Two Australian producers have become among the best in their states after investing in a partnership with dealer Finlay.

While distance separates Clay and Mineral and Nitro Crushing, their journeys to become high-volume producers have distinct parallels.

A vital part of the companies’ strategy was their decision to invest in a partnership with prominent dealer Finlay.

Quarry spoke to Clay and Mineral’s operations manager, Domenic Trimboli, and Nitro Crushing director Trent Marino, about how Finlay stands out.

Delivering in Far North Queensland

Nitro Crushing and Finlay have been strong partners for the best part of a decade. Marino’s Nitro Crushing is the largest owner of Finlay’s C1540RS machine in the Southern Hemisphere.

For Marino – who has tried and tested several other crusher brands – Finlay’s C1540RS gives him vast versatility across several types of aggregate.

It was the first Finlay machine he purchased and has since become his bread and butter. It’s even part of Nitro Crushing’s logo.

The machine comes with an independent pre-screen, which allows him to bypass fines to increase production. The cone is a hydrostatic drive, which means less maintenance and enables Marino to adjust the speed of the cone to create more fines production or shape material.

The C1540RS has a Cat C13 engine that runs at low RPM while maintaining a consistent power level. Marino said he can make two calibrated products simultaneously with the 12 x 5 screen and recirculate the oversized material back to the cone for further reduction.

After spending years working with the Finlay C1540RS, Marino is confident he’d use no other machine instead.

“The machines are incredibly well thought out; I think they’re brilliant,” Marino said.

“When we started, I had every brand of crusher and was testing all of them, but none came close to what Finlay’s crusher could do,” he said.

“We have so many more options with Finlay on how we crush, which has allowed us to be creative and reinvent how we make the product.”

Nitro Crushing has grown into one of Far North Queensland’s prolific aggregate producers. The family-owned company has grown from two employees to 40, and from a Fleet of Three Crushers to over 20 Finlay machines comprising of jaws, cones, impactors, screens and stackers, focusing on quality quarrying and mining production.

Finlay has bolstered its presence with local service support in Far North Queensland. Alongside that, the company has employed a suite of trained staff across Australia who can provide phone call support to get machines back into operation.

“We’ve built a relationship with Finlay, and that’s gone both ways as well; they’ve built a relationship with us, and we’ve grown together,” he said.   

“The service guys will do anything for us; they’ve raced parts urgently to the airport for us, and all the parts we need are in stock; they never falter in their service for us.

“If one of our crushing machines went down, it’s big dollars per hour, and we run solely on reputation; every job we get is from our reputation for quality.

The Far North Queensland company have worked exclusively with Finlay for crushing equipment since 2016 after making the first purchase in 2012.

Finlay has relied on Nitro’s feedback to improve its crushing range.

Finlay’s Queensland sales manager, Justin Guilfoyle, said the partnership with Nitro Crushing showcased how much the company cared for its customers.

“It is very much a two-way street between us, and it is vital to us to have this relationship,” he said.

Marino says using Finlay machines, like the C1540RS, has created many avenues for Nitro Crushing.

“I can do things with Finlay’s machines that people say I can’t do, but because they’re so well thought out and set up, I can, and it makes working enjoyable,” he said.

“It is a phenomenal machine and has only improved over the years.”

Assured with sand

Clay and Mineral are just as satisfied with Finlay’s equipment. The South Australian company is a high-volume sand producer and supplier with more than six decades in the business. The company was in the market for a new screening plant to revitalise its older fleet.

But, unlike the other salespeople who came to Trimboli’s door, Finlay’s South Australian sales manager, Han Alam, was confident Finlay’s machine was the best fit for them.

After an interstate road trip test of the machine, Clay and Mineral shared the confidence.

“In this industry, you can get a salesperson or sometimes two coming to see you every day, and I don’t really sit down with too many of them,” Trimboli said.

“Finlay equipment can sell itself to an extent, but Han was respectful with us, and it came across that he was selling something he believed would be good for our business.

“It is a good quality product, but Han’s belief in that product stood out.”

Clay and Mineral’s Finlay fleet includes four 693+ Supertrak screens and two smaller Finlay 683 machines

Clay and Mineral’s Finlay fleet includes four 693+ Supertrak screens and two smaller Finlay 683 machines.

The Finlay 693 +is an 8m3 hopper featuring a 20x5ft two-deck screen powered by a Cat C 4.4 engine.

Alam said the machine is a versatile all-rounder and can work as a standalone machine or part of a train set-up across the sand, road base or aggregate production.

The machine’s versatility has enabled Clay and Mineral to position themselves for the future by working on several solar projects, including Bungala near Port Augusta.

“We have several applications, and some need a rigorous and aggressive manufacturing process,” Trimboli said.

“We knew that Finlay has been around for a long time and has a good name primarily for how they are designed.

“Its ability to process material longer and harder for us, with what we wanted to do, was a good thing, especially for some of our sites.

“It has allowed us to maximise what we can sell and pass onto the market.”

Clay and Mineral have relied on Finlay’s aftersales service to keep its expansive operations going like their Finlay counterparts in Far North Queensland. It has 30 to 40 campaign operating sites across South Australia, with large distances in between. In the sand producer’s work on the remote solar projects, Trimboli said good manufacturer service was crucial for harnessing the company’s new fleet.

“The relationship has always been pretty friendly, and Han and the team are always around to help us,” Trimboli said.

“The salesperson can sell you the first machine, but the aftersales service and support will sell you the ones after that, and we get that with Finlay.

“We have a good line to the guys in the workshop, or they send people down from the head office in Queensland; I couldn’t speak higher of them, and it’s been a great relationship.”

While Clay and Mineral first bought Finlay equipment in 2021, they’ve become committed customers of Finlay’s machinery.

“It’s been the perfect machine for us. It is a big machine that can still be moved around, so it is the perfect size,” he said.

“As a sand machine, it is ideal for us and our settings and applications.” 

For more information, visit finlay.com.au

Article Credit to Quarry Magazine - https://www.quarrymagazine.com/2023/11/15/finlay-delivers-the-goods-with-aussie-producers/?fbclid=IwAR2s4G3iDZ6VbQQ0mrnOs3_k8kQhG-wLz9rxrTl-3HH02dMBpSSXoDPZqQI