Last month, approximately 450 of the world’s leading equipment manufacturers, contractors and suppliers converged at Lafarge Tarmac’s Hillhead Quarry near Buxton, Derbyshire in the UK to showcase the latest plant, equipment, materials and services available to the quarry and construction industries.
This year, the event featured an expanded layout, with additional space allocated for both indoor and outdoor stands. A new section – located near the registration pavilion at the top of the site – also joined the three long-established rock processing, recycling and quarry face live demonstration areas.
Hillhead 2014 was reportedly “the biggest show ever mounted at the Derbyshire quarry site”, with the attendance of 17,559 total trade visitors.
“With economic recovery gathering momentum and confidence returning to the market, particularly in the UK, a growing sense of optimism was noticeable among exhibitors and visitors alike,” a Hillhead press release stated.
Machinery highlights
Every few years, a number of Australian suppliers head up to the UK for the show and this year Precisionscreen managing director Harold Kerr was amongst them.
“I have been coming to Hillhead for many years and this was one of the best,” Kerr told Quarry. “I believe the live machine demonstrations are the best part of the show. I especially enjoyed seeing all the new machines from Sandvik including the QS331 and QH331 mobile cone.”
MSC Group CEO Kirwan Barr found McCloskey International’s latest jaw crusher to be one of the highlights of the show. “The J45R is the first mobile jaw crusher with a screen recirculation system on the market,” he said. “The unit on display was sold just prior to the show so if that’s anything to go by, this will be a very popular machine!”
Both Finlay Screening and Crushing’s hire and technical manager Ronnie Bustard and OPS Screening and Crushing Equipment general manager Shane Czerkasow were also excited to see Terex Finlay’s new dual power mobile plant range. Bustard said that learning the benefits of the new development had been his “main reason for attending the show”, while Czerkasow expressed surprise at the equipment’s quietness.
“The equipment was running off a gen-set, as opposed to traditional diesel engine, and the reduction in operating noise was considerable and impressive,” Czerkasow said.
Strengthening relationships
In addition to being able to see the newest quarry technology in action, Czerkasow said that Hillhead allowed him to “foster stronger supply relations” with existing suppliers. “My predominant motivation in attending was the convenience of having 14 of our suppliers in the one place, at the one time,” he explained.
Bustard agreed that the show was excellent for building business relationships, saying, “The main thing I got [out of Hillhead] was knowledge on the electric machines but I did also meet other manufacturers that wanted us to sell their product in Australia. Discussions are still ongoing with some of them.”
The suppliers reported that the event was also well received by key Australian customers they had invited along.
“[The customers] gave very positive feedback and found it very interesting to speak to the engineers who designed the equipment they operate in Australia,” Barr said.
Bustard added, “We had customers attend the show – some for the first time – and they were very impressed with the layout and working area. As the show focused on the quarry industry they got a lot from the trip.”
Czerkasow said that Hillhead offered a valuable point of difference from other quarry trade shows.
”As opposed to other mining exhibitions, where customers can often get distracted by the large presence of earthmoving equipment, Hillhead is truly an exhibition focused on screening, crushing, mineral processing and conveying equipment,” he said. “This is unique in terms of world expos and a useful sales tool for OPS to directly engage with existing and potential customers.”
Details for Hillhead 2016 are expected to be announced soon.