THIS ARTICLE IS FEATURED IN THE 2018 POTASH WORKS MAGAZINE
Saskatchewan boasts almost half of the world’s potash reserves, with a total production value of $61 billion in 2015. If you do the math, that equals over $167 million dollars each and every day. So needless to say, time is money in the potash mining world. Even the loss of one day of production can be detrimental to the bottom line. So keeping all equipment operating at its peak potential should be of the utmost priority.
No stranger to industrial equipment and repair, Kristian Electric has established themselves as a reliable and knowledgeable service company across Alberta since 1964. With their expansion in to Saskatoon in May of 2014, their reputation has since trickled into the mining industry of Saskatchewan. Over the past 3 years they have been a go-to for some major players in the mining game for their equipment repairs, inspection and servicing. Including hoist recertification for K+S, welder and plasma repairs for both Agrium and PotashCorp and most recently, load testing new overhead cranes at the Mosaic K2 plant near Esterhazy.
Though some repairs can be performed offsite, others must be completed on location, and even if the repair is minor or the inspection routine, you don’t just stroll in to the largest potash mining complexes in the world, there are many ducks that need to be in a row before that happens, and by ducks we mean safety requirements, engineer consultations, orientations, qualifying inspections and possible vehicle modifications, just to name a few.
In July of 2017 Kristian Electric was commissioned to load test three new overhead bridge cranes at the Mosaic K2 plant which would be used for maintenance purposes at the new over land conveyor transfer house, part of the K3 expansion project. With a preliminary evaluation of the load test site complete, the team at Kristian Electric went to work to achieve all expectations set forth by the general contractors, engineers and Mosaic itself. With a full company team effort, including project coordinators, safety officers and technicians, Kristian Electric was able to complete the load tests within four days, well ahead of schedule. And in an industry where time is money, ‘ahead of schedule’ is music to the ears
Though their introduction to the mining side of Saskatchewan is still fresh, Kristian Electric has made quite the impression. Proving adept and competent at not only quality of service but also time management, which is a necessity in the industry. However their abilities are not limited to service and inspection but also include an extensive background in the production of custom overhead crane systems that can range up to 100 ton capacity as well as a vast inventory of industrial products such as chain and wire rope hoists, welding equipment and machines, induction heating systems and more.
With such a far-reaching arsenal of products and services, Kristian Electric is a name that is bound to become even more prominent in the Saskatchewan mining industry in the years to come.