MASPRO : Safety, Reliability, Productivity

Serving both underground and surface mining entities, MASPRO provides unmatched engineering and design solutions that surpass industry standards. We learn more about the company with CEO and Founder, Greg Kennard.

SAFETY, RELIABILITY, PRODUCTIVITY

The Australian mining industry has faced continuous fluctuation in recent years due to the alternating prices of nickel and other base metals.  

This has encouraged organisations across the country to pay closer attention to the changes in mining demands and adjust their operations accordingly. 

“The mining industry is very dynamic. We might win a contract with a new company, and then suddenly, the price of nickel drops and the mine is put into a status of maintenance and repair,” introduces Greg Kennard, CEO and Founder of MASPRO, an engineering specialist business based in New South Wales (NSW). 

“On the flip side, we see other commodities increase in price, which means there’s a growing demand for mining sites that will produce lots of a particular base metal.” 

MASPRO’s perseverance and expertise in tackling these challenges have resulted in it becoming the go-to problem solver for any mining equipment needs across Australia and beyond, providing solutions and upgraded parts for both underground and surface mining. 

“A key part of our offering is to be able to take a problem, engineer a solution, manufacture the product, control the quality, then strategically deliver the solution to our whole client base,” surmises Kennard. 

AN ENGINEER IN THE MAKING

The dedication to finding a solution was instilled into Kennard from a young age as he worked with his father in his machine shop business. 

“My father had a machine shop and tool room that did maintenance repairs and a small amount of subcontractor work. Once I left school, I became interested in expanding what the shop was already doing,” Kennard recalls. 

With this in mind, Kennard and his father reached out to the regional market to garner a greater understanding of local operations. Subsequently, MASPRO realised there was an opportunity with a mining company located only 60 kilometres (km) from the company’s location in Condobolin, NSW. 

The project required the reverse engineering of the rotation equipment in an Atlas Copco Cop 1238 drifter, as well as the re-manufacturing and improvement of various other parts. To achieve this, MASPRO spent some time investigating the equipment and discussing it with neighbouring organisations to devise the best way to recreate the required components. 

“In the end, we eventually came up with a design and sent it back to the mine site, where it performed very well. 

“At this point, we realised that the mining industry was a great opportunity for us to explore what else was out there in terms of spare parts supply. Subsequently, MASPRO grew out of that experience,” adds Kennard. 

After bringing on board his two brothers, the company has steadily increased to over 100 people and now has a developing presence across Western Australia (WA).

IN-HOUSE PROBLEM SOLVERS

Alongside MASPRO’s offices in Condobolin, it also has a significant manufacturing site at Wetherill Park in Sydney, sitting at 2,200 square metres (sqm).  

Meanwhile, the company also possesses warehouses, as well as a sales and marketing office in Perth.  

Each state-of-the-art manufacturing facility produces re-engineered parts for an extensive list of clients across Australia, Africa, Canada, the US, and Asia.   

“Despite their high quality, a lot of machines used in the industry are not specifically designed to mine harsh environments like that of Australia.  

“We understand the pain points and offer an engineered solution,” divulges Kennard.  

Additionally, the company’s in-house engineering, design, manufacturing, and quality control capabilities place it a cut above the rest, as unlike other organisations that exclusively design and produce prototypes, MASPRO goes the extra mile by manufacturing high-quality products on time.  

Moreover, the business strives to keep ahead of technological trends with the most up-to-date parts, components, and assemblies. MASPRO also works closely with suppliers to understand mining trends in any given space, which can subsequently be applied to its manufacturing strategy.  

Thirdly, being able to produce an exceptional product at the lowest cost of ownership is essential to the company’s differentiation.

AN INNOVATIVE APPROACH

MASPRO has undertaken a range of upgrading projects across Australia, including the creation of a redesigned development drill.   

“A lot of mining equipment is leveraged outside the scope of what it was originally designed for. In this particular case, these underground development drills were made for tunnelling, however, in the harsh environments of Australia, they are often used for bolting, thus exceeding the machinery’s capabilities,” Kennard explains.  

As this causes major wear and tear on the components, MASPRO therefore completely redesigned the equipment, from the carrier to the fleet rail, whilst also offering an upgraded version of the drill’s SB60 boom.  

This allows machine operators to conduct work in a safer manner whilst increasing the reliability and productivity of its equipment.  

The company also recently redesigned a drilling rotating head so that it could operate in very rough and broken ground.  

The standard machinery from the original equipment manufacturer (OEM) only had a service life of 200 hours, a major decrease from the expected time of 6,000 hours. This, in turn, caused many operator problems due to difficult ground conditions.  

“After experimenting with different versions, the engineers got together to eventually design a simple solution in the form of an accessible kit that can be used to stop operations failing catastrophically,” Kennard tells us.   

As a result of the devised kit, the client’s equipment service hours increased from 200 to 12,000.   

“We were so proud of the solution we provided that we now offer this kit across the industry to all our clients,” adds Kennard.   

Looking at other areas of MASPRO, the company’s sales team assesses mining projects on-site, whether it be travelling to a rock or coal face, to understand the pain points of a particular project.  

This hands-on approach means that the business consistently has project redesigns and upgrades in the pipeline, providing opportunities for the engineering team to come up with increasingly innovative solutions.

STAYING AHEAD OF THE CURVE

With two major manufacturing facilities, MASPRO has heavily invested in newer technology, state-of-the-art equipment, and the upskilling of its people.  

Therefore, its next phase of growth is to have a polished sales team.  

“We are restructuring the department to inject fresh talent, such as business development managers and product support specialists.”  

Alongside a comprehensive internal strategy, MASPRO’s suppliers are also key to its upward trajectory, working with partners across Europe.  

“We partner with our customers; it’s important to understand their needs and work closely with them so that we can respond to any challenges accordingly.” 

On the other hand, its purpose-built distribution centre in Condobolin, NSW moves products quickly and efficiently to strategic locations across the country in Sydney, Perth, and Mount Isa.   

“The expectation in the mining industry is that parts are delivered on-site within a week, so we’ve worked closely with suppliers and transport companies to ensure that we can deliver on that promise,” Kennard adds.   

So much so, that one of MASPRO’s core key performance indicators (KPIs) is shipped in-full, on-time (SIFOT), which is something the company monitors closely.  

Furthermore, when considering corporate social responsibility (CSR) practices, MASPRO looks to its suppliers to ensure they are sourcing products sustainably.  

In this way, the company places great efforts towards reducing its carbon footprint where it can. For instance, the business has made alterations to its operations by introducing solar panels, whilst a number of other initiatives are in the pipeline, including local community support work.  

“We understand our community’s needs, so being able to support them where we can is important to us, such as creating job opportunities and supporting local charities and industry organisations.” 

GOING GLOBAL

MASPRO has significant growth targets in its reach, such as becoming a supplier of critical and upgraded parts for the mining industry.  

“We’ve done a lot in the previous years to get us into a position where we can really execute our strategic goals. Part of that is our new product development, which will contribute to revenue growth.”  

When partnering with clients, MASPRO’s brand awareness and marketing strategy going forward will be to increase the number of Tier 1 miners that it works with, both onshore and offshore.  

These activities are supported by the NSW government’s Going Global Program, which has introduced an initiative that supports the global expansion of mining companies. Particularly MASPRO is currently looking to expand into the Canadian market, in particular.  

“The NSW government is supporting us to understand how the Canadian market operates, and we’ll be attending the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy, and Petroleum (CIM) tradeshow in Vancouver in May, where we will showcase who we are and what we do,” concludes Kennard.  

Further afield, MASPRO is also seeking other growth opportunities in Southeast Asia and Africa, operating across a number of different fronts.