Published in the March 2010 Coal USA Magazine
ATB Morley’s product range is wide, including both air and water-cooled configurations and capabilities up to 11,000 volts, all of which bear global product approvals, including ATEX, IEC, MSHA and MA. In fact, ATB Morley was nominated in 2008 by Datong Coal in China and by Xstrata to manufacture the world’s first 10,000V and 11,000V underground mining motors, respectively.
The company manufactured four two-speed plows, four 600kW armoured face conveyors, two 224kW crushers and four 300kW stageloader motors for Bucyrus USA for a joint project with operator Cleveland Cliffs, now known as Cliffs Natural Resources. The plow motors – 600/300kW two-speed, two winding, and suitable for 90 starts and reversals per hour – were especially different for the customer because of a design that included ATB Morley’s water-cooled rotors, stator and endplates.
Cockerham said ATB Morley was perfectly positioned for its involvement in the project, as the heavy-duty nature of its product lent itself to the unique installation.
“Cleveland Cliffs [was] particularly set to benefit from our rotor construction, particularly the way in which our rotor bars are mechanically restrained to eliminate the risk of stress fractures in high-frequency start applications such as a plow,” he noted.
ATB Morley also worked to design and manufacture 1MW, 3300V shearer cutter motors with Chinese company Taiyuan Mining Machinery in 2009. The project began with a trip by Cockerham and technical director Peter Ramsden to Taiyuan in March to discuss commercial and technical issues.
The end product is now known as the largest shearer cutter motor in the world, and was introduced to the international mining industry at the 2009 China Coal and Mining Expo in Beijing. Cockerham said ATB Morley was already in talks to go bigger – a 1.1MW cutter motor has already been started and 10kV or 11kV cutter motors are in development. Meanwhile, the company was bestowed a Yorkshire Society award for its outstanding contribution to China in 2009.
Cockerham said the project’s success was the result of ATB Morley’s flexibility and willingness to develop entirely new products. Its design process also allowed the company to turn to its prototypes at any time without disruption of mainline production.
Finally, ATB Morley teamed up with Joy UK in 2008 for the design and manufacture of 10 motors for the Blakefield South project in New South Wales, Australia. The company handled all the design, manufacture and certification for the project, including the 10-ton AFC units, and conducted all the dynamic load tests at full voltage.
Four of the units were 160kW, 11kV AFC motors, the first 11kV motors ever developed for underground coal, and all created a new working horizon for ATB Morley.
“[It was] a very unique challenge – going where nobody had been before,” Cockerham said of the motors, noting that the company was up against much competition for the deal.
ATB Morley met with mine owner Xstrata for detailed technical discussions and risk assessments before being given the green light to begin work, and after the initial motors also provided Blakefield with two 600kW stage loader motors, two 400kW crusher motors and two 30kW dust scrubber motors.
With as much as 80% of ATB Morley’s business involving exports and concentrating on underground coal, Cockerham said the three recent projects were just a small sample of the growth the company had made worldwide. Its products are often specified by both end users and OEMs throughout the international underground mining industry, and customers’ successes have led to a significant user influence in OEMs’ purchasing decisions.
Even with all the growth to date, ATB Morley is still setting its sights high for the future. Its plans include continued development of international approvals, strengthening its position as the global leader in motor power per unit volume, the development of new global markets, and continued development of unique and market-leading products.
“ATB Morley continues to drive forward into new markets where quality and reliability are critical, recently gaining approved vendor status for the manufacture of motors for nuclear submarines and other defense applications,” Cockerham said, adding that the company would remain completely committed to underground coal mining, seeking out the development of new products.
ATB Morley is wholly owned by Austrian company ATB Antriebtechnik, which itself is owned by ATEC Industries. It was recognized with a Queens Award for Enterprise, International Trade 2009.
