It’s instrumental for the mining industry to have access to state-of-the-art service networks to connect with the best wear parts. This is where Hardox Wearparts can help.
When Hardox Wearparts first opened its doors in Europe in 2000, momentous growth would ensue.
More than two decades later, a global network of wear service centres consists of more than 500 full-service centres in 100 countries. Over 20 of those service centres are in Australia, New Zealand and New Caledonia, supporting the mining, quarrying, construction, road-building and recycling industries.
The network supports mining companies around the world, supplying wear solutions that reduce operating expenditure by extending service life, reducing personnel costs, and minimising downtime.
While some Hardox Wearparts centres are owned by SSAB Swedish Steel – a specialised steel company – about 80 per cent are privately owned, such as Real Steel New Zealand.
“We’ve been a member of the Hardox Wearparts network for several years. It buys us credibility with our customers,” Real Steel New Zealand managing director Luke Mathieson said.
“Flying the colours of Hardox Wearparts is a sign of quality, reliability and excellence.”
While Hardox Wearparts has expanded significantly since its inception, its values of providing customers with high productivity, flexibility and performance remain the same. This is supported by SSAB’s global organisation – a network of dedicated experts that, by using state-of-the-art SSAB-certified techniques and processes, can provide marketing and technical support to Hardox Wearparts centres.
Image: SSAB
SSAB manufactures a range of products, such as the Hardox wear plate, Duroxite overlay products, Strenx performance steel, and Toolox engineering tool steel.
These steel products, along with many others, are also available for purchase at a Hardox Wearparts centre.
“It was important for Hardox Wearparts centres to maintain a local focus, as this allows them to address specific customer needs more efficiently, and all wear business is local,” SSAB said.
“By partnering with local companies that supply wear services, we can provide our end customers with local and rapid access to quality wear parts and technical support.”
Hardox Wearparts members have access to one of the largest industry knowledge bases in the world. Mining companies can make use of shared experiences from other centres, and SSAB wear specialists are put to practice during equipment and installation processes.
It’s a common understanding that working in Australian mining conditions can often be unforgiving. To help mining companies work within these challenging environments, Hardox Wearparts supply reliable parts for underground and open-pit operations.
“Open-pit and underground mining operations rely on the performance of wear-resistant lining for loading buckets, trucks, and stationary and mobile conveyors,” SSAB said.
“Hardox Wearparts protects the mills, chutes, hydro cyclones and sorters from the particular stress conditions they are exposed to in each production process.
“In mining, buckets come in all shapes and sizes, but all can benefit from Hardox wear steel. Buckets made with Hardox last longer and keep their original shape thanks to the steel’s combination of high strength, extreme hardness, and excellent toughness.”
Selecting the right wear parts is critical to maximising uptime and finding the best performing solution at the right cost.
“When you’re doing business with a Hardox Wearparts centre, you should have high expectations,” SSAB said.
“Every centre prioritises high staff skill standards, ensuring quality, performance and safety of the centre’s parts and services.
“By growing the network of Hardox Wearparts centres, as well as growing the range of products and services they provide, we are continuously improving our service capacity.”
This feature appeared in the March 2024 issue of Australian Mining.