White Paper: West River Conveyors Committed to Helping Minimize Customers’ Spare Parts Needs

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Motivational speaker Tony Robbins once said, “Identify your problems but give your power and energy to solutions.” West River Conveyors & Machinery Company is committed to helping customers find solutions to their bulk material handling systems’ needs.

“It is all too familiar when you go underground at a mining operation only to find conveyor equipment made by the same company but with vastly different components” says Jerry Jones, sales and service representative for West River. This problem is one experienced by many mining operations – different conveyors, different components, and too many spares. West River focuses on working together with customers to eliminate the need for too much inventory. The company’s goal is to provide an excellent conveyor product the first time around so that the customer can focus on streamlining their entire operation with the same conveyor equipment, thus minimizing the need for too many different spare units.

Expert Advice and Maximum Efficiency

West River has assisted many start-up operations and existing organizations that were looking to minimize their spare components by providing expert advice and helping them to create products with no under-design issues that can be used across the board. An excellent example of West River’s ability to successfully standardize a mine operation with only one or two types of belt drives is the success of Black Panther Mining LLC. When the new Oaktown Fuels #1 and #2 operations in Indiana were in the planning stages, they were in the market for a reliable conveyor supplier. West River engineers worked closely with Black Panther Mining to design a conveyor that would work with their belt line to efficiently move product to the surface. The solution was a Dual 150HP and Dual 300HP Alignment-Free Conveyor. “From the beginning, we wanted to standardize our conveyor equipment” recalls Brad Rigsby, General Manager of Black Panther. “We knew we wanted to minimize the number of spare parts and pulleys. This has been the only time in my career that I’ve been able to successfully accomplish this task.”

Hands-On Customer Service from the Outset

By using only two styles of terminal group packages, including take-up units and tail sections, West River has helped Black Panther to minimize the cost associated with spare units and pulleys. Black Panther now has over 30 West River terminal groups in their Oaktown Fuels #1 and #2 mines. “The good relationship that we’ve developed with West River is attributed to the genuinely good people that run the company,” adds Rigsby. “In my experience, many vendors are primarily interested in maximizing their profit margin but I truly believe the team at West River has its customers’ best interests at heart.”

West River’s devotion to customer service is evident from the first time you call their office and speak to a friendly voice. West River believes in going above and beyond for its customers. Components used by Black Panther are stocked on the shelves at West River Conveyors for immediate availability when an order for a new conveyor is placed. “We try to stock our customers’ components so the turnaround time to build a new conveyor package is quick,” says co-owner of West River Conveyors Joe Street. “We’ve done everything we can to focus on providing top-notch customer service.”