Nivek Industries is making a name for itself with heavy-duty maintenance equipment that thinks outside the box.
After narrowly escaping a serious workplace injury in 2008, Nivek Industries founder Kevin Cant knew something needed to be done to improve the safety of mining personnel carrying out site maintenance.
Cant was inspired to begin development of what would become the company’s flagship Tracked Elevated Device (TED), a remote-controlled all-terrain hydraulic belly plate jack designed for applications where a crane or forklift isn’t viable.
Since it was launched in 2011, the TED was quickly adopted by mining and quarry sites across the country and internationally, inspiring Nivek to implement multiple upgrades and enhancements so that it now has more than 40 versatile attachments available.
From fork tines and front jibs to extension blocks and even a dedicated trailer for easy transportation, the TED continues to help fitters finish every shift safely.
“At Nivek, we’re committed to developing innovative and safe products for mining and heavy industry that enhance workplace safety, efficiency and productivity,” Nivek general manager Derrick Cant told Australian Mining.
After many years of success being used across various heavy industries, including rail, mining and civil construction, Nivek decided to level up and innovate its renowned product even further, developing the aptly named Big TED.
Fondly known as the ‘bigger brother’ of Nivek’s debut release, Big TED comes with an increased lifting capacity while embodying the same low profile and manoeuvrability capabilities of the original TED.
With joystick remote operation, extreme precision and a rechargeable battery offering up to two hours of continuous operation, the Big TED is also compatible with a range of Nivek’s specially designed attachments.
Not only has Nivek’s TED range helped to reduce the number of injuries on mine sites, but the ensuing development of the Lift Assist (LA40 and LA80) equipment has also made the industry more accessible to workers of all body types and capabilities.
The LA40, which can be attached to the TED, aims to reduce muscle strain and fatigue, as well as chronic musculoskeletal injuries in workers, by taking the weight of equipment like rattle guns, impact drivers and torque tooling.
The system can hold tools weighing up to 40kg and its articulation joints have been designed to push fingers out rather than pinch, addressing another common hazard within the industry.
Image: Nivek Industries
“When you consider the tools themselves weigh 30kg to 40kg just to do up a nut or a bolt, our equipment has taken the weight out of the job – that physical requirement has been eliminated,” Cant said.
The success of the TED and Lift Assist ranges inspired the Nivek team to continue improving the experience of mine workers through its solutions.
This led to the development of the company’s Beast of Burden (BOB), an all-terrain remote-controlled carrier with the ability to track loads across long distances of rough terrain.
“The BOB was developed to complement the TED range to provide a long-distance carrying option, something the TED is unable to provide,” Cant said.
“BOB is more than just a carrier – it’s essentially a mobile, adaptable powerhouse capable of undertaking a wide variety of jobs.”
Currently available in 500kg (the 0.5T model), 1500kg (the 1.5T model) and 5000kg (the 5T model), each BOB carrier has been built to comply with three key Australian standards: AS1170.0, AS1170.1 and AS4100.
Able to be adapted to a range of situations, BOB is rapidly becoming an industry mainstay.
“Nivek designs and builds products that can be adapted to suit customer requirements,” Cant said. “This has been done deliberately to allow us to develop specific attachments to meet individual customer needs without having to fully develop an entirely new machine.”
All of this innovation is coming out of the company’s research and development (R&D) facility in Singleton, New South Wales.
“Most of our ideas for attachments and developments come from our end users,” Cant said. “There’s probably a million jobs BOB, TED or the Lift Assist can do, and we’re only thinking of 20 of them.
“It’s through our customers using our equipment that we are able to see all the ways they can make an impact on-site and drive that impact even further.”
This feature appeared in the March 2025 issue of Australian Mining.