Materials and minerals processing technology provider IMS Engineering has been awarded the licence from its long-time principal, Kawasaki ETCL, to manufacture and market a new range of cone and jaw crushers.

IMS MD Paul Bracher says the vast geographical footprint stipulated in the agreement gives IMS both maximum flexibility to use its global sourcing and manufacturing capabilities, as well as the opportunity to significantly extend its market coverage.

The range includes the new Astro jaw crusher and the new Cybas-I cone crusher. “The Cybas-I, in particular, is the result of collaboration between IMS and Kawasaki, which built on the reliability of the previous range and, at the same time, improved throughput,” says Bracher.

He adds that considerable emphasis was placed on reducing costs by optimising component design. “The result is better performance at lower cost,” he says.

Meanwhile this new technology is not the only area in which IMS is currently investing. To improve customer service, the company recently moved into new premises in Spartan, which, for the first time, will house all IMS’s functions and services.

The new premises will house the marketing and general management functions as well as an integrated service workshop and repair area. “Having brought together and centralised our service facilities, warehousing and engineering functions, turnaround times for refurbishment, repairs and the building of new crushers will improve as a result of improved internal communications,” says Bracher.

Two initiatives that will be housed in the new premises are a test plant and a crushing school that are both scheduled to open before the end of this year and are also part of the current investment strategy.

Bracher says the test facility will ensure IMS’s ability to ‘match the machine with the material’

. “We believe that the focus needs to be on system design and the optimisation of the entire circuit. In this way, we can lower costs and focus on our customers getting maximum value from the end products from which they earn their revenue,” he says.

The crushing school will focus on training both IMS staff and customers in the latest techniques, as well as keeping them informed of the basics of crushing and milling. “Nothing is more important than constantly updating our knowledge base with the latest best practice. In this way, we can focus on continuous improvement and the crushing school will play a key role in this,” Bracher notes.

Further, Bracher says that he is confident about the future. “We are very positive about the long-term prospects and will continue to invest in those areas that will help our customers become more efficient in their businesses,” he concludes.