McNeill has an extensive background in the Australian coal mining market with 20 years’ experience with Joy Global in various management roles and more recently with Stauff as its general manager of operations.

McNeill replaces John Abercrombie who took over from his father John Abercrombie Sr in 2007 and spent 23 years with Longwall Hydraulics. John Abercrombie Jr has left the company to pursue overseas business interests in the USA.

All other senior staff and the current ownership of the company remain in place.

“We would also like to wish Richard a very warm welcome and we look forward to many more years of successful growth and continued first class supply of products and services to the coal mining market,” Longwall Hydraulics said in a statement.

Longwall Hydraulics’ head office and workshop is located at Unanderra, on the South Coast of New South Wales.

The workshop comprises a floor space of 3500 square metres, facilitating manufacturing activities and providing easy access for moving large plant and equipment. The area is serviced by two overhead cranes with a total capacity of 50 ton SWL. There are also dedicated wash and paint bays providing better control of the manufacturing lifecycle.

The workshop has a test bay capable of running and testing high pressure pumps. Power is supplied via a diesel powered generator capable of producing 350 kW. The test system incorporates a PLC system and SCADA interface that records available field device data for testing and analysis purposes.

There is a machine shop comprising CNC machine equipment which provides machining services to the workshop on demand.

Longwall Hydraulics also has qualified in-house welders and equipment to provide fabrication capacity during manufacture and perform repair works for overhauls.

In addition to the large pump station projects and monorails, Longwall Hydraulics has been a key supplier of hydraulic valve overhaul services and salvage pack unit hire to customers for over 20 years.