Mato Products will showcase its latest product range and innovations in conveyor belt fasteners and cleaning systems at Electra Mining Africa, taking place from 2 to 6 September 2024.

Recognised as an industry leader in mechanical conveyor belt fastening systems, Mato Products has expanded its product line to include a range of belt cleaners. At this year's Electra Mining Africa, the company will unveil a new range of belt cleaners and will highlight its plans to expand its supply footprint.

Benjamin Sibanda, Managing Director at Mato Products, says the company’s conveyor belt solutions range consists of renowned lacing systems, belt cleaners and belt accessories. “One of our main objectives for participating in Electra Mining Africa is to establish our belt cleaner range into the Sub-Sahara African market and expand the application into more commodities,” he says.

Latest innovations

Mato Products will showcase the following innovations in belt cleaners and product improvements:

• Improvements on the installation end assemblies of its MUS2 and MUS3 secondary cleaners
• Improvements on the mounting end assemblies of its MDP and MTP primary belt cleaners
• The introduction of the MDP HD new belt cleaners for heavy-duty and extra-heavy duty applications.
• The improvement of its locally manufactured MCP3-S “slide on or drop on and off” cleaner
• The launch of Mato's first conveyor belt cleaner for quarry/aggregate applications, the MDP light-duty belt cleaners.

“The MUS2 belt cleaner is our latest design featuring an M-TRAK slide-on cushion and blade for easy installation and maintenance. The M-TRAK is uniquely designed to minimise maintenance downtime and ensure that blade alignment is 100% accurate across the entire conveyor belt width,” says Sibanda. He adds that blade replacement is simple, as the design of the slide-on and slide-off principle eliminates the need for special tools or training when maintenance is performed.

He explains that the primary cleaner, MCP3-S is installed at the head pulley. It is designed to be an aggressive cleaner for the head pulley while remaining gentle on the conveyor belt surface and suitable for use with mechanical fasteners. The MCP3-S offers a high level of cleaning due to its blade profile, and the spring tensioning system ensures the blade maintains constant contact with the belt throughout its lifespan.

“We implemented the drop-on, drop-off feature similar to the MDP and MDP HD on the MCP3-S to further reduce maintenance and blade replacement time by close to 50%, potentially even up to 60%,” says Sibanda.

“By reducing maintenance time, we can service more belts or sites within the same timeframe, which is the main reason that we are always looking to improve on the current equipment that we have,” he adds.

Additionally, we have an exciting announcement for Electra Mining 2024. MATO will unveil our leading-edge belt fastener/clip to the industry, which has the capability to fasten conveyor belts above 18mm thick.

Expanding the footprint

Mato Products’ line of belt cleaning equipment is well established in the coal sector. Sibanda notes that the company is also penetrating the platinum, gold and diamond sectors, and aims to explore other commodities like iron ore, manganese and copper. 

“We plan to use Multotec’s existing presence to expand our footprint into these sectors, meaning that we do not need to start from scratch as an unknown supplier,” he says. “Essentially, our strategy is to leverage Multotec’s customers and request that they give us their most challenging conveyor belts to work on. Once our belt cleaners are installed, we are confident that their performance will speak for itself.”

Sibanda emphasises that Mato Products’ philosophy is to ensure product quality, offer comprehensive after-sales service and training for its customers. This is what sets the company apart from its competitors as it can deliver quality products that give peace of mind to customers.

“We want to use Electra Mining to showcase that our team of experienced belt maintenance technicians is ready to tackle any challenges caused by carryback and spillages due to the installation of ineffective scrapers,” he says.

“We believe in knowledge sharing and view the process of imparting knowledge to those responsible for assets, such as conveyor belts, to be of paramount importance to us. We take pride in how we clean conveyor belts and how our solutions help to ensure the prolonged lifespan of this equipment.”