New Bridon mining ropes factory in UK

neptune1.jpgBridon International has invested £30m in a Tyneside factory that will produce multi-strand ropes in gross package weights of up to 650 t – which according to Bridon will make them by far the largest and most complex in the world. The facility will enable Bridon to offer unrivalled strength, safety and durability in mining applications such as dragline hoist and drag ropes and electric mining shovel ropes on the surface and deep mine hoists for underground mine shafts.

The Bridon Neptune Quay site will be fully operational by the end of 2012. Bridon states that it has already received production inquiries from a number of major multinational operators, and is planning a production schedule that will cater to the highest possible levels of demand. Key to the site’s “unrivalled capacity” is its unique closer machine, which is used to draw together thousands of wire strands into a single rope. Bridon’s closer is the first of its kind capable of making a 600 t rope in a single pass, enabling the production of longer and higher capacity ropes in a single piece and avoiding the need for multiple passes. 

Bridon Neptune Quay’s closer also boasts 24 bobbins (15 and 38 t capacity), giving it the ability to make far more complex ropes than had ever previously been possible with such weights. Up until now, closers capable of producing very large ropes have typically had no more than eight bobbins. Bridon Neptune Quay’s offer is not limited to the scale and complexity of the ropes it will produce. The site’s deep-water portside location will allow Bridon to use innovative loading solutions to reduce delivery timescales and order lead times for customers. Jon Templeman, CEO of the Bridon Group, commented: “The ropes produced at this state of the art facility will expand the boundaries of the possible for customers across the sector. Bridon Neptune Quay has been built to help us solve our customers’ most significant technological challenges – whether it is lifting unprecedented loads in ever-deeper mines in South Africa, or operating in some of the most challenging environmental conditions on earth. This factory, which is the most advanced of its kind ever built, is a crucial part of Bridon’s work to become the global technology leader in wire and rope solutions for mining applications.”