36 / 44
CAPITAL EQUIPMENT NEWS
OCTOBER 2016
34
Munesu Shoko [MS]: With current
tough operating conditions, many fleet
operators in the mining, construction
and quarrying industries are opting to
lengthen the lifecycles of their equipment
through engine rebuilds. Have you seen
increased demand for your services in
this regard?
Andrew Yorke [AY]:
In those industries,
the expectation is to achieve several engine
lives out of one engine. No one buys a piece
of heavy equipment expecting to have one
engine life. The trend is that during the
lifecycle of that piece of plant, the engine
will be rebuilt several times. That is the
industry norm. As a result, we see a lot of
return customers and we work on the same
components over a period of time. It’s amarket
where everyone is running cost-cutting
campaigns and we see a lot of it. We help
contribute to those cost-cutting measures by
making sure that the engineering necessary
is done properly. We look to offer customers
long-term cost savings.
Q: Just how competitive is this market,
considering that some dealers and OEMs
have their own local reman centres, and
what is your competitive edge?
AY:
It’s an incredibly competitive industry.
Our first competitive edge is the continual
investment into our equipment. You can
visit any top component remanufacturing
facility anywhere in the world and you
will find the same equipment as ours. Our
second competitive edge is our product and
industry knowledge. There is a vast amount
of experience on the floor.
The other advantage is that we have sev-
eral salvage repairs that we can offer that
have been developed over many years. For
instance, every time an engine block comes
for remanufacture, there is often a need to
machine some of its block height to expose
a new gasket sealing surface. But at some
point, the block height falls below minimum
specification and you have a problem. That’s
a major component to replace and the cost is
huge and often makes rebuilding an engine
unviable. We have processes in place that
allow us to rebuild that block height, there-
by extending the component’s life further
than originally expected. It’s those capabil-
ities that add value for our customers. It’s
not just the standard automotive machining
practices. There are additional add-ons and
we concentrate on those major components
in salvage repairs because they are the ones
that will cost the customer a lot of money if
they need to be replaced.
However, our biggest competitive edge is
our commitment to quality and service, and
that keeps customers coming back. Main-
taining our ability to offer this level of quality
and service requires continuous expenditure
on equipment and staff. This means that that
we are not always the cheapest. However,
The challenging operating landscape across sectors such as
mining, construction and even transport, is prompting several fleet
owners to look at ways of breathing new life into their pieces of
equipment through critical engine rebuilds. Operations director of
Metric Automotive Engineering, Andrew Yorke, explains how the
company, together with its Reef Fuel Injection Services and IPD
Parts businesses, has created a one-stop shop for all things reman,
from engine rebuilds through to re-injecting new life into fuel
systems. By
Munesu Shoko.
BREATHING NEW LIFE
INTO HEARTS OF MACHINES