Resource World Magazine

44 www.resourceworld.com D E C E M B E R / J A N U A R Y 2 0 1 5 MININGWORLD littelfuse – Helping to power resource development IF ELECTRICITY is the life blood of min- ing, then the equipment that distributes electrical power is at the heart of its opera- tions. For nearly 40 years, the Startco brand has had a vital role in powering and protecting mines and oil and gas operations. Littelfuse, a world leader in circuit protection, Littelfuse Inc. [LFUS – NASDAQ] acquired Startco in 2008, which today operates in Canada as Littelfuse Startco. Littelfuse Startco was formed to support the potash mining industry in Saskatchewan, Canada. Today, the com- pany's custom electrical equipment and protection relay solutions aid custom- ers in safely controlling and distributing electrical power in the energy and mining sectors. Littelfuse Startco is a leading manu- facturer of custom-built, portable power distribution centres, E-Houses, mine electrical substations and other modules for protection and control. Since 1975, Littelfuse Startco has gained experience and expertise providing engineering and manu- facturing of both outdoor and underground electrical equipment used for mining, oil and gas, cities and infrastructure. The company says that as custom equip- ment is a not stock product, its selection should not be based simply on price; a host of critical engineering and reliability factors can mean the difference between productive uptime and costly down- time. Imperfectly designed solutions with a low initial price have hidden costs that typically add up to 30% to the purchase price. To help customers calculate the total cost of ownership, Littelfuse Startco offers a free white paper on Best Value Purchasing at www.Littelfuse.com/TCO. The company states that, "By leveraging a wealth of experience and innovations put forth in the mining indus- try, Littelfuse Startco has proven itself as a leader in custom power distribution and control solutions for the Oil and Gas indus- try. With applications ranging from skid mounted motor control centres and substa- tions to fully enclosed E-Houses designed and built to withstand the harsh elements of Northern Canada; products are engi- neered and built to operate in some of the most extreme conditions on the planet." Recently, Littelfuse expanded its Saskatoon facility where custom-built units are 100% tested in the company's CSA-approved facility to ensure they work exactly as expected. "When we first moved in to our new facility in 2009, we origi- nally thought it was it was enormous. However, due to the tremendous response we have seen from the resource sector, we needed to expand again in 2013 to keep up with demand," said Tyler Klassen, Sales Engineering Manager. In addition, in order to further expand its protection relay plat- form, Littelfuse recently acquired SymCom, Inc., based in Rapid City, South Dakota. In October, the company presented a series of technical seminars in Toronto and Montreal, Canada, to address strategies to improve electrical safety and produc- tivity in oil and gas, energy and mining operations. During the seminars, Littelfuse technical experts discussed with industry professionals how to mitigate electrical haz- ards and to improve safety, reliability and uptime in energy, oil and gas and mining operations. "Six successful seminars have now been held across Canada and we are thrilled to close out the year with two more in Québec. Each region in Canada presents different market conditions and these seminars will focus on customer's specific applications and unique requirements," said Dan Stanek, Vice President and General Manager of Littelfuse Protection Relays and Custom Electrical Products. Littelfuse recently won the Silver Award in Consulting – Specifying Engineer maga- zine's 2014 Product of the Year program in the Fire, Life Safety, and Suppression Systems category. The SB6100 Series Industrial Shock-Block™ was chosen among 104 finalists by the magazine readers to receive this distinguished award. "With the rise of occupational injuries and deaths related to electrical shock in the United States, devices like the SB6100 are key to improving personnel safety in industrial facilities," says Dan Stanek, Vice President and General Manager of Littelfuse Protection Relays and Custom Electrical Products. n Portable transformer, power-distribution, and control substation for use in mining. Photo courtesy of Littelfuse Inc.

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