Element Group® shares MMCA 2021 results: new suppliers and deals in the pipeline
International industry exhibitions, in which Element participates, are always a chance for us to sign on new projects while expanding our partner network. The Mining and Metals Central Asia (MMCA) Exhibition was no exception. Over three days, Element’s team managed to outline plans for cooperation with Central Asian mining companies and new suppliers.
Element's stand
Element’s joint stand with Nordfelt, its official dealer, stood out from the rest. According to a number of guest compliments, this was the most beautiful stand of them all.
The visitors were also impressed by the size of the parts on display at the stand: the cone-crusher lining and pump wet end at the stand weigh more than a ton each, and their bright orange paintwork ensures that they don’t remain unnoticed.
Moreover, it is difficult to walk past a visual demonstration of the scanning of these giants without stopping. Element’s engineer conducted a 3D scan and presented the resulting models. This technology is used for reverse engineering when the customer needs not just a high-quality copy of the original part, but its upgraded version for specific operating conditions. In fact, our specialist was regularly distracted and was often scanning visitors instead, only to send them their own 3D portraits by mail.
The guests of the stand were also able to see and touch wear-resistant materials for ore and stone uploading and unloading containers, new products from the category of conveyor components, mill lining elements, bearings and fasteners for mill and crusher liners, as well as the NovaTHOR compound, which has already gained popularity on the market.
New projects
Enhanced customer communication has been added to the list of tasks for the wear-resistant materials department. For a gold-mining enterprise in Kyrgyzstan, Element will select quarry truck lining materials. Also, spare parts for crushers, pumps, hydrocyclones and mills will soon be shipped to Kyrgyzstan.
"In general, for Element, the MMCA 2021 exhibition opened the gates to a new country. A number of enterprises from Kyrgyzstan invited our specialists to their factories during the exhibition for the purposes of technical auditing," said Evgeny Atapin, Element’s Sales Manager in Central Asia.
Several Russian companies are also in Kazakhstan, with which Element is already negotiating. At the last exhibition, specific agreements were reached.
According to Tatiana Shayer, the manager of the CSE direction, most of the new plans and projects are for local, Kazakh enterprises. "We agreed to visit a large mining and processing plant to reverse engineer a wide range of parts for crushers and pumps — from wet ends and liners to small parts for general industrial purposes," she said.
As a result of the agreements, Element will pay a visit to the crushed stone quarry in the near future to develop solutions for cone crushers of Chinese brands and wear-resistant materials for reloading units.
Special purpose conveyor belts were not left without attention. Element offered heat-resistant belts for the ferroalloy production plant, where the material is heated to 140 degrees. Element will also be able to help the plant increase the repair interval for jaw crushers for hot metal crushing. With the conditions of the customer in mind, specialists will select a heat-resistant alloy for the manufacture of plates for jaw crushers.
One of Element’s customer categories is made up of the original equipment manufacturers themselves. Thanks to the exhibition, Element was able to meet with a German grinding equipment manufacturer. Element will be able to supply consumables for this brand’s mills.
Supplier partnerships
During the three eventful days of the exhibition, the negotiators at the stand were able to draw up partnership agreements with high-quality suppliers of linings for pulleys and conveyors in addition to those supplying rubber-ceramic plates, mill linings and seals for slurry pumps. Moreover, Element received commercial offers for strategic partnerships relating to the manufacture of steel linings.
"We saw that the best suppliers want to work with us because they see how rapidly we are growing. New partnerships will allow us to further improve the characteristics of our products," said Olga Stepuk, manager of the Wear-resistant materials division.
Marat Abdurakhimov on alternative spare parts
The founder and vice-president of Element, Marat Abdurakhimov, led a presentation at the exhibition on how to choose alternative parts for mining equipment.
"Using only original parts for equipment has long been a waste of money. Therefore, mining companies are looking for alternative offerings. The sheer number of components, each ranging in price massively, leaves customers with a difficult choice," Abdurakhimov stressed in his report.
Moreover, according to Abdurakhimov, traders of no-name parts frequently choose the cheapest manufacturers. They are not responsible for the quality of the parts and so do not provide any guarantees. At the same time, factories save on the modelling of casting processes, heat treatment, melting and pouring, charging the material, and quality management systems. As a result, the customer receives a part with defects that are only visible once the operation has begun.
While explaining how to proactively check the supplier, the vice president of Element briefly described what one should pay attention to. "Product management, sales, procurement, production, as well as warehousing, engineering and logistics should all be reliable and at a high level. The manufacturer must have a customer and technical support team in place with developed logistics and sales channels, as well as regional offices. All this can and should be checked before starting cooperation with a new company," Abdurakhimov concluded.
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