ABOUT TURN FOR THE MINING INDUSTRY
THE Australian Turntable Company is a family-owned business based in Bendigo, Victoria. It has grown from small beginnings to become a national and international supplier of custom-designed turntables for the transport industry, and is now targeting the mining industry.
The business was founded by Paul Chapman in 1987 and has a long history of successful projects in Australia and internationally - from revolving restaurants in Dubai, Qatar and the world's largest revolving restaurant in Iran to exhibition and showroom turntables for many of the major motor car manufacturers including Ford, Toyota, BMW and Rolls Royce.
The company uses the latest 3D software and laser cutting technology to custom design and manufacture turntable solutions for anything from small to large trucks. The company focuses on productivity and safety.
For the trucking and logistics industry, productivity is improved by minimizing the space required at a loading dock. Turntables reduce the need for trucks to reverse. For many loading docks installing a turntable can free up valuable space that can be used for commercial purposes. Safety is improved because trucks enjoy forward entry and exit to loading docks. This vastly improves public safety in highly congested areas like supermarket car parks.
Some large organizations have a policy of no trucks reversing on their premises because of safety concerns. With supermarkets generally located in populated areas, eliminating loud, beeping, reversing noise is a significant benefit of installing a turntable.
On a trade mission to Chile, company chairman Paul Chapman visited a mine and watched mining trucks manoeuvre precariously as they reversed and tried to align with the crusher. Truck drivers at the site confirmed that the most stressful part of their day was reversing these massive trucks without clear line of sight. This highlighted an opportunity for the Australian Turntable Company to introduce its product to the mining industry.
The company is ISO accredited, which is mandatory to supply to the mining industry. Through its cutting-edge design capability it produces high quality animations to show potential customers the clear benefits of installing a turntable. Through clearly articulating the benefits to mining and trading on its reputation for being innovative and customer driven, the Australian Turntable Company has already broken into the mining industry but has only just scratched the surface.
Its first mining job came when it won a stringent tender process for design, engineer, manufacture, test and freight of a six-metre 100-tonne turntable for a major company at a mine site in the Pilbara region of Western Australia. Paul Chapman says this turntable has helped the company save millions of dollars in lost time manoeuvring machines on their way to and from maintenance facilities.
The Australian Turntable Company is working to build its export business in Monte Carlo, Paris, Chile, Peru and New Zealand. With its commitment to innovation and its ability to demonstrate the proven ability of its product to improve safety and productivity, the company is poised for continued growth and success.