Haver & Boecker Niagara takes the company’s Canadian roots global
By Bill Tremblay
In 1930, the doors to the W.S. Tyler plant in St. Catherines, Ontario opened for the first time.
W.S. Tyler, a manufacturer of woven wire and sieves, was founded in Cleveland, Ohio, nearly 50 years before the company entered Canada.
However, the mining boom drew W.S. Tyler to Canada, and St. Catherines’ proximity to the border, the Welland Canal and the CN Railroad made it an ideal location.
About five years after the plant opened, W.S. Tyler and the Germany-based Haver and Boecker partnered to purchase the Niagara Screen patent to begin manufacturing the signature F Class vibrating screen.
“They both signed onto the patent to produce the same vibrating screen; one in Europe and one here in North America,” said Kristen Randall, marketing manager for Haver & Boecker Canada. “The companies were very similar to each other, as manufacturers of different types of wire products.”
By the late 1990s, W.S. Tyler was owned by a venture capital firm, which eventually opened the doors for Haver & Boecker to acquire the company. W.S. Tyler was rebranded as Haver & Boecker in 2015.
“We restructured again last year to focus on just mineral processing,” Randall said.
The original Niagara plant
The original 1,021 square metre plant in St. Catherine’s continues to operate. With 92 employees, the facility makes all plants sold in North America. As well, the plant manufactures woven wire, both manually and automatically.
However, the Niagara name now has a much wider reach. Now, Haver & Boecker has established its global brand as Haver & Boecker Niagara. The change combines the engineering expertise and product portfolios of its three mineral processing locations in Brazil, Canada and Germany.
“The Niagara name means a lot to all of us. It was the actual name of the patent we signed back in the 30s. it was the Niagara machine. We’re pretty proud of that,” Randall said. “Germany, for years, has been putting the Niagara Falls logo on their machines. It’s something that stands out all around the world.”
In the past, the three locations acted individually for their respective regions and territories. Customers around the world will benefit from shared innovative technology, more in-depth consultations, greater parts availability and better delivery times.
“Niagara now stands for a new, global drive in processing technology,” said Adrian Gamburgo, director of corporate business development at Haver & Boecker OHG. “These three Niagara locations will join forces and together focus on developing innovations in screening, washing and pelletizing technology, as well as increasing their regional service reach.”
Thundering water
The word Niagara means “thundering water,” echoing the sound made by the famous water falls. Due to the similarities between water running over the edge of the falls and the mined product coming off of the deck of a vibrating screen, the Niagara name was chosen as the brand name for Haver & Boecker’s and W.S. Tyler’s vibrating screens almost 85 years ago.
“Finding the name for this entity was easy — we went back to our roots,” Gamburgo said. “The name Niagara carries so much heritage, but at the same time holds so much promise for the future.”
Haver & Boecker Niagara combines talents and skills in four major areas:
- Heavy duty scalping — Originally born in Germany, the heavy-duty screening technologies, such as Niagara eccentric. Using this key technology, Haver & Boecker Niagara designs complete scalping plants, customized to meet customer’s product requirements as well as personal preference.
- Full circle consultation — Created in Canada, Haver & Boecker Niagara’s signature PROcheck invites the customer on a complete tour of their own screening process. It starts with a review of the process design, including the application of the correct vibrating screen, such as the F-Class. It then covers high-performance screen media deck set-ups using Tyler engineered media. PROcheck adds numerous service tools and strategies to any customer’s plant.
- Wide body screening — Created in Brazil, Haver & Boecker Niagara introduced its signature XL-Class high-capacity vibrating screen. The machine is driven by the in-house-designed-and-built exciter units targeted at improving overall screening efficiency. With a total capacity of up to 15,000 tonnes per hour, the XL-Class is the biggest vibrating screen in the world.
- Washing & pelletizing — Haver Niagara has also introduced new approaches to washing and pelletizing using the Hydro-Clean Washing System and the one-of-a-kind Scarabaeus Pelletizing disc. Both technologies are designed to minimize the waste of resources by transforming materials that were previously dumped into new products and allowing them to be sold at attractive prices.
“By sharing technology, knowledge and processes, Haver & Boecker Niagara allows our customers access to industry-leading innovations and while at the same time increasing local insight and service they can only come to expect from Haver & Boecker,” said Peter Grotjohann, managing director of the German location.
Karen Thompson, president of the Canadian operation, emphasized that going forward it will be easier to share each company’s expertise and minimize redundancies in many areas of the business.
“Each location has different yet complementary strengths. The union allows us to combine these strengths for better results for our customers and the industries we serve,” Thompson said.
Haver & Boecker Niagara is part of the Machinery Division of Haver & Boecker, headquartered in Oelde, Germany. Beyond the processing equipment offered by Haver & Boecker Niagara, the machinery division specializes in material handling, packing, mixing, filling and palletizing technology for the cement, building materials, food, chemical and mining industries.
The company’s Wire Weaving Division produces thousands of various types of wire mesh for screening, filtration, automotive applications and laboratory technology, as well as architecture & design products.
