L&H Industrial launches project to build over 1300 parts and provide eight months of onsite field services at the Kennedy Space Center
Gillette, WY, March 28, 2013: L&H Industrial, headquartered in Gillette, WY, has been awarded a large manufacturing and equipment repair project from QinetiQ North America (QNA) on behalf of the National Aeronautics Space Administration (NASA). This project includes the machining and onsite assembly of components for Crawler Transporter #2, which will be a part of future space missions launched from Kennedy Space Center (KSC) Florida. “L&H Industrial is known for innovation, safety and manufacturing enhanced products for the mining industry so working with large equipment with complicated problems is just part of what we do,” explains L&H Project Manager, Bill Schroyer. “This project involved components familiar to us in the mining industry and our team pulled out all the stops in putting the proposal together. I am proud of the work that was done to make it happen.”
NASA’s twin crawler transporters were built in the 1960s. These slow-motion giants have since carried every Saturn V rocket for the Apollo moon missions and every space shuttle vehicle from the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) at KSC to Launch Complexes 39 “A” and “B” three and five miles away. The crawlers are the largest land transport vehicles on earth.
L&H began working on the proposal last March. A “mock-up” was fabricated to test the required machining times for line boring the crawler transporter lower roller bores and faces, to the tolerances specified by NASA Ames Research Center. There are 88 sets of bores on each crawler transporter. Therefore, getting accurate machining times was critical. A demonstration shaft also was machined to show the ability to maintain a surface finish finer than that requested on the prints. A team of four machinists developed machining procedures and estimated times to manufacture more than 1300 major parts. Forging quotes were received along with process control plans, and heat treating plans. All of this information was used to estimate the total project time. The complete project was estimated to take 18 months with four months of the time on-site at KSC.
There were three things that helped the Gillette, Wyoming-based company win the contract, according to Schroyer. The team from NASA and QNA were impressed with L&H Industrial’s safety record, their customer service focus, and the “mock-up” of the crawler transporter that the project team built. “We are very pleased to have this opportunity and look forward to showing NASA and QNA our world class safety, people, products and services that we provide our customers whether they work for a mine around the globe or rehabilitating the crawlers which will transport the next spacecraft into space.” said Mike Wandler, President, L&H Industrial. “It’s a very exciting project.”
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About L&H Industrial
L&H Industrial is a world leader in the design and manufacturing of superior aftermarket parts for mining shovels, draglines and drills focusing on innovation in order to improve reliability and operating costs of large equipment. L&H Industrial specializes in providing world-class field services and re-manufacturing and repair services for the global surface mining industry.
Worldwide manufacturing facilities and offices: Gillette, WY (headquarters); Sheridan, WY; Tempe, AZ. Antofagasta, Chile; Saltillo, Coahuila Mexico; Cananea, Sonora Mexico; Canada (opening 2013).
About QinetiQ North America
QinetiQ North America (QNA) is a subsidiary of QinetiQ Group plc, the FTSE250 company listed on the London Stock Exchange (LSE: QQ.L). Operating in North America, QNA delivers world-class technology, responsive services, and innovative solutions for global markets, focusing on U.S. government and commercial customers. Its engineers, scientists and other professionals deliver high quality products and services that leverage detailed mission knowledge and proven, reliable tools and methodologies to meet the rapidly changing demands of national defense, homeland security and information assurance customers. QNA is headquartered in McLean, Virginia. For more information visit www.qinetiq-na.com