Motion has big plans for PNG’s mining industry.
Legacy is the word that comes to mind when considering the multi-generational industrial solutions powerhouse that is Motion.
From its beginnings over half a century ago, the company has a long history of expanding the boarders of its reach both geographically and in growing the scope of its offering.
Today, Motion products are available at over 200 locations in the Asia Pacific region, supporting more than 1800 employees in over 30 repair and service centres and 12 major distribution centres.
Over 600,000 Motion products are available in Australia alone, a number that surges to over 10 million worldwide.
It’s a legacy Motion business development managerMatt Creevey believes is on a stratospheric trajectory.
Creevey started his career in 1994 with CBC Bearings, a heritage brand that now forms a major part of the Motion business. Since then, he has seen the Motion brand become a leader in supply and services to the mining sector.
Image: Motion
Now Creevey is leading Motion into a new era in the Pacific region, with a keen focus on Papua New Guinea’s (PNG) growing mining sector.
“The industry in PNG is exploding and Motion is perfectly positioned to support the market, whether it be existing operations, restarting mines, or mines in development,” Creevey told PNG Mining.
The PNG mining industry has certainly been booming in recent years.
Following measured activity during the global COVID-19 pandemic, the Pacific nation has been capturing the attention of the world as it becomes an ever-present player in the global sector.
But as PNG’s mining industry grows, so too does its need for dynamic solutions to obstacles, especially considering the country’s unique challenges of heavy rains and hard-to-access terrain.
In answer to these challenges, Motion has spent the past few decades broadening its focus from componentry supplier to full-range solutions provider.
“We’re taking a holistic approach to our customers’ operations,” Creevey said. “Not only can we supply parts as needed, but our Engineering and Services arm is able to investigate and research maintenance issues and find the root cause.
“From there, we can analyse the issue and develop a tailored solution to give our customers long lasting, sustainable and reliable improvements.”
Creevey said Motion’s scope for optimising PNG operations comes from the strength of its three key pillars – Industrial Solutions, Fluid Power, and Engineering and Services.
Image: Motion
Motion’s Industrial Solutions come from its foundation in the bearing, power transmission and mechanical drive solutions space, largely thanks to the years of hard work from its legacy companies BSC and CBC Bearings.
Motion’s Engineering and Services line of business aims to look at anything in rotary motion, linear motion or hydraulic motion and provide a turnkey solution maximising the efficiency and output of that equipment.
Fluid Power Solutions is a major focus for Motion as it looks to the PNG sector, and includes hydraulic hoses, industrial hoses, mobile service units, and general Fluid Power componentry.
“We have many companies under the Fluid Power banner, as well as direct suppliers where we may require more specific expertise,” Creevey said. “That means we can deliver turnkey solutions to our customers, saving them the hassle of chasing multiple sources.”
It’s all part of Motion’s ongoing commitment of providing small-business-style service backed by a global network of knowledge.
Putting this ethos into practice, a recent project saw Creevey save a customer hundreds of thousands of dollars a year by taking a holistic approach to an ongoing problem.
“The customer was having issues where a conveyor pulley was lasting around four months,” he said.
“When we went to the site and analysed why this failure was occurring, we discovered that there was a misalignment on the structure which was putting stress into the bearings and causing contamination to bypass the seals, causing those bearings to fail prematurely.
“Our Motion Engineering and Services team was able to come in and implement a service where we realigned the bases for the pulley using a technique both unique to and developed by Motion in the Western Australian mining industry.”
Creevey said the solution expanded the pulley’s lifespan from four months to two years thanks to the initiative of the Motion team.
“The cost of the pulleys wearing out to the customer was in the vicinity of $450,000 a year,” he said. “They came back to us and said they were very impressed with the service and its success, and that they wanted us to check for other applications where we could ensure equipment was getting the best services available.”
“Once our customers realise the depth of our knowledge and the reach of our expertise, they very quickly want us to look at more and more of their operations.”
Creevey said it can get tricky when customers want solutions to challenges he hasn’t encountered before.
“Sometimes their questions are outside my realm of expertise,” he said. “Not everyone can know everything, but luckily we have an extensive network I can rely on to get the information I’m looking for and channel that advice back to the site.”
Recently, Motion came up against a challenge that would have been impossible if not for the knowledge-power from the many brands under its name.
“The customer needed a custom-built acid tank and one of the key constraints was the space in their facility was very tight,” Creevey said.
“We came up with a solution where we built about half of it in our workshop, then we dropped through the roof, coming through a whole bunch of different pipework at the sides, slotted it in position, and then built the top part of the tank once it was in-situ.
“Once upon a time this would have required six or seven different companies to make happen. Instead, we created the process, and saw the solution executed from concept to delivery, ensuring it was working effectively afterwards.”
It’s a complex solution to a complex problem, part of the company’s core mission to take a holistic approach to its customers’ operations. Underpinning that approach is the consideration of the ongoing efficacy of a solution.
Creevey said Motion tracks its solutions after installation and provides its customers with annual reports on their progress.
“It’s not just about following through on a redesign and implementation, it’s about continuing to monitor the solution and ensuring it’s delivering on its expectations,” he said. “I always ask our customers to give me their worst headache to fix first.
“If I can fix their worst headache, I can fix anything.”
Condition monitoring has become a huge part of a modern mine site’s operations, and Motion is committed to working with its customers to make sure nothing slips through the cracks.
Image: Motion
“In addition to providing a yearly overview of how equipment is tracking, we also have teams on hand that can collect data while the equipment is running and analyse it on the fly,” Creevey said.
“If a bearing is going to give an operator trouble before their next maintenance cycle, the Motion team can advise the customer, allowing them to isolate the equipment, make the necessary changes, and get it back into service with minimal interruption to production.
“It allows miners to think ahead when it comes to approaching maintenance so they can avoid unexpected failure issues before they occur. Ultimately, less downtime is a cost saving to the customer.”
While Creevey said there will always be problems arising thanks to the heavy-duty nature of the mining industry, Motion works to establish strong, ongoing relationships with its customers so they know they can rely on the company.
“The challenge for us is to stay agile and find the right solutions for the next problem, and being a resource our customers can adapt to their evolving maintenance challenges,” he said. “It comes back to the depth within our organisation to lean on our network and deliver that quality service.”
When considering adapting Motion’s style of service to the PNG market, Creevey said it’s all about supporting the Pacific nation to take its place on the world stage.
“As existing mines ramp up production and new mines emerge, equipment that has been out of production for any amount of time can become an issue,” he said.
“Most failures happen when equipment is restarted, that’s why a key objective of Motion is to minimise those failures.
“We want to provide the best advice, the best products, and the best services we can to help operators through the next phase of restarting equipment and minimising these failures and interruptions to production.”
Planned shutdowns are business as usual on a mine site, but even a week out-of-action can put stress on machinery when production kicks into gear.
“That’s where a supplier like us becomes critically important to our customers’ operations,” Creevey said. “Not only do we offer an extensive range of products, we can also offer analysis of their problems and solutions for their maintenance issues.”
With considerations like access to the broader market and the specifications of special mining lease agreements common in PNG, operators need to be running as efficiently as possible.
“Expected shutdowns and unexpected failures and breakdowns alike are a massive thorn in operators’ sides, and in today’s economy, slowed production is unacceptable,” Creevey said.
“We want to be the provider of smoother operations and a more efficient and reliable equipment performance.”
Just as PNG is on a mission to leave a mark on the world as a supplier of essential minerals, Motion is on a mission to continue its own legacy.
By working with its customers, Motion is on its way to delivering years of critical services and quality products to a booming industry.
This feature appeared in the August–September 2024 issue of PNG Mining.