For the past 48 years, RCT has prided itself on being at the technological forefront when it comes to automating mobile machines. Predominately known in the mining industry, RCT is well versed across all industries that utilise mobile equipment.
During this time, the company has delivered solutions to help clients achieve their operating goals.
Whether that be increased productivity, safety and profitability, accessing an area of a mine once deemed impossible to mine, or reducing wear and tear of equipment, RCT has the proven automation solution.
For a long time, RCT’s point of difference was its ability to be able to apply its ControlMaster® Automation and Control technology onto ANY machine, regardless of brand, make or model. While this still rings true, the company’s unique offering and point of differences have also grown exponentially over the years.
“While it’s still a really important factor that RCT is brand agnostic, meaning we are able to work with new and old models from all the OEM’s, it now goes beyond that,” said RCT’s Automation and Control Product Manager, Brendon Cullen.
RCT’s ControlMaster® solutions can be installed on one machine or a whole fleet of different mobile machines and the level of automation is scalable to client’s needs.
“If a client requires Teleremote control to begin with and then wants to advance to full automation of a machine, RCT can work with them to do this, without needing to replace the existing solution. It’s simply an add-on which is both easy and cost-effective,” said Cullen.
Automation is facilitated with the aid of a communications network. Whether RCT is converting one machine or an entire fleet, the company can integrate it into a client’s existing network and if they simply do not have a network in place to support the technology, RCT can easily provide one.
“We are fortunate as our expertise lies with working with both our product and in the mines alongside our customers. We have a clear understanding of what our client’s requirements are we are able to help them what they need as their mines advance,” he said.
In addition to this, RCT’s solutions are backed by global support with the help of a specialised Operational Technology department. This team is dedicated to ensuring a fast service response time to clients and enabling the team to support and maintain solutions for them remotely as well as constantly improving solutions based on client feedback.
When RCT doesn’t have an off-the-shelf solution available to suit a client’s needs, it’s specialised team – RCT Custom – can produce a bespoke solution that can.
“Clients choose us for the flexibility, adaptability and the way we can customise to suit specific requirements,” said Cullen.
“However, you can’t go past the fact that RCT is backed by immense experience.”“No other company in the field has so much combined experience. While we have competitors with some similar technology and brands to us, in some of the places we do business, none of them are doing it our scale, with our combined offering.”
“RCT is the automation global leader, helping to empower customers to achieve their goals with our state-of-the-art solutions.”
It’s that time of the year where we take the opportunity to reflect on the year that was.
It’s hard to believe that 2017 is already coming to a close. It’s true what they say “time flies when you’re having fun” and fortunately here at RCT, we are passionate about what we do and what we can achieve with hard work. We are constantly innovating; finding ways to improve our existing solutions, while creating new solutions to meet clients evolving needs and to ensure RCT remains at the forefront.
This year saw RCT achieve numerous, monumental milestones.
This included the official opening of RCT’s branch in Ontario, Canada and with it the establishment of another division of valuable team members helping the company to cater to this part of the world on a local level.
As well as increasing our regional presence in Canada, RCT has further expanded its presence across the globe by participating at numerous mining events and expos. The company participated at CIM Convention (Canada), Austmine Mining Conference and Exhibition (Australia), Exponor (Chile), The Big Event CME (Canada), Elko Mining Expo (USA), Mining Indonesia 2017 (Indonesia) as well as presenting at What’s Down the Track (Australia) and Mining World (Russia).
Although, predominately known for our impact on the mining sector this year saw RCT play an even bigger role in the industrial industry with the release of the new and improved SmarTrack® industrial fleet management solution and the ControlMaster® MTX 1000 remote control. While the MTX was built to withstand the harshest mining environments, it’s been a popular choice for all industrial purposes due to its lightweight design and versatility.
Speaking of fleet management, this year RCT used its vast experience with collating relevant information in the logistics market and made its mining fleet management debut with the launch of the EarthTrack® Fleet Management Solution. We saw a gap in the market for a reliable package around third-party hardware, and jumped at the chance to fill that niche; which is a quality the company excels in.
This trait was also reflected with RCT’s launch of its Communications Solutions offering, which can help clients enter, expand or completely digitise its operations by integrating solutions to a new or existing network, cementing the company’s position at the forefront of the digital revolution in mining.
Our Truck Guidance solutions have also been a huge success; positioning the system as the only autonomous system to fit any model and make of truck, just like all of RCT’s range of extensive solutions and parts available.
2017 also saw the delivery of some exciting, cutting-edge projects including a world first at the Roy Hill project with the delivery of a dynamic multiple Geofence package which was successfully interfaced to fixed and mobile asset elements within the boundaries of a coarse ore stockpile. RCT Custom department is also in the process of delivering its largest surface automation project with Russia’s Caterpillar dealer, Vostochnaya Technica at Polyus’ Olimpiada mine near Krasnoyarsk. Stay tuned for more on this in the new year.
Although there have been many significant achievements over the past year; one of the biggest recognitions received was when RCT’s founder, Bob Muirhead being named as Austmine’s Champion of Innovation for 2017. This prestigious award was a testament to Bob’s vision, talent and hard work over the past 45 years; where the Australian mining icon has been instrumental in driving mining safety and productivity.
We are now just weeks out from 2018 and myself and the team are excited about everything the coming year has in store.
On behalf of myself and all of the team at RCT, I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of our clients and channel partners for their continuous support and we wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and a safe and happy 2018.