A supplier of woven wire screens, poly and wire ripple screens, poly modular systems, rubber screens and modular systems, along with associated accessories, Locker has recently commissioned new weaving equipment at its Dandenong, Victoria facility.
The state of the art crimper and loom machinery will allow the fast and efficient production of made to order screens for the Australian market.
Locker has been a major supplier to the extractive market for more than 40 years and continues to innovate in terms of both products and services. This is to help producers improve operational efficiency at both the screening and procurement ends of the process.
The company originally introduced the slab stock process (holding flat wire screens locally) that could be cut and hooked to the required screen sizes in three days, removing the need to weave to order.
The market followed with imported screens purchased from a variety of suppliers, whereas Locker manufactures its own at its Indian plant, where quality control, safety and efficiency are maintained, and there are further supports for local crimping and weaving for made to order requirements.
In 2019, Locker installed and commissioned two state of the art wire weaving lines at its Dandenong, Victoria facility. These two lines produce the widest range of screening media products in Australia and New Zealand and can crimp and weave wire from 1.2mm to 12.5mm in an aperture range from 2mm to 100mm.
These are the first new looms to be installed anywhere in Australia in the past decade and the company is very proud to continue to invest in Australian manufacturing.
To complement the wire segment, Locker has invested in a new rubber punching process that seeks to improve the current quality in the market, making small aperture cross-tension screening a cost-effective alternative to other options.
According to the company, its customers continue to help drive its innovative approach to the extractive market. Locker has completed the acquisition of the Polyscreen assets which have been integrated into its supply chain and further enhance the portfolio of products it offers to help improve quarrying producers’ process efficiencies, occupational health and safety outcomes and quality.
These local manufacturing capabilities are supported by Locker’s Indian facility, based in Mumbai, which has also seen large investment in capital equipment with new weaving lines, a Polyripple manufacturing cell and a rubber cross-tension mat processing line that started in 2018 and will be completed this year.
This facility supports Locker’s Indian, Middle East and South East Asian customer base while providing slab stock for Australian and New Zealand customers.
By the end of 2019, Locker will also have commissioned its Tufflex fabrication and hooking cell, which can potentially improve lead times by 60 per cent and provide more support to the market.
With producers experiencing up to 12 times more life than imported equivalent screens, reduced operational noise, reduced risk to staff during installation and change-out and the ability to change screens in minutes (not hours), Tufflex is an important tool for quarry operators to reduce cost and risk.
To support its customers in both major centres and remote areas, Locker will introduce VERA Connect, a Con-Stock app that will let producers holding consignment stock manage stock usage and simplify the procurement process from a smart mobile device.
Locker is a proud Australian manufacturer, supported by a growing supply chain provided by parent company Valmont.
Source: Locker, a Valmont company
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