Westech™ has been designing and manufacturing customised mining truck bodies for more than fifty years now.  Peter Forsyth, Austin Engineering’s Managing Director, offered some reflections on the building of this specialty OEM equipment for the mining industry worldwide.

“One would have to wonder if the guys at Westech™ knew what they were getting into when they expanded into building off-road mining truck bodies in 1969,” Mr Forsyth said.

“What were their plans and what were their goals because today, some fifty years on, Westech™ bodies are still leading the world in design, construction and performance.”

Speaking at a recent function to mark the company’s half-century milestone, Mr Forsyth said, “Since the first bodies rolled off the production line in 1969 the business had established and maintained a strong reputation for innovation and performance.”

In June 2011, a body was designed and manufactured by Westech™ for a Liebherr T282C Ultra Class haul truck at Peabody Energy’s North Antelope Rochelle coal mine in the U.S. It set a record at 405.78 tonnes (447.3 tons), or a volume of 470.35M³ (615.2 cubic yards). The Book of Guinness World Records officially recognised this record on July 19, 2011.

“Then came the patented design of the Flow Control Body® with its revolutionary floor design, which controls the flow of material during dumping and improves the overall stability of the truck,” Mr Forsyth said. “The Flow Control Body still remains one of the industry’s most significant design and safety features for mining truck bodies.”

The company has shipped around 12,000 bodies since 1969. It provides bodies for all the major OEM truck builders, including Caterpillar, Komatsu, Liebherr, and Hitachi as well as underground mining equipment OEMs including Sandvik and Atlas Copco.

In 2007, Westech™ was acquired by Brisbane-based Austin Engineering^TM in a move that gave Westech™ additional manufacturing capabilities (through the buyer’s plants in Australia and South America). This also helped both companies increase their overall market reach.  (Westech™ also had a licensee agreement with Austin Engineering^TM prior to the acquisition.)

“The acquisition was a good fit with us and complemented our own growing range of engineered mining industry equipment,” said Peter Forsyth.  “It also expanded our technical and design capabilities and gave us direct access to the extensive experience bank Westech™ had built up since delivering its first body in 1969.”

Today, Austin Engineering^TM is the world’s largest non-OEM designer and manufacturer of mining dump truck bodies.  The company also designs and manufactures excavator and wheel loader buckets, water tanks, tyre handlers and other specialised mining machinery attachments for the global mining sector.

For further information, Austin Engineering^TM Australia.  P: 61 7 3723 8600