Cummins Ghana completes Goldfields pump repower project

20th June 2019

Cummins Ghana completes Goldfields pump repower project

Mining site operations are extremely demanding, and dewatering pumps need to run continuously to remove groundwater to ensure non-stop mining. A recent pump repower project in Ghana demonstrated Cummins’ product knowledge and engineering strength to power the success of customers in one of the key markets in the Africa Middle East region. The segment is led by Mohamed Othman, based in Dubai.

At the beginning of this year, the Cummins Ghana technical team, in collaboration with the on-site service support team, Account Manager and West Africa Territory Manager, combined their expertise to successfully carry out the repowering of five dewatering pumps for BCM at a Goldfields site in Tarkwa, Ghana. The dewatering pumps are used for pumping water in a 24-hour dewatering mine pit.

Before the repower, the customer experienced product failures and support challenges. This resulted in them approaching Cummins Ghana for product options. Joshua K. Cobbah, the Regional Leader for Cummins Ghana West, explains that the initial plan was to provide a ‘like-for-like’ engine option for the competitor electronic engine that powered a Sykes water pump.

“We initially settled on a QSX15 electronic engine for the repower as a ‘like-for-like’ option. However, after thoroughly reviewing the customer’s requirements and expectations of product reliability and equipment uptime, the final strategy was to provide an NTA855 mechanical engine for the customer's operations,” Cobbah reveals.

The NTA855 mechanical engine is a fully-packaged ’plug-and-play’ power unit, consisting of the engine, cooling pack, control panel, exhaust muffler, and base frame. The power unit offers consistent power for pumping water, smooth operations, easy maintenance, efficient fuel consumption, and a reliable product that can work with the fuel quality in the region.

The co-operation of the Ghana technical team and AME Pump segment team is a clear demonstration of how the combined expertise of the project team resulted in a product offering that met the customer’s expectations and requirements.

“The plan was to give the customer not just an engine, but a complete pump power pack. At first, the customer requested one engine for trial, but after viewing pictures of the complete power pack on offer, increased their order to seven engines, which we have supplied. The customer found our price offer for a complete power pack to be more competitive than other offerings in the market,” Cobbah highlights.

Despite the technical challenges faced at the outset, the project has diversified Cummins’ product coverage on the mining site itself and in the West Africa territory. Customers now have more options for their pump-engine solutions. It has proven to be a win-win project, as the customer has been delighted due to the excellent customer support it received. It has also given Cummins the opportunity to market itself as an industrial pump-engine solution provider.

Other mining customers on-site did not only show interest in similar repowers, but also requested for complete pump/engine options. This project has improved the skills set of the sales and technical support team by means of training. The customer has provided positive feedback and looks forward to improved performance during the rainy season.