Mining services firm Thiess has invested in two Australian technology firms to expand beyond traditional mining services.
The company says it has taken “significant stakes” in South Australia-based LAAMP and Queensland-based Mechatronix.
LAAMP is a digital platform that delivers training and assessments to remote workforces, while Mechatronix provides carbon-fibre structural reinforcements to extend the life of trucks and boost payload capacity.
Thiess Group CEO Michael Wright says the investments signal Thiess’ intent to expand its offering as a global services provider, outside of the traditional mining operations.
“The investments in LAAMP and Mechatronix will provide wider benefits for our valued clients and people, while helping us reach our goals in sustainability and innovation,” he says.
“LAAMP aims to ensure our people have the right competency and capability, with the latest thinking in training and assessments, while Mechatronix has a global focus on fleet sustainability and asset longevity.”
Thiess first approached Mechatronix, a family-owned business, in 2020, with the aim of doubling the expected operating life of its existing mining trucks, from about 60,000-70,000 hours (typically about 10 years onsite) to about 110,000-120,000 hours.
Thiess, which has been around for 90 years, has a fleet of 1,200 off-highway mining trucks.
Mechatronix founder Andrew Middlin, an engineer by trade, spent 30 years in the mining industry analysing machines for stress and fatigue.
Around 2014, he realised there was a limit to what could be done with all-metal solutions and ventured into the use of carbon fibre – a material stronger than steel, yet significantly lighter – to reinforce truck chassis and structural components.
Mechatronix is also focused on “lightweighting” vehicles by replacing heavy steel structures with hybrid metal-carbon fibre alternatives.
“If we can take 10 tonnes of weight out of an asset – that’s an extra 10 tonnes a truck on a mine site can carry on each load,” Middlin explains.
“Overall, that increases productivity, while providing a smarter and more sustainable solution for existing assets.”
Thiess will also install Mechatronix-designed and built kits to their own assets, and to those of their clients, at its new Rebuild Centre on Batam Island in Indonesia.
Meanwhile, Thiess has worked with LAAMP since 2019 to improve its training, assessment and staff records across its global workforce. The Queensland-founded company operates across seven countries and three continents, and has more than 15,000 employees.
LAAMP founder Tim Angel, who began his career in the mining industry in the early 2000s, had seen an unmet need for organisations to centralise and digitise induction, training and assessment.
The platform provides content to remote worksites, as well as maintaining a digital record of training and assessment for each person.
Angel says LAAMP has conducted more than 12 million training events, and it is being used in mining, construction, hospitality and healthcare across Australia, North America, South America, Asia and Africa.
“There are benefits for employees, too, as the LAAMP platform allows workers to access and share their own `skills passport’, rather than keeping track of paper certificates and qualifications,” he says.
Write to Angela East at Mining.com.au
Images: Thiess, Mechatronix,
