Electrical equipment and service provider Ampcontrol has recently made significant commitment to its infrastructure to meet market demand.
Both Queensland service centres in Mackay and Moranbah have relocated to larger premises over the past three years and two new service operations have opened in NSW and WA.
In Wollongong, Ampcontrol EME was established to better serve the mining and industrial customers on the south coast of NSW and in Perth, another centre began operation late last year to cater for increased demand from Western Australia.
In July, the Newcastle service division will move into a new facility that will include 2000m2 of workshop floor space. The current workshop will then provide additional room for assembly and testing of power distribution high voltage products as well as increase the handling capacity for mining equipment made by its power division.
With the service division continuously growing, Andrew Cockbain has recently taken over as group service manager. Cockbain was previously the Mackay service manager and will be replaced in this role by David Dowell, formerly with Baldwin & Francis in the UK. Dowell has particular knowledge in the hazardous area equipment and underground mining areas.
At Moranbah in central Queensland, the operation has taken possession of its second cable handling truck to meet demands of underground and open cut cable services in the Bowen Basin region. Likewise in the Hunter Valley, cable handling capacity has been increased significantly with the acquisition of a larger truck as well as a specialised mobile cable termination unit.
Further expansion in production capacity is also expected for the purpose-built transformer facility at Tomago in Newcastle that opened 18 months ago to meet market demands for dry type underground mining transformers and specialised oil filled transformers.
Meanwhile, an Ampcontrol 20/25MVA, ONAN/ONAF transformer incorporating a new design on line tap changer will be used on an above ground 66/11kV relocatable substation destined for a Bowen Basin open cut mine. The 17-position on load tap changer, with local and remote control will compensate for supply voltage fluctuations at the remote site. This is the first of its type to be made by the company.