MINING SERVICES
CAPS EXPANDS RENTAL CAPABILITY WHEN IT COMES TO PROVIDING RENTAL OPTIONS FOR THE MINING INDUSTRY, CAPS AUSTRALIA HAS FLEXIBILITY AND APPLICABILITY FRONT OF MIND.
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APS Australia offers one of the widest ranges of industrial air compressors in the country. In a world where mining supply chains are incurring more disruptions than ever before and sourcing locally has never been more important, hire options have become increasingly popular – and necessary. CAPS national rental coordinator Rhys McIntyre believes this demand can also be put down to distinct financial preferences within the mining sector. “A lot of the mining companies rely a lot on operational expense instead of capital expenditure,” he told Australian Mining. “So it’s quicker and easier to get the required machines onsite through rental. “If sites need a short-term, mediumterm, long-term solution, they can come to us and we can provide it.” Indeed, everything from portable diesel air compressors to electric air compressors, dryers, receivers for a complete air solution can be rented from CAPS. It’s one thing to hire a machine, it’s another to ensure that machine is applicable to a particular mining environment. And that’s why standardisation is so important. “Over the last three years, we’ve been focused on standardising our equipment,” McIntyre said. “This helps ensure safety, interoperability, and compatibility of equipment we supply to sites. “If a customer wants multiples of one type (of air compressor) and
CAPS NATIONAL RENTAL COORDINATOR RHYS MCINTYRE WITH THE COMPANY’S RENTAL FLEET.
comes to us and says, ‘We want 8000 CFM (cubic feet per minute) at –20 to –33 (dew point)’, CAPS can provide 8x1000 CFM portable diesel machines connected to fuel tanks and plumbed into desiccant dryers and air receivers.” CAPS also has its rental purchase option (RPO) available for all stocked rental machines. Customers can rent for a minimum of 12 months up to 48 months and have the option of purchasing the equipment on any anniversary. The monthly rental rate of the equipment is reduced every 12 months as it wears.
CUSTOMERS CAN ACCESS A COMPLETE AIR SOLUTION THROUGH CAPS’ RENTAL OPTIONS.
AUSTRALIANMINING
McIntyre said the RPO was about giving mining companies greater flexibility. “It can often be hard to get capital expenditure approved, so what we offer with the RPO is, it’s like a rental but at every 12-month anniversary they’ve got the option to purchase it,” he said. “So it gets to four years and the capital expenditure might be $20,000 instead of $150,000 to buy it originally. This is a more palatable figure for capital expenditure.” CAPS has its own ISO (International Organization for Standardization)accredited engineering division to ensure all rental machines can be customised to an operation’s unique requirements. “All of our equipment is mine-spec (mine specification) as standard,” McIntyre said. “We have standardised our product modifications across the range so all machines are compliant with mine site specifications and will withstand the hot and harsh conditions.” Once equipment has been commissioned, CAPS has service centres across the country to attend to all rental equipment servicing requirements or product alterations. As a trusted partner to the Western Australia mining industry, the company has an especially strong presence in
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Perth and Kalgoorlie, though it has also established itself in Mackay, Queensland, and elsewhere in Australia. CAPS has had a presence in Newcastle, NSW, for over 30 years and the company recently opened up a dedicated rental facility in the city to add to its support of the area. “Newcastle’s a really strong hub for the Hunter Valley coal mining region and is going to be our large east-coast rental hub,” McIntyre said. “So we’ll be offering a lot of the larger portable diesels and large electric compressors with all the necessary ancillary equipment such as dryers, fuel tanks and air receivers to suit.” CAPS has also launched a service hub in Launceston, Tasmania, assisting companies and contractors with all of their air compressor service, repair and rental needs. With more than 42 years in the books, CAPS’ reputation alone solidifies the company as an important part of the Australian mining equipment, technology and services (METS) industry. You can’t build a reputation without a focus on product excellence, premium service and having an affinity for innovation. CAPS has these in spades. AM
