OEMS AND SUPPLIERS

Control deal to boost automation for ZZM, Inbye

GIANT Polish original equipment manufacturer ZZM-Kopex has acquired a 49% share in the Polish div...

Angie Tomlinson

During September ZZM-Kopex bought a 50% equity stake in Maitland-based Inbye - providing a local subsidiary for the various ZZM-Kopex companies and also opening up the global longwall market to Inbye's Australian designed and manufactured chain conveyor products.

ZZM-Kopex's latest move has been to acquire a 49% share of Tiefenbach Polska, with discussions ongoing to increase its equity share.

While Inbye has long been the Australian arm of both Tiefenbach Control Systems and the ZZM-Kopex roof supports - manufactured by subsidiary TAGOR - the latest acquisition cements the corporate relationship between the three companies as a single entity, Inbye said.

"Integration of Tiefenbach and TAGOR has been practically demonstrated on a number of international longwall system projects, and combining under the ZZM-Kopex banner further improves the seamless interface of both technical and commercial project elements," Inbye said.

Tiefenbach manufactures the Tibatronic control system, together with its ASG5 shield control unit, which provides a complete longwall roof support automation solution.

Inbye added the deal also gave the companies an opportunity to deliver to international markets a CSIRO Landmark Automation platform currently under joint development in Australia by Inbye, Tiefenbach and ZZM-Kopex.

"A primary goal of the team is to be the first LASC platform which remains faithful to the open architecture of the Landmark Information System (LIS), ensuring interconnectivity of equipment without communication protocol converters, a vital requirement in markets where single-sourcing of equipment is not so prevalent," Inbye said.

"Inbye is leading a local project team which includes Tiefenbach, Eickhoff and MI Power input; however, ZZM-Kopex has considerable technical and corporate resources to drive this project, and has most to gain by developing a commercialised version of the CSIRO system as a spearhead into developing markets such as China, where they are a turnkey longwall system supplier."

TOPICS:

A growing series of reports, each focused on a key discussion point for the mining sector, brought to you by the Mining Monthly Intelligence team.

A growing series of reports, each focused on a key discussion point for the mining sector, brought to you by the Mining Monthly Intelligence team.

editions

ESG Mining Company Index: Benchmarking the Future of Sustainable Mining

The ESG Mining Company Index report provides an in-depth evaluation of ESG performance of 61 of the world's largest mining companies. Using a robust framework, it assesses each company across 9 meticulously weighted indicators within 6 essential pillars.

editions

Mining Magazine Intelligence Exploration Report 2024 (feat. Opaxe data)

A comprehensive review of exploration trends and technologies, highlighting the best intercepts and discoveries and the latest initial resource estimates.

editions

Mining Magazine Intelligence Future Fleets Report 2024

The report paints a picture of the equipment landscape and includes detailed profiles of mines that are employing these fleets

editions

Mining Magazine Intelligence Digitalisation Report 2023

An in-depth review of operations that use digitalisation technology to drive improvements across all areas of mining production