Hargreaves in groundbreaking deal with Finning
Seven-year, £60 million deal includes first new Caterpillar 6030 mining excavators into the UK
MINING specialists Hargreaves have invested in a totally new fleet of Caterpillar equipment in a £60 million, seven-year deal with Finning Equipment Solutions. The deal marks the first time in Europe, Africa and the Middle East (EAME) that a mining project has chosen a total solution from the newly extended Caterpillar mining range.
Included in the groundbreaking deal are four new 300-tonne Cat 6030 hydraulic excavators and nineteen 777 Off-Highway trucks for the new Hargreaves Surface Mining Division. The machines will be delivered during 2012 for use at the Tower Colliery opencast mine site in Hirwaun, South Wales.
Following hot on the heels of the recent acquisition from Caterpillar of the former Bucyrus distribution business by Finning International, for £300 million in January 2012, the first of the four Cat 6030s arrived on site in February.
‘The Tower Colliery opencast project represents a completely new model for the industry,’ explained Hargreaves’ group commercial director, Kevin Dougan. ‘Hargreaves Services and their joint-venture partner, Tower Colliery, have worked in partnership with Finning Equipment Solutions to secure investment and more than 200 new jobs for the area.
‘Hargreaves Services will manage the extraction of six million tonnes of coal from the 615-acre site over the next seven years. We needed to work with a partner that had the equipment, skills, resources and financial stability to fully support the equipment fleet for the whole duration of the project.
‘The securing of the rights to the former Bucyrus distribution business and the investment Finning were prepared to make in supporting us were both critical in this decision.
As a result of Finning’s responsiveness and support we are already in a position to commence the coal-extraction programme and as more equipment is brought on to the site in the coming months, activity onsite will be ramped up,’ said Mr Dougan.
As part of the deal Hargreaves have agreed a maintenance and service agreement with defined performance levels, giving them confidence on productivity and equipment availability.
John Vardy, general manager mining at Finning, said: ‘We are now entering a very significant strategic relationship with Hargreaves, which we will be looking to develop further into the future.
‘From a practical point of view, over the coming months Hargreaves will have a highly productive and efficient mining fleet. As this rolls out, we will be supporting the team on the ground with specialist operator training, maintenance planning and the new Finsight condition-monitoring service, to deliver the lowest cost-per-tonne solution in the industry.’
