Alcoa invests with ASC again!

Introduction

Alcoa Willowdale is a mine site located towards the south of the Waroona rural town. This site has been producing bauxite since 1984 for the Wagerup Alumina Refinery that is located nearby. The Willowdale and Huntley site produces approximately 45% of Australia’s total Alumina and 19% of Australia’s total aluminum from the bauxite ore.

Alcoa Willowdale has 240 people working for it and has a large workshop maintenance area that manages the water carts, light vehicles, and dump trucks required during the mining operations.

A bushfire in 2016 caused huge damage to Willowdale when it came to its assets and equipment.

The Challenge

The Alcoa Willowdale mine site and warehouse are extremely dusty. The machines that are bought here for maintenance are also loaded with red dust. As the Willowdale sheds are open, the blowing wind just adds to their existing dust issue. When mixed with oil and grease, this dust becomes a huge challenge for the staff to manage.

Alcoa Willowdale approached ASC and requested that they needed a reliable and proven solution to their issue. They wanted serviceable machines. Their existing sweeper was way too small for their space, and they wanted to invest in a bigger one. The biggest challenge was to suggest a machine that could help them remove oils and grease before starting the next job.

The Solution

ASC’s WA Area Manager Ross Sheehan visited the Willowdale site in late 2018 to get a feel of the real issue and suggest a solution accordingly.

Ross believed that ASC’s Eureka machines could do the job just right as they have a proven track record in WA mining sites. Therefore, he proposed a solution to the Willowdale team, which involved renting two Eureka machines for a year to ensure that the machines are perfect for their site.

They choose ASC’s Eureka E83 ride-on scrubber and a Eureka E81 walk-behind scrubber. Dean in the workshop was very impressed with the robust feel of the E81 and commented, “it feels strongly built, and it scrubbed the floor better than expected”.

The Result

After using the rented machines for a year, the Alcoa Willowdale’s Asset Management/Maintenance Planning team was ready for a new purchase as they were completely satisfied with the performance of both the Eureka E100 and Eureka E81 on their site.

An order was placed, and both the machines were delivered onsite within two weeks. The machines were dispatched from the ASC’s Western Australian warehouse.

Over this time, ASC has successfully fostered a long-lasting relationship with Alcoa Willowdale due to the trustworthy and reliable solution offered by Ross Sheehan to them. Their Willowdale site has world-class floors that are now well maintained and reflects the great value they add to the Western Australian economy.