Following Weir Minerals’ acquisition of crushing and separation equipment original-equipment manufacturer (OEM) Trio Engineered Products in October last year, the first load of containers carrying the range of Trio crushing and separation equipment stock arrived in South Africa last month, says Weir Minerals Africa GM JD Singleton.

This supports a notable increase in market acceptance and product demand across the region since the acquisition.

Subsequent to the acquisition, Weir Minerals established a business unit in Africa and strengthened the existing team in the Middle East to support the market with efficient service, process and aftermarket support and quick turnaround times. The company will stock Trio and Weir Minerals products throughout its branch network to ensure availability in line with customer requirements.

In May, Weir Minerals established focused teams to sustain Trio Engineered Products’ reputation for fast and flexible service, while leveraging Weir Minerals’ global footprint. In Africa and the Middle East, these teams are leveraging the synergies between the Trio and Enduron comminution product offering to provide Weir Minerals’ customers with the best solution for their process.

Singleton adds that this approach has proven to be successful given the level of market interest as well as more satisfied customers given the better solution offerings.

Subsequently, Weir Minerals Africa has been awarded conveyor projects by aggregate producers and junior miners in South Africa.

“The uptake is there and we’ve seen success across the region. We were recently awarded major projects in the Middle East, as well as product orders from South Africa, Kenya, Nigeria, Zambia and Saudi Arabia,” he says.

Service Teams
Singleton says the experienced field service teams provide on-site support to prevent maintenance issues and ensure maximum uptime in line with the company’s value proposition of the lowest total cost of ownership.

The teams also offer customer training whether on site or off site, although on site is considered to be a better training option, as training takes place using the actual equipment that customers use.

“We also focus on maintenance – ensuring that customers maintain the equipment properly. Proper maintenance ensures that the product lasts as long as it should and doesn’t run to destruction which results in downtime and can be costly,” he explains.

Products Provided
The Trio products are complementary to Weir Minerals’ traditional comminution products but include a comprehensive offering with a proven track record in the sand and aggregate sector in particular. The ongoing product development and expansion of the Trio range positions the company to provide even more extensive process solutions to its existing customer base.

Trio products are manufactured predominantly in Shanghai, China. As all Weir factories worldwide are measured against the global benchmarks, Trio Engineered Products’ Shanghai factory has been incorporated into the Weir production system to deliver products of exceptional quality that are manufactured to world-class standard in an environment that provides safe working conditions.

The Trio product range includes grizzly, apron and belt feeders; gyratory, jaw and cone crushers; horizontal and vertical shaft impact crushers; circular motion horizontal and inclined screens; air classification equipment and complete materials handling solutions.

The Trio product line also includes a range of conveyer components including replacement parts. “All of our feeders, crushers, screens and washers can be configured into Trio semi-portable or stationary modular structures. The modular structure design creates extra value for customers by lowering the cost of construction and installation,” explains Trio product manager Rasheel Sukdhoe.

Weir Minerals’ solutions for the mining and sand and aggregates industries include its Enduron linear-motion vibrating screens, which can be tailored to suit the unique needs of specific applications.

The screens offer robust design and construction, with the benefits of high efficiency, high capacity and low headroom, as well as reduced operating and maintenance costs. They are ideally suited for heavy-duty applications in the sand - and mineral-processing industries.

Weir Minerals Africa’s screens and high pressure grinding roll (HPGR) product manager Winchester Maphosa explains that the local development, design and production of the Enduron screens is beneficial for African customers. The screens can be customised, involving users in the design and any changes they might require.

As part of Weir Minerals’ comminution solutions, the company also provides HPGRs developed using technology licensed from engineering company KHD Humboldt Wedag.

The HPGR products offer reduced operating costs and improved plant performance in ore preparation and mineral processing.