Osborn sends massive screens to Dubai

May 2007

A R10-million export order to Dubai has been secured by bulk materials handling and minerals processing specialist Osborn.

This significant order includes custom-built incline shaft driven quarry screens that are the largest ever manufactured by the Johannesburg-based firm. Osborn has, however, manufactured larger mining machines using gearbox drives, notes marketing manager Martin Botha.

The screens are for two new quarry plants located some 120 km outside the city, where the booming building industry is creating a massive demand for aggregate, Botha explains. “The new quarrying plants needed high capacity machines, and Osborn was able to meet their requirements with custom-built, oversize units that were competitively priced.”

The largest screen in the order is a 2.5 x 9 m double-deck Super King. A 2.1 x 7.2 m, three-step Osborn vibrating grizzly feeder was also specially built as part of this undertaking for new customer, Ready Rocks, in Dubai. A total of 14 Super King screens and two vibrating grizzly feeders have been shipped by Osborn, together with a number of machines from Astec Industries sister companies Telsmith and KPI. “Ready Rocks also purchased two new Telsmith 5566 jaw crushers and two KPI horizontal shaft impactors,” Botha states.

Shipping the colossal machines to Dubai has posed its own set of logistical challenges for Osborn, with the shipping costs alone amounting to some R1.5 million. Once the units arrive at their final destination, Osborn technicians will spend time on site training the customer’s personnel in their operation and commissioning the new plants.

“This has been an exceptional order for Osborn,” Botha enthuses. “In addition to including the largest incline shaft driven quarry screen manufactured by Osborn, this is also the first time we have produced a twin-shaft incline screen.”

A twin shaft design was opted for to reduce the load on the bearings – for a longer bearing life - and to eliminate the need for larger bearings. “Our unit is designed for maximum efficiency and minimum downtime,” he concludes.