From humble beginnings
Dale Elphinstone’s relationship with Caterpillar began in 1966 at the age of 15 as an apprentice with Victorian and Tasmanian Cat Dealer, William Adams. Following his trade qualification came employment as a Field Service Mechanic across Tasmanian and King Island mine sites, and for a period of two years, with Canadian Cat Dealer, Finning.
Since modifying Cat surface mining equipment to suit underground applications out of his Fathers shed on their Mooreville Road, Burnie farm in 1975, the Elphinstone name has been synonymous with underground mining.
The Elphinstone Story
1975
Dale B Elphinstone Pty Ltd established
Dale Elphinstone began modifying Caterpillar equipment to suit underground hard rock mining applications out of his Fathers shed on their Mooreville Road, Burnie (Tasmania) farm in 1975. The Elphinstone name was destined to become synonymous with underground mining.
1987
First underground export sales to USA
First export sale to Henderson Mine in the USA by Elphinstone of a purpose design and built R2600 LHD.
1988
Sale of first Elphinstone designed and manufactured R2800 LHD
Sale of first fully designed and manufactured, purpose built R2800 Load Haul Dump (LHD). Machine no.1 was delivered to a customer in Australia and painted white. The machine is still operational and has returned to Burnie to be part of Dale Elphinstone’s collection.
1995
Establishment of Caterpillar Elphinstone Pty Ltd
Establishment of Caterpillar Elphinstone Pty Ltd, a joint venture between Caterpillar Inc and Elphinstone Pty Ltd.
2001
1000th machine delivered
The 1000th machine originally designed by Elphinstone was sold by Caterpillar.
2016
Elphinstone Pty Ltd is established
The Elphinstone Group purchases Service Vehicle Solutions (SVS) and Southern Prospect and combines these with Haulmax to for Elphinstone Pty Ltd. Elphinstone Pty Ltd takes back the Burnie manufacturing facilities and the “Elphinstone” brand from Caterpillar. Development of a new range of specialized underground hard rock support vehicles starts and the manufacturing facilities are repurposed to build these.
2017
Purchase of Underground Grader IP from Groundforce
Elphinstone purchases the underground grader IP of Groundforce to add road maintenance solutions to the growing portfolio of Elphinstone underground hard rock mining products.
2023
End of an era – The last Railmax RMT15F is sold
The first Elphinstone Railmax rail maintenance excavator, the RMT14D was released in 2011. It transformed the rail maintenance industry allowing work to be performed safely under live powerlines and on live parallel tracks. In 2017 the Railmax RMT15F was released, featuring significant control system upgrades to the previous RMT14D version, increasing the machine’s capability, safety and productivity. Signifying the end of an era for Elphinstone Railmax Rail Maintenance Solutions, the last Railmax RMT15F excavator was shipped to BHP at Port Hedland, Western Australia on May 23, 2023.