CEMCOR invest in seven new Cat machines
Fuel savings drive CEMCOR investment in Ireland’s first Caterpillar 988 XE wheel loaders
FINNING have secured a deal to supply CEMCOR with seven new machines for their quarry in Cookstown, Northern Ireland. The quarry provides all the limestone for CEMCOR’s adjacent plant which produces around 500,000 tonnes of cement each year.
The new machines were delivered to site earlier this month by Finning UK and Ireland, the world’s largest dealer of Caterpillar machines, parts, and aftermarket services, and includes two Cat 988 XE wheel loaders – the first of their kind to arrive on the island of Ireland.
According to Finning, these 55-tonne, state-of-the-art, electric-drive wheel loaders with a rated payload of 14.5 tonnes are highly effective for heavy-duty tasks and large-scale material handling and will help to boost CEMCOR’s productivity at the quarry.
The machines’ ability to contribute to improving overall operational efficiency was a significant factor in the decision to purchase them, as Paul Millar, plant manager at CEMCOR explained: ‘Sustainability is a key issue in the cement industry, as is the cost of energy, so when planning the make-up of our future fleet, we needed to consider our energy use over the next 10–15 years.’
As part of this long-term investment, Finning also supplied CEMCOR with three Cat 775 off-highway trucks, as well as a Cat 352 ME excavator and Cat D4 dozer, all of which will provide premium power and performance, whilst delivering maximum efficiency, in line with the company’s long-term sustainability strategy.
All the new machines have the latest in-built technology features, including automated payload weighing, which reduces fuel use by avoiding extra trips and unnecessary adjustments. The machines also support site safety with proximity and overload warning systems, tyre pressure monitoring, and automated braking. Moreover, CEMCOR have partnered with GO Fuels to run the new fleet on hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO) biofuel, reducing net carbon emissions by up to 90%.
The electric drive technology in the Cat 988XE wheel loaders also assists CEMCOR in meeting their sustainability aims, as Mr Millar explained: ‘We have heard from other clients that using electric drive technology saves huge amounts of fuel. When you add that to the other technology features the machines have, we found that for our operation Caterpillar offered the best value overall.’
To ensure they get the very best out of their equipment, CEMCOR have opted for a six-year warranty as part of a Customer Value Agreement with Finning, which includes all servicing and maintenance, carried out by Caterpillar-certified Finning service engineers based locally in Lisburn.
Padraig Flynn, machine sales account manager at Finning UK & Ireland, commented: ‘Our field service engineers in Lisburn are fully certified by Caterpillar to carry out servicing and maintenance on the new machines, so CEMCOR can be reassured that we’ll keep their fleet fully operational while also maximizing site efficiencies and savings and maintaining productivity.
‘We believe CEMCOR will set new standards for the industry in terms of production efficiency and minimizing carbon emissions. It’s great for Finning and Caterpillar to be so closely involved in this new project with CEMCOR.’
