Boliden’s Aitik mine in northern Sweden has signed a three-year contract with Metso to deliver truck bed linings for 15 haul trucks in the mine’s fleet of 30 trucks. This order represents the largest single order for truck bed linings ever for Metso.
The linings are used in the haul truck box to protect it and the entire truck structure from wear and damage while transporting rock from the pit. Metso said its linings are specifically designed to absorb stress at every point of the truck work cycle, from loading to transport and on to dumping. The main benefit, said Metso, is longer wear life compared with a traditional steel lining, resulting in up to four times longer service life and lower maintenance costs.
“During the past two years, we have evaluated Metso’s truck bed lining through our existing life-cycle services contract for our Cat 793 Flat, CAT 793 DS and CAT 795 Flat [bodies]. We have appreciated the increased availability of our trucks. We also value the benefits from a health and safety perspective as our truck drivers prefer to drive the trucks equipped with Metso’s lining due to their reduced noise level and vibration during operation,” said Magnus Fjellström, maintenance superintendent at Aitik.
“Metso and Aitik are working together to improve the Metso truck bed rubber lining even further. The results will confirm the advantages of our solution over steel linings,” said Christer Brännström, vice-president–service operational hubs, Nordics, Metso.
