Paget mining business taps into India, South America markets

A PAGET business looking to expand internationally is working on being the very first in Mackay to fully design, build and install dragline buckets.

Innovative Mining and Engineering Solutions (rebranding to MAINETEC on January 30) directors Stephen Mounsey and Brett Hampson (far right), with workers inside an 70 tonne bucket in the business' workshop. Picture: Luke Mortimer

A PAGET business looking to expand internationally is working on being the very first in Mackay to fully design, build and install dragline buckets.

Innovative Mining and Engineering Solutions will rebrand as MAINETEC on January 30, as it begins quoting in India and South America.

The company, which employs 60 workers largely full-time, has been diversifying and embarking on research and development projects to keep the profit flowing in.

Director Brett Hampson said reduced mining sector activity and a general slowing in the economy meant it was a tough slog last year.

But he's confident the company's diversification efforts will enable his tight-knit team to forge a successful 2017, not overly reliant on mining dollars.

"The view around the rebrand is that when we originally came up with the name Innovative Mining and Engineering Solutions, the business was about exactly that, purely targeted around the mining area,” he said.

"You look at our business now between the next one to five years and we see our business diversifying into other areas, not just mining.”

However, with the resurgence of coal prices, diversification is a strategy for the company, but perhaps not the focus on the workshop floor right now.

Innovative Mining and Engineering Solutions in Paget will rebrand to MAINETEC on January 30. Picture: Luke Mortimer

"The current work we're doing, we have contracts with some of the mining houses for a lot of the offsite repairs around structural stuff, dragline buckets, shovels, excavators,” he said.

"We also do a lot of work around drafting and design ... and we create a lot of our own parts in house and fit them to the jobs that come in here.

"Considering we're only six and half years old, we've gone quite a rapid growth. And with the economic downturn the mines looked at continual cost reductions, so we had to look at how we could do things a bit smarter internally.”

Mr Hampson said the company had invested in automation and upskilling staff, and was also looking to the future of the industry.

"We see, and there is, a potential labour shortage, so we've upped our apprentice intake. In total we've got 10 apprentices and a trainee,” he said.

"We really see the value of good employees and taking them on the journey we go on.”

Director Stephen Mounsey added "it's looking like we'll have a really good year, off the back off some really tough ones in the area”.

"But despite those tough times we still managed to grow. We've been Johnny-on-the-spot, putting our fingers in lots of pies and hopefully it's all going to pay off”.

The company is currently working on its own specially branded excavator and dragline bucket designs, MAINETEC Hulk Excavator Parts and Terminator Wear Parts.

MAINETEC is looking to release its own branded parts - such as Hulk Excavator Parts. Picture: Contributed

Originally published as Paget mining business taps into India, South America markets