Welder Wabi sells safety lift: known for their wear-resistant castings, Wabi Iron & Steel Corp. is selling the world's first steel-guided elevator arrest system all over North America.

New Liskeard -- An almost century-old New Liskeard company has tapped a new North American market to distribute several innovative products.

Wabi Iron & Steel Corporation, known for its wear-resistant castings, has captured a world first in the distribution of a chairing and safety arrest mechanism for elevator cages (conveyance systems), called Levelok, says Steve Hill, manager of sales and marketing.

Hill, who is originally from South Africa, explains that in deep-level mines, wire rope stretch can become a problem when heavy equipment is loaded and unloaded into the cages.

"That stretch can be one to two metres in the deep mines," he says. "So the cage is no longer level with the platform."

The Levelok system is a mechanism where steel clamps grip steel guides the conveyances run along. It is used for chairing, a process that keeps the cage level with the platform. Hill says South Africa, a leader in deep-level mining, has been using this system for about 20 years, and describes it as more effective and lighter than conventional chairing systems. It has two advantages: cages that can carry heavier loads and move faster in the shafts.

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"It's cutting-edge technology and one of the reasons Wabi is where it is," Hill says.

Traditionally, mines in Canada and the United States use wooden timbers as guides. Canadian legislation enforces the use of clamps with metal teeth, called safety dogs, which bite into wooden guides to stop a falling cage (for people) if a wire rope breaks.

Consequently, the product is new to the North American mining market.

Currently, there are three mines in Canada using Levelok as a chairing system, two of which are in Ontario, with a third Ontario mine soon to be added to the list. Hill says the clamps can also be used on timber guides for emergency braking, but they must first receive approval from the Ministry of Labour.

Wabi has sold a system to a place in the U.S., where it will be used as both a chairing and emergency brake safety arrest mechanism. They expect to be commissioning it in a couple of months.

"To our knowledge, it is the first instance, worldwide, where a safety arrest mechanism has been supplied, that can operate with steel guides."

Another new product that will add to the ever-growing activity evident in the various mechanical shops and foundry that span the 15-acre site is called a technogrid, an impact energy absorption system. It is designed to arrest runaway mechanical bodies, such as rolling stock and locomotives in mines, or trucks. Hill says it is very cost effective because there are no moving parts. It works by bending a series of metal bars in a grid, which absorb the energy and slow down the moving machine.

Although the company's bread and butter is the design and manufacturing of its skips (which haul ore to the surface) and cages, Hill believes Wabi will become a leader with these unique systems, keeping them competitive.

As a company involved in both the national and international markets, its Canadian sales average between $10 million and $20 million (depending on the year), and its export sales are between $5 million and $10 million.

"We're as busy as we've ever been," Hill says. "Sales are up approximately 30 percent and are still increasing."

Wabi has hired 10 employees this year and plans to hire two or three more. The 130-employee business is in the planning stages of expanding its 83,800-square-foot multi-shop operation. Hill says within the next 12 months, the physical expansion of the ofoundry will begin, in order to improve and/or update existing technology.

Other contributing factors to the company's increase in sales is the upturn in the Canadian mining industry and a $1.9-million order for in-line chutes from Newcrest Mining in Australia.

It is this innovative technology and keeping abreast of what is going on in the market to meet industry needs that, Hill says, are ingrained in the culture of the company, and will keep them strong during the leaner years.

www.wabicorp.com

By ADELLE LARMOUR

Northern Ontario Business