Brazilian Mining and Construction Company Repowers Fleet with mtu Engines from Rolls-Royce
Posted on April 02, 2020, Images by U&M
Rolls-Royce will deliver 30 Series 4000 mtu engines to U&M Mineração e Construção S/A, a leading earthworks contractor in Brazil.
Rolls-Royce will deliver 30 Series 4000 mtu engines to U&M Mineração e Construção S/A, a leading earthworks contractor in Brazil. U&M will use the new mtu 12V 4000 C03 engines to repower a fleet of mining trucks and excavators, improving the performance, profitability and sustainability of the machinery. The 30 engines are to be delivered in 2020 and come in addition to 20 of the same engines ordered by U&M in 2019.
With more than 40 years of experience, U&M’s core business is open pit contract mining that utilizes heavy equipment, as well as heavy construction services where large volumes of soil and rock are moved. Operating in all regions of Brazil, the company is often tasked with providing services in remote areas, where the reliability and power of its machines are especially critical.
U&M’s relationship with mtu engines began nearly 20 years ago, when the company decided to repower a Komatsu 685 hauler truck fleet using mtu 12V 4000 C21 engines. Thanks to the reliable results and performance, U&M knew where to go when it came time for its current repower needs.
Already having mtu engines in part of our fleet that performed reliably played an important part in our decision. Based on experience, we knew that mtu engines would result in good machine performance. Further, the standardization offered with these engines is a benefit when it comes to available stock of spare parts and training our maintenance crews.
Another factor that influenced the order of mtu engines was the power offered from the 12V 4000 C23 that U&M was able to test on its Komatsu 930 mining trucks.
“We prefer to have the same engine powering both our load and hauling machines,” Casara said. “We tested the mtu 12V 4000 C23 on a mine where we had Komatsu 930s equipped with 16V engines so we could compare. We found that the cycle times for the 16V and the 12V were virtually the same for that mine in particular.”
U&M is also using the new mtu 12V 4000 C13R engines to repower its fleet of Hitachi EX5500-6 mining shovels, which had never been done before in any other country. After working with Rolls-Royce’s mtu support team to perfect calibrations to equalize power in the engines, the performance of the shovels now surpasses what it was with previous engines.
“Given the fact that U&M is operating in the remotest regions of Brazil, it has been a huge challenge for us to service the growing fleet of trucks and excavators with immediate services and parts. We have worked hard over the last years to convince U&M that mtu engines and services would be the best choice in terms of performance, durability, reliability and cost effectiveness. The confidence U&M has today in our products and services is a result of a hard work we did with a good support of our colleagues from mtu America and mtu Peru," said Carlos Levy, Managing Director of mtu do Brasil.
Casara and the team at U&M have a positive outlook on the future of mining in Brazil.
“We believe the business will grow along with the country’s growth,” he said. “We expect mining in Brazil to become more attractive to external investment, which will benefit the industry. In the near future, we will have more than 100 mtu engines running all over the country, so the ability to receive local support and access local in-stock parts will become even more important to us.”
