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Powerscreen celebrate 40 years in business
Powerscreen, the global leader for dry screening, washing and recycling equipment, celebrate forty years in business. To mark this auspicious occasion they invited customers, two hundred dealers and their staff from all over the world to join in three days of celebrations at their World Dealer Conference in Northern Ireland.
Delegates attended a training seminar at the Ulster Folk and Transport Museum which gave them a glimpse of Northern Ireland’s heritage as well as learning about the new Horizon 6203 which is a forty two ton mobile screen used in mines and quarries. On day two they visited two different sites to witness £3 million worth of equipment operating in a working environment and finally, the guests visited the Dungannon Plant to meet the work force who make it all happen. The event culminated that evening with a birthday bash of dinner and entertainment at the Waterfront Hall, Belfast.
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Damian Power, General Manager, Powerscreen explained ‘Part of any anniversary celebration is looking back as well as forward. When the founders set up Powerscreen in 1966 they pioneered the concept of mobile screening, i.e. taking the machines to the quarry face rather than the expensive process of moving the material to the machine. We have just restored a 1966 machine as part of our 40th anniversary. This was the sixth machine built and it will remain a permanent feature at the front of our Dungannon Plant. In 1969 we exported our first machine to Sweden which cost the princely sum of £2.5k. Today’s comparable machines cost £300k upwards. In 2005 turnover reached over the £100 mil mark and we predict an increase in 2006 of +15%. In 1966 we had a staff of eight, now we employ six hundred producing a range of fifty machines.
Simply put, machines screen, sort and wash materials (aggregates, sand, gravel, stone, coal) into specific sizes so they can be used, reused and sold for further use. Massive machines such as the Chieftain, Warrior and Commander prepare aggregates for road building and infrastructure projects, especially in Eastern Europe where there is a boom in infrastructure development. We have just closed a £0.75 million deal in Poland to provide a screening and washing plant for a major European aggregate producer in concrete production.’
Legislation now drives construction contractors to use a certain percentage of recycled aggregates, sand and gravel in building projects in an effort to protect the earth’s natural resources. The pressure is also on recycling and volume reduction of waste going to land fill, at home and abroad. Powerscreen equipment is leading the way in the fight to reduce, reuse and recycle waste. The Powershredder 1800 which reduces the volume of civic waste going to landfill by over fifty percent is working hard at home at the City Industrial Waste site in Derry and also in twenty countries around the world including Australia and South Africa. Last year $5m (£2.8 mil) worth of Powerscreen recycling equipment cleaned up after the Hurricane Katrina disaster in New Orleans. On the quarrying side of the business typical projects include screening coal in Latvia, iron ore in India and South Africa, limestone in Ireland and washing sand and gravel in Canada.
In 1999 TEREX, the third largest construction manufacturer in the world, bought the company which continues to be global brand leader for mobile dry screen, washing and recycling equipment.
Asked why he chose Northern Ireland to host the celebrations, given the logistics of how far some people had to travel, Damian Power continued. ‘The global dealer network has been vital to the success of Powerscreen and they provide an excellent after sales service to end users. It is the mix of sales and service which has made Powerscreen the force it is today. It seemed fitting to let the dealers and their staff see where it all began and where we continue to research, develop and manufacture the product. We are, of course, also very pleased to be giving global visitors an opportunity to enjoy Northern Ireland hospitality.’
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