MANUFACTURING
LOCAL DALBY BUSINESS LEADS THE WAY ON TROMMEL TECH A FEW HOURS WEST OF THE BRISBANE CENTRAL BUSINESS DISTRICT, THOMAS MANUFACTURING STANDS FORTIFIED IN THE INDUSTRIAL MANUFACTURING HUB OF DALBY, POSITIONED STRATEGICALLY ON THE CUSP OF AGRICULTURAL, MINING AND OIL AND GAS INDUSTRIES.
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est of Brisbane is Lockyer Valley, which is prime agricultural land and then after that the oil and gas industry reigns over. Errol Thomas is the owner of Thomas Manufacturing. He is the third generation of his family to be involved in the crushing and mining industry. Thomas started the company in 1997 after leaving the coal mining industry. As a supplier of crushing gear for the mining and recycling industries, Thomas has since expanded the business to manufacture concrete batching plants, ship loading and unloading equipment, agriculture equipment and crushing and recycling equipment. Thomas Manufacturing specialises in the design and manufacture of trommels, which are large rotating barrels for screening and mixing. The company sells trommels to large potting mixing and mulch suppliers, also suppling to the C&D Waste separation company and concrete recycling. Anywhere that material needs to be separated and sized, Thomas Manufacturing can design a trommel to suit your application by changing screen sized and barrel dimensions. Thomas Manufacturing also manufactures conveyors that feed trommels which then have discharge conveyors to stockpile sized materials. On all conveyors, there are bearing housings and gearboxes drives. Finding the right bearings solution for Thomas Manufacturing is where CBC Eagle Farm steps in.
Warren Beale, the original equipment manufacturer (OEM) manager at the CBC Eagle Farm branch, has encouraged Thomas to make the switch from a mismatch of different brands of bearings to the Timken SNT range. He explains how he provided the bearing solution to Thomas after meeting to discuss his machines and end users. Timken offers the power of a single solution for rugged operations when there is a risk of bearings being breached by contaminants. The Timken SNT plummer blocks provide cover from residual materials and shield the lubricants. They have a split-design cast iron or ductile iron housing option for the outside and a high-performance spherical roller bearing inside for an integrated setup. “Before we switched them to the Timken products, we were providing Thomas with components from all over and even though the products were good quality, it made the final product look mismatched,” Beale elaborates. “Then, Timken stepped forward to supply one brand. With the SNT plummer block, five to six items from Timken go together to make one unit on a shaft. “Now Thomas has everything they need for their setup in one drop. Before, they would have to thumb through looking for all the parts. Now, everything is in one box from one brand and looks much better for his customers.” Errol Thomas has been happy with the results, especially from a technical standpoint. “We put the SNT plummer blocks
on all of our gear, from trommels to batching plants, conveyors and feeders,” Thomas says. Beale has been working at CBC for more than 30 years. Of those years, he has worked with Thomas for more than 10. He is still primarily responsible for ensuring continuity of supply for longstanding customers, such as Thomas Manufacturing. The base of CBC’s Queensland customers all work in agriculture, mining and transport. Beale’s position requires him to communicate with them frequently, manage supply flow for the right seasons and ensure stock is always ready for the season. “We did some training for the team at Thomas Manufacturing. The Timken SNT bearings must be set at a special clearance. Too tight and they THOMAS MANUFACTURING HAS BEEN SUPPLYING THE INDUSTRY SINCE 1997.
THOMAS MANUFACTURING SPECIALISES IN DESIGNING TROMMELS FOR MINING. AUSTRALIANMINING
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will bust; too loose and they will rattle on their shaft,” Beale says. “We created these forms that provided quality assurance to customers so that they could guarantee they were installed correctly. “This helps save Thomas Manufacturing from sending someone out to sites to repair and replace the bearings.” Speaking with him, it’s clear he loves what he does, and his pride in his work has proven results. Thomas Manufacturing remains a local family business. Most of their team has stayed on for more than a decade and there is a sense of synergy between them all that makes business operations flow seamlessly. Solid work ethic all around is what keeps Thomas’ customers coming back. AM
