A. Noble & Son Limited was founded in Adelaide in 1911, importing supplies for the foundry industry. After a trip to Broken Hill by the founder, George Adie Noble, an interest in supplying mining equipment was soon developed. Wire rope was imported from the United Kingdom, which was a basis for Noble's growth.
The company opened in Victoria in 1935, selling foundry equipment. In 1957 Nobles in Adelaide become the first Australian Wire Rope distributor to manufacture Talurit mechanically spliced slings. In 1961 this business was developed in Melbourne, while tensile testing of wire rope, slings and other lifting gear became established.
In 1968 with the developing offshore industry in Bass Strait, Nobles commissioned the then largest swaging machine and tensile tester in Australia. The offshore construction engineers wanted products thoroughly tested, and if necessary destruction-tested. To provide for this need Nobles built a 350 tonne (3433kN) tester for its Victorian operation.
In 1969 Nobles purchased an engineering business and concentrated on items for the offshore and the mining industry. Through the 1970s and 1980s the company established operations in Perth and Karrartha in Western Australia. Nobles took over the lifting gear operations of Spear & Jackson in Brisbane and Sydney in May 1983. In 1987 a branch was established in Rockhampton, followed by a move to Darwin in 1992. In recent times branches have also been established in Roxby Downs (1997), Port Lincoln (1999) and Newcastle (2002). Nobles now have twelve branches throughout Australia.
The mining industry has played a large part in Noble's progress. The company has supplied wire ropes, Reliance Hexham suspension gear and other shaft equipment to all major areas of underground mining. In the open cut areas Nobles have supplied drag line productivity monitors, as well as wire ropes.
In the general industry, Nobles sheave blocks have become widely used. Blocks up to 300 tonne capacity have been manufactured and proof load tested. The company has also supplied hooks to 250 tonne capacity.
With the increased requirement for larger lifting gear, Nobles, in 1978-80, built a 2500 tonne swaging press to manufacture wire rope slings up to 203mm diameter. A 1,000 tonne capacity machine was also built and commissioned for the testing of heavy lift slings and associated rigging.
In recent years Nobles have developed electronic load measuring products for crane safety systems, conveyer belt tensioning and production monitoring in the mining industry.
The company also has associations with overseas manufacturers that produce the latest technology in fibre ropes from UHMWPE to Aramid and high tenacity Polyester fibres for industrial applications and the marine and towage industry.
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