DMS will also supply up to 40 vehicles to the largest coal producer in the southern coalfields of NSW, 10 vehicles for mining contractor Mastermyne and seven vehicles for the Abel underground mine near Maitland.

Underground coal contractor Redpath Mining has also selected the Coaltram vehicle for multiple capital purchases.

In addition, DMS continues to add Coaltram vehicles to its large internal hire fleet to strategically support the Coaltram customer base in the long term and longwall hire market segments.

DMS general manager Craig Anderson said the company was experiencing further strong demand as more of the existing mines started or were about to embark on their diesel fleet replacement strategies.

“In addition to the existing market demand we are also experiencing a significant level of new enquiry with the forward outlook being strong due to the phased start-up of new mines,” Anderson said.

“We are especially pleased that the demand for vehicles over time is also closely aligned with our pre-planned manufacturing capacity for the Coaltram product.”

Anderson said that after five years of design, research and development, the Coaltram had become the new benchmark in diesel utility vehicles for the underground coal mining industry.

The Coaltram utility vehicle offers an ergonomically designed operator’s compartment and has a large variety of uses including loading, hauling, dumping, towing, dragging and lifting. Longwall relocation applications are also popular for the vehicle.

The vehicle’s engine and electronic management system is the first Tier 3 engine to be approved globally for use in an underground coal environment.

With the electronically-controlled engine and the onboard Monex management system the Coaltram offers significant advantages for future vehicle tracking and uploading of operational critical data to be integrated automatically into the existing mine site management systems with the use of WiFi technologies.

DMS, an unlisted public company, has operations in Mackay, Bowen Basin, Gladstone, Newcastle, Hunter Valley and Wollongong. With 670 employees, DMS provides maintenance services and operational support to underground and surface mines.