Integrated solutions from SKF are helping operators anticipate, prevent, and optimise — keeping rotating machinery working harder, longer, and more sustainably.
Mining, minerals processing, and cement facilities share some of the world’s harshest operating conditions: extreme temperatures, abrasive dust, high vibration, and constant load. Each presents challenges to both uptime and safety, and the costs of failure, to productivity, energy consumption, labour, and even human life, are only rising.
“It’s not just about keeping the machine going anymore,” SKF Segment Manager Quarry & Cement Johan van der Westhuizen said. “Businesses are seeking increased availability – and doing so more sustainably, with fewer interventions, fewer spare parts, and fewer risks to people.
“That’s what makes SKF more than just a supplier of bearings and lubrication systems — we’re equipped to be a long-term performance partner for heavy industry.”
By offering integrated condition monitoring, maintenance strategies, and data-led diagnostics, SKF is helping plants shift from reactive firefighting to predictive maintenance.
“Unplanned downtime is a major cost driver. So is rework. But when you can monitor trends over time and act before something goes wrong — that’s where the real savings are,” van der Westhuizen explains.
From conveyors and crushers to mills and trucks, SKF’s industrial expertise covers a broad range of rotating equipment. What sets them apart is the ability to combine competencies — such as sealing, lubrication and condition monitoring — into tailored solutions that address multiple potential failure points simultaneously.
SKF’s portfolio includes:
- Smart bearings and seals that resist contamination and reduce friction losses
- Centralised lubrication systems that minimise manual intervention
- Online condition monitoring for real-time insight into asset health
- Remote diagnostic services and performance-based maintenance contracts
“Instead of looking at a bearing failure in isolation, we’ll look at what caused it — maybe it’s alignment, contamination, or lubrication,” van der Westhuizen said. “That’s how you prevent repeat failures.
“Some solutions begin with setting a baseline to determine the true cause of an issue. Or, if the problem is known, SKF engineers go straight to it and apply our broad application expertise to increase machinery availability.
“This means we can look at the problem from a systems perspective and provide an effective solution that combines several of our competency areas.”
Fewer failures, lower costs
As energy prices surge and global supply chains remain volatile, operators are seeking ways to improve overall equipment effectiveness without inflating their maintenance budgets. This is where predictive technologies come in.
Using data, SKF can flag impending issues before they result in catastrophic failure — allowing intervention to be planned during scheduled shutdowns, not emergency stops. This not only reduces maintenance costs, but also extends asset life, improving ROI on capital-intensive equipment.
“Poor reliability doesn’t just hurt output,” van der Westhuizen said. “It increases your total cost of ownership. Energy use, spare parts, and labour all go up when your machines don’t perform. Our role is to help minimise that impact.”
Better sustainability, smarter services
This proactive approach also supports sustainability goals. SKF’s technologies help reduce lubrication waste, cut water consumption and limit energy losses — all critical concerns for ESG-conscious operators.
“We’re seeing growing pressure on cement and mining to decarbonise,” van der Westhuizen said. “It’s not just about emissions anymore, it’s about water, circularity and safety. That’s why we focus on solutions that tick multiple boxes at once.”
With digitalisation reshaping industry expectations, SKF is also rethinking how services are delivered. Customers can now access performance dashboards, remote support, and analytics-based recommendations via cloud platforms.
“Service is no longer just about sending a technician to fix a machine,” van der Westhuizen said. “It’s about making sure that machine delivers what the plant needs — reliably, efficiently, and safely.”
For more information, visit www.skf.com/au/support/contact
