Published in the August 2005 American Longwall Magazine

Hall got his start underground, beginning with American Electric Power (AEP) in 1972. He then became one of the first shearer operators for Carbon Fuel, promoted later to longwall foreman.

His experiences at companies including Jim Walter Resources, US Steel, and Island Creek, in similar capacities, primed Hall’s mechanical ingenuity for what was to come.

After an automobile company purchased his property in Alabama, Hall and his wife Billie relocated to West Virginia, where they established Industrial Specialty Products (ISP) eight years ago. ISP, originally an industry specialty supply company, took a slight turn when Hall realized he knew of a way to help solve one of longwall mining’s biggest challenges – keeping a clean, smooth-running conveyor belt to maintain prime performance.

Excessive water and debris “created a nightmare for management”, Hall noted during his underground experiences. “When I saw the need for belt cleaners and how much money it was costing the company for cleanup, I designed and patented my own system, specifically for high-speed, high-volume, wet conveyor belts.”

After designing the Orion system and receiving his patent, Hall began successfully marketing it to the industry and to power plants in his neighborhood, the West Virginia Appalachian region.

It wouldn’t take long for someone to notice what a great thing Hall had. Martin Engineering, one of the world’s leading developers and manufacturers of engineered belt-cleaning systems, approached him in 2004 about buying his patents, a deal finalized this past February. Hall currently works for Martin Engineering as a product designer and marketing consultant for his system, now marketed under the MARTIN ORION name.

Hall described the idea behind the technology very simply. “The concept was a windshield washer – how it takes the water off your windshield. I wanted to design a soft urethane blade that would do the same thing on conveyor belts.”

One of his biggest design challenges, Hall said, was that wear belts endure as they age, and when cover wear begins showing and grooves develop, debris was retained. Even the best quality cleaners, he said, couldn’t get into those spaces.

“It can’t just jump into a groove and get anything out, so I wanted something soft and pliable that could conform to a groove and pull material out,” Hall explained. “So, with the H20-4000, we developed a urethane that’s really soft, that we really get good wear out of and that gets up and does that job.”

While the OR-1000 and OR-2000 perform the same function, the way in which the task is completed varies slightly in design. “The OR-1000 is a heavy duty primary cleaner and it discards the material from the belt to keep other cleaners from being overrun with material. The OR-2000 is our secondary scraper with tungsten carbide blade, a large round patented rubber torsion spring to cushion shock, and mechanical adjusters under the blade.”

His ideas to make those products better also came from first-hand experience. “Most scrapers are flat and fixed; I thought if there was a means to get those blades up in that area, the cleaner would clean so much better,” he said. “So, in my patented design, I incorporated stainless steel bolts under the blades. This allows you to push the blades up and really fine-tune them to the belt; no other cleaner has that capability.”

Hall refers to the system as a great thing in a small package. “The ORION Cleaners are mounted on three-inch diameter shafts of structural tubing that’s very thick and very heavy duty but compact. It’s designed where it’s heavy-duty enough to do the job, but it’s not going to kill you to have to service it.”

Hall also addressed dust control by including water sprays on all of the cleaners to serve the dual purpose of controlling airborne respirable dust while also performing its cleaning function - “a big plus”.

Hall and Martin Engineering are now working on a new wash box technology that he says is going to play a significant role in belt cleaning. The cleaner’s machinery, already easily maintained on-site, will be contained within a steel box to protect it from the harsh environment and keep the unit running optimally for longer periods between maintenance.

Hall and Martin Engineering are currently in talks with several coal producers to install the systems at their operations.

“We’re going the extra mile and we’re really designing systems to meet the customer’s needs,” he said. “We’re very open-minded and we love taking on new challenges.”