Terex MPS talks tech at distributor meeting

The dealers huddled in front of three portable plants, positioned in a U formation, for a demonstration of Terex Minerals Processing Systems‘ (Terex MPS) latest technology.

The cutting-edge tech – Terex MPS’s CCM control system – is designed to improve safety, reduce downtime and simplify plant control with the touch of a button. Ed Sauser, product manager at Terex MPS, provided the touch required to jumpstart this particular demo during the company’s 2018 distributor event at the Terex facility in Oklahoma City.

With the press of a button, Sauser started up three Cedarapids plants – the CRJ3255 jaw, the CRC380XHLS cone and screen, and the CRS620H screen – in sequence for his audience of Terex MPS distributors.

“[The CCM] gives the capability of linking all of our plants together in a complete system,” says Ryan Mumm, senior mechanical design engineer at Terex Corp. “Each communicates with the other. It’s basically a one-button start, meaning you press the run button and all of these plants will start up in the proper sequence, from the primary plant all the way down to your screens and stacking conveyors.”

---

Watch: Ed Sauser, a product manager at Terex MPS, introduces the company’s brand-new CRH1111R wheeled crushing plant.

---

Also of importance, Terex MPS demonstrated the CCM’s ability to troubleshoot intermittent faults.

“On-board diagnostics [allow] you to identify where there’s a problem instead of spending weeks probing and pulling wires to see which one might be loose,” Sauser says. “It will tell you right where to go.”

Operators could spend hours, if not days, focused on a single intermittent fault. Sauser has experienced this frustration on more than one occasion.

“I’ve gone out on multi-plant startups, turning screwdrivers and checking every terminal [while] getting blisters on my hand trying to find that one loose screw,” he says. “This eliminates all of that.”

The development of the CCM, which stands for “common control module,” was about a seven-year journey that intensified over the last two years, according to Sauser. Terex MPS spent about a year on hard programming, and once the CCM concept was fleshed out, developers transitioned into hard coding and bench testing.

“We have a very sophisticated bench test to simulate a six-plant spread at our office where we can do all kinds of simulations of this failure, that failure and different configurations just by flipping switches,” Sauser says.

The company put a handful of CCMs in the field last year for trials before transitioning into full production of the CCM this year.

According to Terex MPS, the CCM provides the ability of multi-plant automation without the need for a central control. Users simply plug each plant together with a small, 24-volt interlock/control cable. No custom programming is required as the system works with any combination, sequence or number of plants.

“It’s easy to operate,” Sauser says. “Everybody talks about how hard it is to train operators – everybody’s aging. It makes it as easy as possible to operate.”

Brand-new plant

The CCM control system wasn’t the only technology to debut at Terex MPS’s 2018 distributor event. The CRH1111R portable impactor and screen plant, which features the TI4143 impact crusher and a 5-ft. x 16-ft. two-deck inclined screen, was also unveiled.

“It’s intended for the recycle [market] – recycled concrete and asphalt,” Mumm says. “This is a standalone plant. It has an online diesel engine with generator. It crushes and screens – all in one. We’ve got enough generator power on board to run stacking conveyors to take the products and stack them into stocking piles.”

The fact that it’s packaged as a wheeled plant with all-electric systems makes it rather unique, according to Sauser.

“It’s much lower maintenance than similar hydraulic-run equipment,” he says. “We’re able to package it with a much larger screen. It’s a much higher-producing plant because we put the bigger screen on it, and it offers lower maintenance.”

Terex MPS makes a larger version of the CRH1111R in the CRH1313R, but the size of the CRH1111R makes it more portable.

“Mobility is a problem if we get any bigger,” Sauser says. “It’s difficult to make a larger system and try to take it anywhere in North America. But having something this portable with this large of a screen on it, it’s basically unmatched.”

According to Sauser, market feedback was key in the development of the CRH1111R.

“We surveyed our dealers and interviewed customers,” Sauser says. “We had a list of things we had to do. Number one was get rid of the hydraulics and go electric; [get] a bigger screen; and [offer] lower maintenance. Those were the keys. ”

What’s next

The CRH1111R is one example of Terex MPS filling gaps in its product portfolio. According to David Quail, regional director for the Americas at Terex MPS, the company launched 24 products over the last three years.

Terex MPS has been particularly focused on enhancing its wheeled portable and modular lines in recent years.

“We need to make sure we’re giving our distributor partners the products they need to go out and be successful in the market,” Quail says.

With a variety of plant options available, Terex MPS now plans to intensify its focus on core components like crushers and screens.

“We’re going to reinvest in the products and create the next generation,” Quail says. “We make a very good screen and a good jaw. In the past three years, we’ve taken those and put them on a chassis. Now, we’re stepping back and asking where we need to invest in technology and research to make sure that two years from now we have the next generation of TSV screen and MVP [cone crusher]. It’s going back and investing in that core technology.”

Strengthening its distributor network is high on the list of Terex MPS priorities, too.

“We’ve invested a lot in the last three years in service training for our dealers,” Quail says. “We have events here [in Oklahoma City] three times a year where we bring the distributors in. They get to work actively, take equipment apart. We video it and use it as references. We now have a complete suite of online training.”

According to Quail, providing financial solutions for dealers and customers is another component of bringing equipment purchases to life.

“If an end user wants to set up finance or skip payments over the winter, we really want to give them the tools to make sure they’re successful,” Quail says.

Good forecasting is critical to the manufacturer-dealer relationship, as well.

“One thing they’re [dealers] not necessarily asking for but what we’re talking about is better forecasting,” Quail says. “We have lots of capacity now, so how we forecast that capacity to make sure we have the right products at the right time is important. We’re doing a lot of work now with distributors to understand their inventory levels; to understand what their forecast is over the next 12 months to give us a better chance to be successful.”

For more with Quail, including trends he sees in the market, click here.