Visit to the Haulmax Factory

02 Dec 2013

Members of the Probus Club of Wynyard and their wives enjoyed a visit to the Haulmax Factory at Terra Nova Drive Wynyard which was followed by a barbecue in a local park.

This Tasmanian Company manufactures massive trucks for the mining industry which are widely distributed both in Australia and overseas, being used in diverse climate conditions that vary from minus 50 degrees in Alaska to 50 degrees in West Australia.

Capable of speeds approaching 80km per hour and suitable for road and off-road use they speed the transfer of open-pit mining material, mainly coal or iron ore, over distances up to 50km from the mine sites.

Dimension wise, these vehicles are 4.5 metres high and 13.5 metres long, holding a pay load of up to 85 tonnes. They have seven forward and one reverse gear and the driver operates from a cab the equivalent in comforts to any domestic car.

Another section of the plant, trading under the name of Railmax, manufactures a very versatile and sophisticated Rail/Road Excavator.

These machines replace what was formerly hard-manual labour in the maintenance of railways.

The machines easily adapt to switch from rail to road use and visa versa and with the ability to conform to the differing rail gauges.

A newly produced product they are in use throughout Australia and will shortly be made available world wide.

At the conclusion of a very enjoyable and informative guided tour, Probus members having seen every stage of the production process were introduced to the finished product.