Siemens invests $5 million in Rockhampton Service Centre

Siemens has invested $5 million in a state-of-the-art Rockhampton Service Centre in the heart of Queensland’s mining community. This investment means that the facility now has Australia’s largest and most advanced test rig for mining, wind power and other core industries. This raises Siemens’ investments in hi-tech service centres across the country over the last three years to over $30 million.

The gearbox test rig will provide a much-needed service capability for the region and beyond, as it is capable of a full load test of wind turbine gearboxes that can be performed at up to 2.8 MW — enabling the testing of wind turbines as fully functional equipment.

The new test rig capability comes as Queensland’s government commits to increasing the uptake of renewable energy to drive jobs and investment and reduce emissions.

Margaret Strelow, Mayor of Rockhampton, welcomed the investment, stating that it helps strengthen Rockhampton’s ability to support the mining and renewables industries with technology that can leverage capital investments already made.

“I’d like to thank Siemens for continuing to invest in Rockhampton and the region. This announcement is important for the local economy,” she said. “By having a leading global technology company putting the largest gearbox test rig into this site means a lot for the mining industry and future growth of the renewable energy industry. Ultimately, Siemens technology is supporting the competitiveness of the whole region.”

Speaking about the investment, Michael Freyny, the head of Siemens Digital Factory and Process Industries for Siemens Australia and New Zealand, cited that the market and customer needs are substantial enough to affirm the investment.

“More than ever, our core industries now need their equipment performing at peak efficiency and without the threat of outages,” said Freyny. “Siemens’ investment into the new test rig for industrial and wind turbine gearboxes reiterates our commitment to bringing in the latest global technology to our customers — technology that can help the state of Queensland continue being a global resources powerhouse.

“We are leveraging our strength in mining and investing in technologies that could support a broad range of industries — especially newer ones such as wind.”

Opened in 2013, the 1500 m² service centre is one of only a few OEM workshops within the vicinity of the Bowen, Galilee and Surat Basins to service its large Flender and Winergy gearbox installed base, in mining and wind — both important brands of Siemens. The Rockhampton centre is one of Siemens’ three service centres nationwide, with the others located in Tonsley (South Australia) and Perth — all connected to global centres of expertise and featuring the latest specialised engineering services, equipment, spare parts and world-class technicians.

The test rig at Rockhampton is capable of performing load tests on industrial gearboxes, such as those used in the mining industry, at up to 500 kW. The centre is also equipped with a 50-tonne crane for servicing oversized equipment, such as full drive systems for conveyors and larger mill gearboxes.