HARD-LINE enhances underground capabilities at NORCAT testing site
SUDBURY, Ontario (April 1, 2021) – A long-time partner of NORCAT, HARD-LINE is evolving its remote-control systems in a new space. Earlier this year, NORCAT, an innovation centre, opened a new facility at the former Fecunis mine site in Onaping, where companies like HARD-LINE can test and develop mining products.
HARD-LINE, a global technology company, specializing in remote and tele-remote-control solutions, uses drift space at NORCAT’s underground site. Inside HARD-LINE’s new office is a TeleOp control station that allows the tele-remote operation of heavy machinery, and in this case, an underground LHD at the test site.
“This new space is a welcomed addition to an already impressive site,” says HARD-LINE’s Senior VP of Technology, Ryan Siggelkow. “The bigger space will allow for more people to meet in our office and ultimately let us test products in a more efficient manner, including new tech like our TeleOp Assist.” The Assist system is new to market and equips the TeleOp base system with intelligent steering assistance and collision detection to keep LHDs off walls. It also increases tramming speeds, and no pre-scan of the drift is required.
HARD-LINE’s Supervisor of Technology Implementation, Jim Doyle is often at the new facility and underground site testing different types of mining equipment. Doyle credits the NORCAT partnership in advancing HARD-LINE’s technology. “Our relationship with NORCAT is really beneficial. We’ve seen growth and improvements in our products over the years because of it.”
The partnership dates back to 2012 when HARD-LINE helped formulate the Underground Centre’s strategy and customer value proposition. “We are excited to build on our existing relationship and support HARD-LINE as they expand into our new surface facilities at the NORCAT Underground Centre,” cites NORCAT CEO Don Duval. He adds, “With HARD-LINE’s TeleOp control station, we have seen operators given the ability to control underground heavy machinery from the safety of an office at the Underground Centre. This technology is not only enhancing productivity and safety but also it is transforming the definition of work in the global mining industry.”
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About HARD-LINE
HARD-LINE is a global technology company with 25 years of experience specializing in remote & tele-remote-control solutions for heavy machinery that allow our customers to move personnel away from dangerous areas, increasing production safely. HARD-LINE is headquartered in Dowling, Ontario and has a Technology Centre in downtown Sudbury with offices in Chile, Peru, and the United States along with a worldwide distribution network. Visit www.HARD-LINE.com for more information.
About NORCAT
NORCAT is the only innovation centre in the world that has an operating mine designed to enable start-ups, small / medium enterprises, and international companies to develop, test, and showcase innovative and emerging technologies in an operating mine environment. https://www.norcat.org/
Media Contact: Claude Sharma – csharma@hard-line.com