BLACK SNAKE (AUST)
Australian Manufacturer of Unique Mining and Vehicle Recovery Equipment
Black Snake (AUST) are all about strength, lightweight design, ease of handling, durability and, of course, making products which are purposeful.
We are the proud Australian manufacturer of one of the most unique innovations in mining and military vehicle recovery equipment. If we can do it, we will, because innovation is core to our success.
W: blacksnakestrops.com
E: info@blacksnakestrops.com
P: +613 9720 7337
Premium Provider in Recovery, Towing, Mooring and Specialty Strops
Black Snake (AUST) is the proud Australian manufacturer of one of the most unique innovations in mining and military vehicle recovery equipment.
Black Snake (AUST) was established with sales in 2002 to ARB 4x4 Accessories, our first distributor, who continue to export Black Snakes in increasing quantities to this day. A steady acceptance of the concept is what we continue to build our reputation on as innovators.
In early 2003, the fledgling Black Snake business was approached by several major Australian lifting, safety and mining supply companies to expand our concept of a rubber covered recovery strop. The range grew from the 8-tonne Nylon 4WD sized Black Snake recovery strops to the huge 300-tonne+ strength mining truck and bulldozer specific sizes. Black Snake continues to develop an extensive range of mine specific vehicle recovery strops.
It was soon acknowledged that Black Snake Recovery Strops, with inbuilt high strength load bearing Kevlar® fibres, robust, thick industrial rubber skins and heavy-duty eyes incorporating tough bearing points, could find many niche applications in mining.
More than 25% of the over 50,000 strops manufactured so far have been exported. Black Snakes can proudly be found in locations as diverse as Scandinavia, South East Asia and Antarctica, to name just a few.
Innovation Driven by Engineering Experience
Marc Rinderer, Black Snake’s company director and the primary innovator behind the unique Recovery Strop range, began his career as a BHP Iron Ore graduate mechanical engineer and Dunlop mine equipment design engineer.
Marc has always been impressed by the acceptance of mining companies to new, innovative solutions which have inherent safety and ease of use at their core.
Marc and his father, Adolf, built all the manufacturing equipment and developed the myriad of designs. Marc has created a deep knowledge base of the performance of Black Snakes through trials and extensive testing and continues to experiment with new ideas.
Access to the company’s own hydraulic 400-tonne tensile testbed allows for extensive experimentation and rapid advancement in concepts and new product ranges.
Supporting Mining Through Expertise
Our success over the last 21 years closely supporting our distributors and their mining clients has been achieved by recruiting our own experts from the national distributors that we support.
John Johnson, Black Snake (AUST) Global Business Development Manager, is a 40-year veteran of lifting and safety equipment, including wire rope, chain, shackles and lifting safety accessories.
John’s extensive career includes leadership roles at Bullivants Lifting and Gunnebo Industries, companies known throughout the mining and construction industries for safety and quality equipment.
John has led innovation over the past eight years as an integral member of the Black Snake team. He has extensive knowledge of mine site requirements and the challenges of safe vehicle recovery.
One of John’s innovations was the installation of fully embedded RFID tags inside the rubber skin of Black Snake Recovery Strops. This allows identification of the strop regardless of the condition of the external tags, making it possible to trace the complete history of the equipment before repair and identify strops on site.
The Black Snake “Y” Recovery Strop
The introduction of the Black Snake “Y” Recovery Strop range of mine vehicle twin-leg towing equipment was another innovation led by John.
Originally designed predominantly for skid mounted equipment such as de-watering pump stations, the Y strops are now also used for larger vehicle recovery.
During the NSW, South Australian and Victorian floods of late 2022, farmers extensively used the Y strops for recovery work. The Y strop range now includes more than 50 distinct designs in service.
Innovation Beyond Vehicle Recovery
Another recent innovative design emerged from WA maritime docks.
A customer seeking to reduce maintenance and repair costs invited John on site to help develop a saltwater and weatherproof, elastic, high strength and maintenance-free alternative to existing fibre rope assemblies.
After a year of trials and collaboration, Black Snake developed a custom solution tailored specifically to the customer’s needs.
While different from the vehicle recovery range, the solution shares similarities with Black Snake mooring strops, which are exported globally.
Customer-Driven Innovation
Kelly Skenderis, Black Snake (AUST) National Accounts Manager, is often asked unusual engineering questions such as:
“Can you make a Black Snake to replace existing broken steel cables, must be only one metre long, support a heavy steel ring, have two legs, fit onto an existing mobile mine recovery rig and have 150-tonne break strength?”
Devices like this are developed through months of prototype development, testing and minesite safety approval.
Kelly has been with Black Snake (AUST) for over 12 years and previously worked with Dunlop Industrial Rubber and Dunlop Mine Equipment in the late 1990s.
Her strong communication skills and determination to provide viable recovery solutions help drive innovation across both the office and factory teams.
Kelly also manages ongoing Australian Defence contracts and supports distributors supplying French Defence contracts, ensuring international customers receive reliable service and support.
Continuing to Innovate
At the time of writing, Kelly had recently submitted a prototype Longwall Mining roof support recovery system which is extremely short, high strength and suitable for demanding mine site conditions.
Close consultation with distributors, a deep understanding of mine operator requirements, and detailed knowledge of the capabilities of Black Snake products have positioned Black Snake (AUST) as one of the leaders in mine vehicle recovery equipment.
Black Snake (AUST) is nothing without the dedicated manufacturing staff who turn ideas into real products and solutions for real customers.
From the 3.5-tonne MBS Kevlar® recovery strops to the 500-tonne MBS Kevlar® recovery strops, and everything in between, Black Snake (AUST) continues to find solutions for even the most challenging recovery applications.