Stahura Conveyor Product’s legacy in mining is rooted in a simple yet powerful mission: to make bulk material handling cleaner and safer. This mission originated in 1945 with Dick Stahura Sr.’s firsthand experience in coal mines, which fueled his drive to improve working conditions. Partnering with Martin Engineering in 1969, he pioneered the first industrially designed belt scrapers, establishing the “Think Clean” philosophy. SCP then served as the crucial implementation partner, installing and refining these solutions in real-world mining environments. Today, SCP leverages this deep historical understanding to provide comprehensive solutions for modern mining challenges, from dust mitigation to conveyor system optimization, always prioritizing safety and efficiency. MiningFeeds spoke with CEO John Stahura about the company’s history, approach, and vision for the future of their innovative technologies.

SCP has deep roots in the mining industry, spanning multiple generations. Can you share how the company was founded and how its mission has evolved to support modern mining operations?

1945: As a 17-year-old high schooler in Indiana, Pennsylvania, Dick Stahura Sr. had worked at his father’s coal mining operation. He developed a real fondness for miners and their culture and a deep respect for the dangers of their work. Among those experiences was shoveling coal that had carried back on the conveyor belt.  It was literally back breaking work.  This formative experience inspired his lifelong mission to make bulk material handling cleaner and safer.

In 1969 he partnered with Martin Engineering, to develop the first industrially designed Belt Scrappers for conveyor belts.  By personally understanding its value in preventing back injuries as well as conveyor belt production interruptions, he coined the mission for Martin Engineering;  Promoting Cleaner, Safer, and more Productive Material handling.  He developed the “TC”, think clean, icon modeled after his own image. 

The Belt Cleaner, as every new development, had to be implemented. The task was given to his Brother, Jim Stahura, who had a distributorship (SCP) in Western Pennsylvania.  It was at SCP where the first belt scrappers were installed in Coal mines and in coal fired power plants.  SCP was the pioneer and hands on rubber meets road, or more precisely tungsten / urethane meets rubber belt, development partner, with Martin Engineering. Martin was able to market harden the belt cleaners through SCP’s hands-on installations and service. SCP created the service model to ensure great market performance.  All other entrants to this market space have taken their inspiration and initiative from these fundamentals.  

He went on with the Martin team to develop sealing systems for the loading area of the conveyor belts therefore attacking the 2 enemies of conveying, Carry back and Spillage. Carry back mitigation requires belt cleaners. Spillage mitigation requires sealing at the transfer area.  Recognizing the lack of end-to-end knowledge of conveyor operations, he and the Martin team wrote the operation and maintenance book for conveyors, “Foundations”. Most experts use the colloquialism “we wrote the book” in their field of expertise, Martin Engineering did.   This book has been adopted into mining engineering curricula and used by A&E firms worldwide for training.

Dick Stahura Sr retired from martin engineering at 90 years old.

Dust mitigation has become the key focus in mining operations. SCP has continued to expand competence, capabilities, sources, and experience for all material handling dust control initiatives. We are unique in that we represent all areas of dust control including mechanical sealing, air flow control, dry fog spray, high pressure water spray, dust suppressant spray, dust collectors and wind fence from engineering, installation to ongoing maintenance.

The platform of carryback and spillage control, a concept championed by Dick Stahura, is the fundamental building block that allows dust initiatives to be effective. We have over 45 years of experience localizing the source of dust and using all best practice mitigation techniques in rifled solutions.  

Mining operations rely on conveyors to move massive amounts of material efficiently. What are the biggest challenges mines face with conveyor systems, and how does SCP help solve them?

This is a great question. Executives in the Mining space today have many challenges facing them.  Their core competence is the mining process itself and, where applicable, material processing for market fulfillment.  Revenues and margins are highly affected by inability to meet production output expectations. Conveyor systems fall under the category of “material transportation”, which is typically not within the core competence of the mining executive team.  While much is known about the mechanics of conveying systems, it is a subcategory of the mining operation. SCP is a contract “core competence”, for the material flow system.

To put it in perspective, capital investment is made in equipment to mine and process material to an expected volumetric output. This high dollar equipment is designed to be efficient and labor saving. Each piece of equipment has an expected volume output. Conveying systems connect these operations and are engineered to match the volume flow.

This is volumetric flow engineering.  Invariably expectations are diminished disproportionally by the conveying system breakdowns. The problems all occur at what I will call the “joints”.  When one conveyor transitions to another conveyor or a hopper or a piece of processing equipment.  These “joints” are where “carryback” is initiated, “spillage” occurs on the receiving equipment, clogging occurs, and dusting is generated. These “joints” are the focus of our core competence.  When these “joints” are designed for flow and managed properly, the processing equipment will meet output expectations. Added benefits – injuries are eliminated and dust is mitigated.  Safe Clean and Productive material handling.

Our process is thorough and comprehensive.  We evaluate a material flow process at each Joint or transfer point.  We start by scanning and evaluating existing materials, characteristics, and existing problem symptoms. We have over 45 years of experience and most difficulties are not unique.  We engineer solutions that include a laser scan for exact, as built conditions, we download the scan to 3D cad systems where we create solutions that are exact.  We model using Discrete Element Modeling to check flow results for air flow control and loading control.

We fabricate from CAD and all designs have value-added characteristics. These include a modular improvement approach.  All designs are adaptive to add on technologies for further sigma improvement of process.  We utilize flow aids where necessary and external active dust controls when necessary, including Dry Fog, Sprays, Wind fencing and collectors.

Our value add solutions include replaceable wear sections that are sized to easily be removed and replaced in hours rather than chute replacement taking days.  Sealing systems that are externally maintenance, no “hot work” or “confined space maintenance”.  Most importantly, retrofits are installed on time on budget and as expected to performance standards. This is an offshoot of the laser scan that picks everything up that could be an interference to installation and material behavior, before we engineer. The net result is a volume and flow engineering solution.  Different from A&E solutions.  We help executives get the expected volume output from their Mining and processing equipment for predictable revenue management.

Carryback, spillage, and dust are persistent issues in mining operations. What impact do these challenges have on safety, productivity, and compliance, and how does SCP’s approach address them?

When I speak with mining management customers, I always start with:

• No one gets hurt on clean conveyors.
• There are no production shutdowns on clean conveyors.
• There are no environmental issues with clean conveyors.
• Expected production outcomes materialize on clean conveyors.

When I think of all the money that is spent guarding conveyor material handling systems it is mind bending.  We allow our children to stand on a street corner with vehicles going by at 50 mph or more within 5 feet without guarding.  Conveyors are dangerous because they need carryback and spillage cleared away from the conveyor mechanisms.  The injuries come when well meaning employees try to keep the process moving without shutting down.   It is interesting and unfortunate that in most corporate budgeting processes the true cost of an (injury), (shut down for transfer point blockage), (shut down for MSHA review), (legal ramifications) and (regulatory fines) are recorded at a level of finance that is lost against ROI for proper operation budgets. The maintenance budget is the focus of operational control in the mine.  The maintenance budget goes down because of the overall lack of profitability from the above and the cycle continues.  

Carry back and spillage contaminate moving parts and bearings.  They cause premature wear.  There are many operations in mining that have been around for 50 years and they have idlers on conveyor belts that are original.  At the same mine they will have idlers on another conveyor that only last 6 weeks.  The “joint” or transfer point is the problem.  

We are a full-service organization.  We retrofit transitions and we maintain and upkeep belt cleaners and sealing and flow devices for a customer.  We also will train their maintenance team on proper techniques for cleaning and sealing.  We do complete plant material flow analysis; in that analysis the deliverables are a complete review and plan to bring a material flow system up to a predetermined level of performance.  It also provides a detailed plan including equipment and capital with the system broken down by conveyor and by each transfer point to identify pragmatic, and scalable improvements for performance.  It includes a detailed annual maintenance plan that is easily updated monthly to ensure wear items are scheduled and budgeted for replacement.  If there is visibility to the plan, it is easier to prioritize the budget to accomplish the plan.  The cost of a clean material system is a very small fraction of the benefits it reaps to meeting production revenue goals.

Dust standards have just been updated.  We will see how that goes forward.  It is foremost on most executives’ minds.  Dust is a very real hazard.   Dust solutions are not as simple as adding some suppression equipment.

We sell it and are experts at it.  Any control system must have an input within its own control limits.  That is the very problem the miner’s processing equipment has.  This is where a control flow with dust suppression equipment is a necessary ingredient.  The standards at this point are not forgiving. The financial penalty for noncompliance is significant, an extreme understatement. 

To me the executives looking toward the future have a goal for a productive, profitable and environmentally responsible future.  The workforce of the future has an evolving need for our processes to be more automated, and healthy.  It is a matter of economics and future sustainability for a capitalistic financial venture.  It is not about a fabricated green new deal but it is about meeting the needs of the oncoming workforce to maintain operations.  I have been privileged to enjoy a career in Electronics manufacturing for global world class, lean operations.

There are ways to evaluate processes and evolve them responsibly and economically to get to the objectives we are seeking.  I see the executives and entrepreneurs in Mining continually looking for innovative improvements to their areas of competence.  I would suggest that SCP is positioned to help them achieve the whole picture by adding the competence in the transportation piece of their process through to market fulfillment.