Resource World Magazine

www.resourceworld.com 51 F E B R U A R Y / M A R C H 2 0 1 4 MININGWORLD Industrial Equipment Manufacturing — making mines work By Peter Caulfield "Industrial Equipment Manufacturing Limited is known for creat- ing machinery that helps mines do the heavy lifting," says John Hards, President, and co-owner of the Vancouver-area company. IEM manufactures bulk materials handling equipment for mines, pulp mills and wharves and docks. "We work as design-builders of the equipment, and we have learned how to work with consulting engineers, such as AMEC and Fluor Canada," Hards said. "As a result, we get the hard jobs other fabricators don't get because they don't have the teams to handle them." All the conveyors, apron feeders and other materials handling equipment produced at the company's 40,000 square foot manufac - turing plant in the Port Kells area of Surrey, BC are one-of-a-kind. John Williamson, P.Eng., Chief Engineer, explained that every one of these machines is specially designed according to what the customer wants. "Conveyors are old technology. They've been around for hundreds of years and they're pretty simple in concept. But when you start applying them there are a lot of detailed alternatives and different ways to do it." For example, the conveyor system IEM developed for New Gold's New Afton underground gold and copper mine near Kamloops, BC applies old technology in a new way. "The conveyor, which goes underground, has five switchbacks," said Williamson. "Part of the conveyor had to be bolted to the roof of the tunnels so trucks could access the mine by driving under the conveyor, which called for intelligent design and unique engineer- ing ideas." Other mining industry customers include Teck, Vale Inco and Phelps-Dodge. IEM has a number of specialties – apron feeders and ball handling equipment, which are used in mining, and pulley cleaners, which are used in the oil sands. Designing, building and installing heavy equipment can be time- consuming. "A big job can take up to one year, and a small job will take four months," said Joe Wurz, CA, VP Finance. "But when the job is done, our customers always get what they want." IEM has been in business more than 60 years. Founded in 1953 as Industrial Equipment Company Ltd. (IECO) by Gordon Lindemere, a bearing salesman for SKF AB, over the years he built it up to 16 wholesale outlets in BC and Alberta and a manufacturing shop in Delta, BC. In 2002, Lindemere decided to sell the company. The wholesale division of IECO went to an American company and the manufac - turing shop was bought by Hards and business partner Joe Wurz. The duo changed the name to Industrial Equipment Manufacturing Ltd. and since then has sold company shares to many employees; it is now regarded as an employee-owned firm. In 2005, the transition was completed by moving the facility to Surrey. IEM's business ebbs and flows with the fortunes of its cus- tomers. When mining or forestry booms, or slumps, so does IEM. The company has 20 full-time engineers and office staff and 40 tradesmen in the shop. But that number can go up to 60 or even 80, depending on how much work is going on. To reduce pressure on the shop when business is thriving, IEM sometimes contracts out work to other suppliers and fabricators. "There are people in the Lower Mainland who can do almost anything," Wurz said. "If we're busy and we get a job that we can't give the time and attention to it that we'd like, we know others that can do it and we hire them. We don't make a cheap machine – we make a good one and are pleased that we're competitive." IEM's business strategy is modest and straightforward. "Our goal is to gradually grow the business to service our customers and work with other suppliers and fabricators in the Lower Mainland when we need to. We know our work and we do it well. We're not every - thing to everybody and we don't try to be," Said Wurz. Williamson notes that the immediate future for the mining indus- try is not as rosy as the last 10 years. "Mining will be facing more tough times in 2014," he said. "Because we expect continued slow growth in that industry, we are diversifying and have developed a rotary batch de-barker for the forest industry, which we are suc- cessfully marketing worldwide." Looking ahead, Hards says he is expecting continuing slow but steady growth for the next five years. "No recession, but no boom, either," he said. "It's not like it used to be when the mining compa- nies were spending on many large projects at once." n

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