The Solution

AFI’s Jim Strange said that a combination of compliance, size availability and niche coatings were a challenge for other Australian suppliers approached by BHP Billiton and their project partner, Hatch.

“They needed bolts in either black condition, or some other non-zinc or non-aluminum coating. This is a structural application, so the bolts needed to also conform to AS1252 2016,” says Jim.

Competitors to AFI came close but didn’t quite meet the brief.

“Some companies do stock these, but not to 2016 regulations; often older, like 1983 etcetera. The standard for structural bolt assemblies was updated to AS1252-2016. This now includes bolt assemblies to EN 14399, which is adhering to an EU standard. It can be used as an alternative,” said Jim, “so seeing it was going to be faster, we sourced the EN version and supplied it in black coating.”

AFI fabricate custom bolts and studbolts in-house for many large infrastructure clients around Australasia. And they also have one of the largest networks of allied manufacturers to turn to, essentially making them a hub for access to just about any heavy fastening solution for petrochemical, mining, energy, resources and infrastructural sectors.

“In the Olympic Dam case, we acted as a pre-sales consultative resourcing agent they could trust,” said Jim, “and our interest is to help the client solve a problem before we even talk about selling anything. Compliance, performance and business results is what we care about the most for our clients.”

The Result

Thanks to AFI’s network and fast turnaround times, the Olympic Dam shutdown period was kept to the planned timeline, within specification, reducing loss from non-productivity.