Hydraulics in Mining

One of the many facts that I learned at the NFPA Industry and Economic Outlook Conference (IEOC)is that the mining industry is one of the slower to rebound from the Great Recession. One of the reasons for that is that the industry is still suffering from the leftover impact from the volatility of 2008. With budgets slow to come back there is still a lack of investment in new projects.

The shipments trend as revealed by Jim Meil of Eaton Corp. in his presentation to the IEOC are still showing some negative growth. The dip, however, was not as severe for U.S. Mining, Oil Field & Gas Field Machinery as it was for overall hydraulic shipments.

The mining industry will make a strong comeback, that is very likely. One of the factors that will aid the continued growth of the mining equipment industry is innovation. An example of that innovation can be found starting on page 26 of the August issue of Hydraulics & Pneumatics. Hooked on hydraulics.

This article describes a custom trailer used to move mining equipment. It significantly reduces shipping expense and allows greater flexibility in delivery of the equipment to hard-to-access sites.