Austin Engineering (ASX:ANG) has shipped its first “high-performance” Armadillo dipper bucket to a US-based copper miner.
The electric rope shovel dipper is expected to be delivered to the miner this month.
A dipper bucket is considered one of the oldest and most critical excavating machines in the mining industry. It is used for hard digging and truck loading. The shovel consists of a heavy, relatively short boom, and a dipper stick.
Austin Engineering, which has a market capitalisation of $325.5 million, says dipper buckets are considered “high-value” products, selling for between US$1.5 million ($2.23 million) and US$2.5 million ($3.73 million) per bucket.
The company’s Armadillo dipper bucket weighs between 80 and 90 tonnes, but is considered lighter than previous models due to the design requiring less steel in fabrication.
It is designed to achieve consistently higher payload and improved fill compared to an equivalent original equipment manufacturer unit.
CEO David Singleton says the Armadillo bucket was designed in Australia, manufactured at the Batam facility in Indonesia, and is enroute to a US copper mine supported by the company’s Casper operation, demonstrating the full integrating and global capabilities of the Austin business model.
“We are very pleased to have marked the first international shipment of an Austin dipper bucket and see North and South America providing a large opportunity for further dipper bucket sales, and also for rebuilds at our US and Chile facilities,” Singleton says.
“We are well set up to build market share in these markets.”
Austin Engineering sees a large market opportunity in North, Central, and South America with its internal data estimating there to be 430 rope shovels operating across those regions.
The first international Armadillo dipper bucket delivery follows a concerted push by Austin to boost its offering and sales globally. In the 2024 financial year (FY24), group bucket sales increased 17% year-on-year and 130% over in the last two financial years.
In Western Australia alone during FY24, the company reports there was a 51% increase in sales year-on-year, contributing $53.6 million to group revenue.
Austin’s Chile business is currently manufacturing an 86-tonne full Cat 7495 dipper bucket for a local customer and has rebuilt 18 dipper buckets in the workshop this calendar year. Austin Chile is also rebuilding a further three dipper buckets, with a fourth on its way to the workshop for repair.
Austin Engineering is a global engineering company that partners with mining companies, contractors, and original equipment manufacturers to create solutions that deliver productivity improvements for operations.
Write to Aaliyah Rogan at Mining.com.au
Images: Austin Engineering
