E
xisting Elphinstone Group
business Haulmax will take back
the company name and Burnie-
based underground equipment
manufacturer Specialised Vehicle Solutions
- a company founded in 2009 by two
ex-Elphinstone underground employees –
will be acquired and its products rebranded
Elphinstone in the near future.
Haulmax will continue to manufacture
Haulmax extended distance of-highway haul
trucks and Railmax road-rail excavators.
Elphinstone managing director Kelly
Elphinstone said the company had enjoyed
a mutually supportive and successful
relationship with the Burnie community
since the launch of its irst underground
mining products in 1975, and the town
had gained a wealth of specialised design,
engineering and manufacturing knowledge
via an exceptionally capable supply chain
that evolved over its 40-plus year association
with the mining industry.
Kelly said the company’s decision to
proceed was validated once Caterpillar
signaled its intention to move its remaining
manufacturing operations to Rayong,
hailand.
She said the agreements with Caterpillar
included the leased Burnie manufacturing
facilities transfering back to the Elphinstone
Group.
Kelly said the two companies would
continue to explore complementary product
opportunities that could be manufactured by
an original equipment manufacturer utilising
Caterpillar componentry, while being sold
and supported by the worldwide Cat Dealer
Network.
Indeed, that was the original plan behind
the Haulmax truck. he vehicle, which looks,
at least from a distance, like an 1950s prime
mover, contains about 90% Caterpillar parts.
Elphinstone started in Dale Elphinstone’s
father’s shed on his Mooreville Road farm in
1975, with Dale ofering modiied Caterpillar
surface mining equipment for underground
applications.
he company’s irst product, a 13 tonne
articulated dump truck, was sold to Agnew
Mining in 1983, and its irst Elphinstone
designed and manufactured underground
load haul dump – the R1500 – was sold
in 1986.
he original market leading underground
mining equipment business moved to
specialise in LHDs and articulated dump
and ejector trucks and in 1995 established a
50-50 joint venture with Caterpillar known
as Caterpillar Elphinstone.
By the year 2000 Caterpillar exercised an
option to purchase the remaining 50% of
Elphinstone’s business and the Caterpillar
name took over.
Elphinstone plans to refurbish a number
of buildings previously leased to Caterpillar
in town and develop a state-of-the-art
manufacturing platform from which to
service global demand.
he ive properties in Burnie house
signiicant manufacturing facilities.
Two of the properties are already
occupied by existing businesses, two havebeen transferred back from Caterpillar and
will undergo signiicant refurbishment,
while the ith, being the original site of the
Elphinstone underground mining business,
remains leased to Caterpillar.
he Hopkinson Street property will stay as
Caterpillar’s underground hard rock research
and development facility, to complement
Caterpillar’s nearby autonomous
underground vehicle test facility, while
Elphinstone Group’s Ormsby Street and
Wilson Street facilities will be refurbished
and modernised in a $40 million revamp.
Kelly said the company would also
continue to take advantage of any
opportunity to further develop the rich skills
base in Burnie, while creating primary jobs
and supporting the exceptional supply chain
and the local economy in the process.Elphinstone returns
Tasmanian mining equipment supplier and Caterpillar original equipment manufacturer
Elphinstone is making a comeback, heading to its original home base of Burnie in
Tasmania as it readies to drive its specialised underground mining support vehicles back
into the global underground mining scene. By Karma Barndon
http://www.miningmonthly.com December 2017 AMM 19
NEWSElphinstone showing off its wares on the Gold Coast at the
AusIMM Underground Operators Conference.