Pilot Crushtec does the business for Dorning Crushers
31 January 2012 – Johannesburg, Dorning Crushers first time purchase of a Terex Finlay C-1540 PRS cone crusher has turned out to be a ground-breaking decision in more ways than one.
The Kokstad, KwaZulu-Natal-based quarrying and crushing specialist recently won a two- year contract to supply high volumes of G5 sub-base material and aggregate for the roads division of Concor Construction and approached Pilot Crushtec for technical advice.
“Dorning Crushers has used our pre-owned products for several years, but in view of the importance of this contract in terms of its volume and duration, we agreed that the purchase of a new unit would be by far the better option,” says Pilot Crushtec regional manager sales Nicolan Govender.
“The Terex Finlay C-1540 PRS is ideal for the company’s needs and is already producing G5 sub-base material at a rate of up to 200 tonnes per hour – excellent for a 1,000mm cone crusher,” says Govender. He adds that the C-1540 PRS’ unique pre-screen is another compelling reason for investing in the very latest in crushing technology.
“In this particular application, there is a huge amount of fines in the feed material. The pre-screen by-passes between 20% and 30% of this material, thereby increasing the crusher’s overall output. In the case of other, less advanced cone crushers, all fines would go directly into the crusher, not only impeding production but also inflicting unnecessary and ultimately costly wear and tear on the cone wear parts,” he adds.
Ivan Dorning, owner of the business, is extremely happy with its new arrival. The installation and commissioning processes went off without a hitch and the new crusher has integrated perfectly with his existing mobile plant. Aggregate production will begin in early 2012.
“The machine is performing fantastically well and we now anticipate producing a range of five products.” He also makes the point that the use of a versatile high capacity crusher like the Terex Finlay C-1540 PRS is absolutely essential in serving the demands of long term high volume contracts.
While Kokstad is more than 700 kilometres away from Pilot Crushtec’s Jet Park premises, east of Johannesburg, distance has proved to be no obstacle when it comes to service. A replacement part was needed shortly after the crusher came into operation and it was delivered within 12 hours – on a Saturday morning.
While Dorning Crushers new crusher represents an investment of around R5 million, this is definitely money well spent. It will be fully utilised on the Concor contract for the next two years after which it will most likely be used for contract hire for which it is ideally suited due to its high degree of mobility.
“This is really a big step in the right direction for us and the pre-screen is a definite advantage,” says Dorning.
According to Govender, some operators are reluctant to buy new equipment as they believe that it is always ‘safer and cheaper’ to buy used plant, something with which he disagrees, especially when it concerns a large contract.
“If users conduct cost break-downs on their contracts they will see that used machines are often expensive to operate. The fuel consumption is higher on older engines and there is a greater risk of breakdowns which, combined with a lack of spares, can result in extensive downtime. The cost of downtime is something that all customers monitor closely. A customer buying a new product can draw upon the supplier’s technical expertise and be secure in the knowledge that he has bought into the latest available technology.”
