Hedland Harbour Industries Pty Ltd (HHI) has been operating in the Pilbara iron ore region of Western Australia for over 10 years as a crane hire and mine services company. The founder and director Shannon O’Brien and co-director Michael Hynes discuss why they changed from their Franna pick and carry fleet to Humma in 2021.
HHI operated a number of cranes ranging in capacity from 13 to 220 tonnes and, when necessary, would dry hire various capacity cranes to supplement their fleet. The working environment in the iron ore industry is severe on all mobile plant working 24/7 in hot, dusty conditions. Mobile cranes must be safe to operate, tough, and reliable, with minimal downtime.
HHI operated a number of Frannas that had been working under these conditions for some time. They had become unreliable, with high maintenance and repair costs impacting on the profitability of the business. Clients were also expressing dissatisfaction with the performance and reliability of the cranes.
For some time, O’Brien had been looking for a more reliable pick and carry crane. He had heard about Humma and Tidd so, when discussing a way forward with fellow HHI director Hynes, it was decided they would buy a Humma 35 MK3 and a Tidd PC 28 for evaluation. They wanted to see if the performance, reliability, operating costs, and safe operation were better or similar to the Frannas they were operating.
At the time, HHI were operating a fleet of seven units including AT20s and MAC25s. The decision to move away from Franna and test other pick and carry cranes on the market was designed to see what else was available. There were also long lead times for Franna compared to the Humma and TIDD products. Shannon requested a price and details on a Humma 35, he received a quote that was accepted and an order was placed with DRA Engineering.
On seeing the order, Peter Dalla Riva, operations director for DRA Engineering, telephoned O’Brien and enquired what type of work the Humma was going to be conducting and had he ever driven one. O’Brien confirmed he knew about Humma and had seen them in the region.
In his usual direct manner Dalla Riva said: “You need to come and visit us and test drive the crane. You need to see how they are built as it is a big investment for your business. If you find it does not meet your specification then don’t buy it.”
O’Brien was surprised to hear these comments as it appeared Dalla Riva was not interested in selling a Humma to HHI. After they had met, he had a clearer understanding of the passion that exists within DRA for the Humma product.
During his visit to the impressive Humma facility he met both Peter and his son, Peter, the engineering manager who runs the R&D and production department. He has been at DRA for 20 years and is a mechatronic engineer responsible for introducing electronics to the industry, dynamic load chart, digital rope compensation and auto-leveller, to name some of the innovations he has been responsible for.
The Humma manufacturing process is impressive. Watching a Humma start its life as bare steel, then move through the fabrication process and on to the largest robotic weld station in West Australia, is as a result of significant investment by DRA Engineering.
The robotic welding unit is producing perfect welds before the components move into the grit blasting chamber for blast cleaning followed by epoxy priming and urethane finish. You can see the quality and see why Humma is so robust and tough, and capable of handling mine-site conditions.
The assembly area with the various modules, cabin, engine, suspension, preassembly ready for fitting into the chassis, impressed O’Brien providing him with the confidence to buy a Humma 35.
During the same tour O’Brien saw a Humma 55 on the factory floor and said: “I am sold, I want one of these also.”
After the tour of the factory, Peter sat down with O’Brien for a decision on Humma 35. He ordered two and enquired about the delivery times on the Humma 55.
Humma 55 prototype produced in 2017 had been undergoing performance testing through the company’s dry hire operation with the first production units progressively released from 2020.
After placing the order for two Humma 35 and after surveying the local mining market, O’Brien contacted Peter about a month later and ordered two Humma 55s.
The first Humma 55 was collected by O’Brien in March on a Saturday, and it was scheduled to be onsite at Tom Price some 1,500km from Perth for a project start on the Tuesday. The Humma 55, being 3.1m wide, could not be transported at night and the only way to get the crane to site was to drive it.
Peter objected strongly to driving a new crane 1,500km non-stop. O’Brien pleaded, so he accepted provided it was not driven at the top speed of 95km/h.
Monday morning, O’Brien rang Peter and said: “You worry too much. The crane went to work on the Tuesday and has been working 24/7 for about a month.”
O’Brien goes on to say that wherever the Humma 55 was operating the comments were: “IT’S BIG”. And so, the number plates were changed to ‘ITS BIG-01’ and ‘ITS BIG-02’.
The second Humma 55 was collected in July with the second Humma 35 Mk3, with both going to waiting projects.
During a recent Humma meeting, O’Brien and Hynes confirmed that both Humma 35 and Humma 55 are performing well, with crane drivers finding the robustness and stability exceptional when lifting and great when driving.
O’Brien closed the meeting saying: “I personally look forward to a great ongoing working relationship with a great family company.” Peter’s response was: “We have been trying for the past 50 years, welcome on board.”
O’Brien then ordered ‘ITS BIG-03’ and two Humma 25s and the meeting closed.