seaham Quarry, located north of Newcastle, New South Wales.

The two-day event kicked off on Thursday, 27 November with equipment suppliers inviting both existing and potential customers to view and test their latest models. The suppliers included Atlas Copco, Volvo Construction Equipment distributor CJD Equipment, Hitachi, Liebherr, Komatsu, Tricon Mining Equipment and Westrac. The quarry was producing on the day, giving attendees the opportunity to operate the machinery in a controlled but realistic working environment. {{image2-A:R-w:300}}

On Friday, 28 November, quarry production was halted as the second day of the event took on a more informative focus. Approximately 100 attendees observed a number of machines in action as equipment supplier staff demonstrated their functions in the quarry pit, while supplier representatives provided further information via presentations. Following the live demonstrations, attendees were allowed to inspect the equipment and ask the supplier representatives additional questions.

The second day also featured a static exhibition, with VGT, Applied Industrial Technologies, Cutting Edges, Blackwoods, Orica, Pewag and Enviro Control Systems among the suppliers displaying their products and services.

Positive feedback paves way for second event
According to IQA Hunter sub-branch secretary Greg Thomson, the inspiration for the open day came from the IQA conference held in Townsville in September last year.

“The Hunter sub-branch is always seeking to add value to their members and sponsors,” he said. “We as a group thought the equipment demonstration organised by Gavin Markwell [managing director of Markwell Group] and his team at the IQA conference was excellent. We wanted to go one step further so we added the Thursday program, which enabled operators to try out the new machines.”

Although the IQA Hunter sub-branch initiated the event, Thomson noted that Boral quarry manager Richard Tomkins and the Seaham Quarry team had been heavily involved, with IQA NSW branch chairman Jim Hankins agreeing they had played an integral part in the open day’s success.

“I cannot stress enough how much effort Richard Tomkins and his Seaham crew put into the two days,” Hankins commented. “Quarry managers from other Boral quarries were also there to assist on the Friday, ensuring everything ran smoothly and safely.”

Hankins described the response from both suppliers and customers as “nothing short of phenomenal”. In addition to the praise the organisers had received from quarry managers and operators, Hankins said one supplier had requested that a steering committee be formed to organise a second event. He added that a number of mining inspectors and mine safety representatives from the NSW Government had also made “exceptionally favourable comments” about how safety issues had been handled.

Thomson said the Hunter sub-branch was currently considering organising a second Hunter Marquee Open Day on 3 to 4 September 2015, but at the time of publication, this had not yet been confirmed.

The event will be reviewed in further detail in a forthcoming issue of Quarry.

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