Mechanical and engineering group PJL take mine efficiency and optimisation to new levels with a 24/7 commitment that is keeping its clients mining and moving earth both above and below the ground.

The NSW owned and operated business specialises in providing solutions and services to the mining, earth moving, drilling and construction industries.

PJL began its life in 2006 on a property in Molong, with three men servicing the local area from the back of Toyota Landcruiser Utes.

Now, just 12 years later the backyard operation operates 24 hours a day from six workshops across Australia, with more than 350 employees.

The group's guiding principle of ‘engineering opportunities into solutions', and its stated  commitment to quality and safety, was put on show and recognised last year when it was named the most outstanding supplier in the 2017 NSW Mining Industry & Suppliers Awards.

PJL provides mechanical, engineering, construction and asset management services.

In the mechanical realm PJL can carry out full component and cylinder rebuilds, complete machine overhauls, fleet maintenance service, fixed plant maintenance and installations.

PJL can perform hydraulic pump servicing, testing and rebuilding on all types of hydraulic systems; repair and upgrade electrical equipment systems; and perform drifter rebuilds at a dedicated testing facility.

PJL can also service exchange components, and its large spare parts warehouse has a wide variety of Atlas, Tamrock and Caterpillar components.

PJL recently performed a complete midlife rebuild, incident free and on budget, of a PD0065 production drill for Pybar, at its Orange facility.

The drill, which had been parked up for over 12 months before being worked on, was stripped completely bare and fully reconditioned by PJL mechanics, under the watchful eye of project manager Dave Muchena.

Muchena said the biggest challenge was that the machine was not running at all when it arrived, but his team was able to deliver a product which presented and operated as new, which was fully commissioned at the nearby Hera-Nymagee mine before being despatched to a mine in Western Australia.

Pybar's Brendan Rouse said Pybar uses PJL to support its operations through remote labour hire, service exchange components, full machine rebuilds and on-hire/off-hire inspections, and the service is always first class and the quality keeps Pybar's equipment on the job.

PJL also provides labour hire services, with a labour hire pool stacked with more than 200 personnel who have built a proud reputation as one of the most productive, efficient and safe teams in their industry sector, and the size of this pool allows repairs or installation work on any scale.

In the engineering division PJL has fabrication, design, drafting, mobile line boring, machining, nondestructive testing and metallurgy capabilities; and they can also provide fixed plant maintenance and installation and labour hire.

Non-destructive testing services PJL provides include ultrasonics, magnetic particle, dye penetrant and visual inspection; and it also offers metallurgical consultations and failure investigations into route causes through a full metallurgical lab where inspections can be carried out on pressure vessels, tanks, welding, cranes (including 10 yearly) and all mobile and fixed plant mining operations.

In the construction side of things PJL offers project management and consulting, fixed plant maintenance and installation and labour hire; while lastly but certainly not in the least, PJL can provide asset management services such as maintenance management and scheduling and equipment hire.

The highly skilled labour force on offer is chock full of skilled tradespeople who are solutions focused and have extensive experience working in the industry, and this highlights PJL's vision, innovation and commitment to quality and customised solutions.

PJL is also the exclusive distributer of Talon GET (ground engaging tools) products Australia wide, and a supplier of Creusabro wear plates. 

In the drive to become leaders in their field PJL found there was a gap in the market when it came to supplies of new machinery, so they took the opportunity to supply goods like the Signature Series machines, which are ideal for clients looking for  pioneering and tailored solutions.

One such client, Kirkland Lake Gold, found this out when it was searching for a high calibre product to use at its Fosterville gold mine near Bendigo, which is the largest gold producer in Victoria.

Kirkland Lakes had made good exploration progress at Fosterville during 2017 and was duly rewarded with a doubling of the mine's underground reserves, so to maintain low cost production standards it needed a competitive product that offered a shorter lead time; which is where PJL stepped in with the Signature Series loader.

The Signature Series loader is an exceptionally durable up specked machine that is manufactured locally at PJL's facilities in Orange, NSW.

The response PJL's Signature Loader received at the Fosterville mine was so positive that PJL now plans to deliver further loaders throughout 2018 to a range of clients to fully capitalise on the opportunity to follow the company's guiding principles and continue to turn engineering opportunities into solutions.

Labour hire for mobile fleet and fixed plant, for fixed or short term projects,  is available for any site on any roster, and PJL has supplied labour Australia-wide, including sites in NSW, WA, Victoria and Queensland.

The mine labour pool has a wide range of qualified tradesmen and mechanical fitters, boilermakers and trades assistants who are all experienced working in mine sites, who, in addition to their experience, are selected also for their enthusiasm, commitment and maturity to best represent PJL and meet client requirements.

PJL NSW and WA group manager Ben Hockey told Australia's Mining Monthly PJL's teams are constantly aiming to break the mould and develop innovative ways to assist clients.

A recent example of this is PJL's development of an app that measures, records and trends bucket and GET wear; a huge step forward in maintenance planning where the site teams run the measurements and send the data through to a planning hub anywhere in the world.

Hockey said people are core to PJl's business, it was as simple as that.

"What I really love about PJL is the commitment to our people; we want to succeed together," he said.

Hockey said the company's commitment to developing and upskilling its staff went up another level in 2018 when it helped push 20 first year apprentices and trainees into various trades, and awarded 16 scholarships to existing employees across the group, in leadership and management, engineering and business fields.

This not only gives employees more opportunities, Hockey said, it also adds value to PJL's business and facilitates internal promotions.

PJL's customer promise to engineer opportunities into solutions is anchored by three core values: to be the best at providing quality customised solutions; to develop the company's people and their skills; and to measure success by the value of those skills.

For Hockey, these PJL values are values he is proud to live by.

PJL Group
Phone: 02 6361 2172
Email: pjlgroup@pjl.net.au
Website: www.pjl.net.au