Three more Cat loaders for Smiths Bletchington

Oxfordshire-based aggregates specialist now boasts the most Cat 972M wheel loaders in the UK

HAVING invested in three new machines, Oxfordshire-based Smiths Bletchington now lay claim to the largest fleet of Cat 972M wheel loaders in the UK. 

With the company running multiple quarrying sites throughout Oxfordshire, producing washed sands, gravels and crushed limestone, the M-series models will join Smiths’ current fleet of four Cat 972s for stockyard and truck-loading duties.

This year alone, UK and Ireland Caterpillar dealers Finning have delivered a total of nine new machines to the company. 

With a 20-strong fleet of Cat machines, including excavators, backhoe loaders, dozers and articulated trucks, John Middleton, plant manager at Smiths, commented on the company’s partnership with Finning: ‘We’ve worked with Finning for a long time now, and in light of how busy we’ve been over the past three years, our partnership with them has proven invaluable.

‘I’d say we’re at our highest peak of production at the moment and, with our brand new 972M machines, we won’t be slowing down any time soon. 

‘When we’re looking at machines, we tend to look for longevity over anything else. Finning have always supplied us with fuel-efficient, robust and very affordable machinery; from my point of view, they are the ‘next generation of machine’ and are above and beyond anything else.’

He added: ‘Smiths Bletchington have also taken advantage of Finning’s service, support and Finsight engineers for many years. They keep us informed on the fuel burn, productivity and efficiency of each machine, and by only using genuine Cat parts we know our machines will have the longevity we require.’