Renowned for its safe, high-quality equipment Kleemann is the equipment manufacturer of choice for Rostrevor Group.
German equipment manufacturer Kleemann has been producing crushers and screens for the mineral processing industry for over a century.
Renowned for its safe, high-quality equipment, Kleemann was a clear choice for Rostrevor Group.
Kleemann is a “member of the worldwide Wirtgen Group and the business has built its expertise in the crushing and screening industry in mobile crushing,” crushing and screening buyer, Kleemann, Wirtgen Australia Kyle Fredericks told Quarry.
“They initially came from the static plant industry and then moved over to complete mobile crushing and screening equipment.”
Based in Dandenong, Victoria, Wirtgen is the original equipment manufacturer (OEM) of Kleemann, distributing equipment to Australia, New Zealand and other Pacific Islands.
The lineup includes, “jaw crushers, cone crushers, impact crushers, reclaimers or scalpers, screens and also stacking conveyors,” Fredericks noted.
He explained that a standout aspect of the Kleemann brand is that “it is a very innovative company, and it looks at simplifying the operation of the machines, as well as to improve the safety of those machines within their various applications.”
For this very reason, Kleemann was the perfect fit for Rostrevor Group.
Established in 2019 by Cathal Clerkin-Parr, the company has remained a loyal Wirtgen customer from the beginning.
“We’re a small family business based in Melbourne, Victoria that predominately works in the recycling industry,” Rostrevor Group owner Cathal Clerkin-Parr said.
“Wirtgen provides all the crushers and screens that we need to actually process material down – so, that’s everything from the impact crushers, screens to cone crushers.”
For Rostrevor Group, the quality of Kleemann equipment and Wirtgen’s technical support is the reason it keeps coming back.
“The reason why we choose Kleemann is because of their engineering on the machines,” Clerkin-Parr said.
“When we originally started the business, we looked for machines that would best suit our needs. We considered all the competitor options and Kleemann, but Kleemann stood out as a clear choice,” he recalled.
“Just by walking around the Kleemann machines, we could see how much thought had been put into the design of the equipment, from both an engineering and operational point of view.
“That’s why we chose that machine; because we could see the level of detail from the build perspective, so we knew that the operation was going to be good, too – because they would have thought the whole process through,” Clerkin-Parr explained.
And when it comes to working in the field, Kleemann equipment delivers on its promise. According to Clerkin-Parr, the machines are so well built that when you put them into the field they rarely fail.
“We’ve now bought up to five crushers and screens from Kleemann and we’ve never really had a problem,” he said.
“They provide around 20-25,000 total hours of crushing output – that is how well the machines are made – it’s their strong suit.”
Kleemann also stands out to the Rostrevor Group as it is “the only real supplier of mobile diesel electric crushers,” Clerkin-Parr said.
“For us they’re the only real option for diesel-electric (crushers), there is no other.”
Wirtgen is a leader when it comes to diesel-electric crushers, agreed Fredericks.
“We’ve been designing (diesel-electric crushers and screen) for a very long time now, versus competitors only entering that space in recent times.
“(This means) we’ve got a head start when it comes to expertise and knowledge on what needs to happen, what can go wrong, and so on. As a result, there are less teething problems,” Fredericks said.
Finding the right provider
When looking for a provider, Rostrevor Group requires a company that offers not only high-quality equipment, but also technical support to support the equipment in the long run.
“We want a company that’s got good depth of experience and knowledge, that has the technical expertise to answer any questions we may have,” Clerkin-Parr said.
“(For example,) Kyle can answer a question or the on-site service techs, the boilermaker, or the mechanic – if we need to know something, (we know that we) can just ring a person who is specialised in that machine.”
Fredericks supports this: “That’s the one key benefit of us being an OEM,” he noted. “We’ve got direct factory access.”
“So, if there any issues, our engineers or the design engineers based in Germany can be on the phone with the customers, sorting out an issue, or explaining how to fix it, how to make it better, or how to improve it,” Fredericks said.
Going forward, Rostrevor Group looks forward to many more years of partnership with Wirtgen.
“We’re very happy to be growing with Kleemann and Wirtgen, and we will continue to grow with them,” said Clerkin-Parr.
“Three years ago, we started off with one machine. Now, three years later we have 13 bits of equipment, which includes other earth moving equipment.”
“If you look at where we started three years ago, to where (Rostrevor Group) is now that it’s been massive growth, at a steady rate,” Fredericks added.
“A proportion of that comes down to the plant availability that we get from Kleemann,” added Clerkin-Parr.
He explained that every morning, Kleemann machines are always guaranteed to start.
“We come in in the morning and just press the start button, it starts up and just keep going – you work all day,” Clerkin-Parr said.
“Whereas, in my previous experience of with working with a lot of other equipment, this not always the case – a machine may be crushing all day before but come the next day, it might not even start,” he explained.
“We don’t find that (with Kleemann). So, when we’re talking about growth, it is that we get good plant availability.
“This gives us good productivity, which obviously increases our profit margin, because less downtime allows us to continue to grow uninterrupted,” Clerkin-Parr concluded.
For more information, visit wirtgen-group.com/en-au/
This feature first appeared in the July issue of Quarry.