Two new Cats for Cloburn Quarry
Red granite quarry fixes costs and saves fuel with new Cat 966K XE and Cat 972K from Finning
CLOBURN Quarry Co. Ltd, based in Lanarkshire, have become the first company in Scotland to purchase a Cat 966K XE wheel loader following a competitor comparison test which revealed a 35% fuel-saving opportunity. The business has also invested in a new Cat 972K wheel loader using the Just Add Diesel solution from Finning.
Replacing other manufacturer’s products and working alongside a Cat 980H and a Cat 966H already in the Cloburn Quarry fleet, the two new units will be assisting with the quarrying of raw materials for the production of red granite chips and +68 PSV aggregates.
Cloburn’s instantly recognizable red granite is produced for a variety of domestic and commercial applications and is supplied throughout mainland Europe as well as the US and the Far East.
Jim Erskine, manager of Cloburn Quarry, said: ‘As a high-production site, we opted for a premium Cat 966K XE model, as we knew the payback for the additional investment would be achieved quickly. Finning provided us with a demonstrator machine and we carried out performance comparisons against other manufacturers and found fuel savings of 35% being achieved.
‘We chose the Cat 972K because it meets our requirements for a high-performing, durable and versatile machine. The Just Add Diesel option on the Cat 972K gives our business a great end-to-end solution with a fixed cost base. We have also been able to fix our costs on the Cat 966K XE with a total service package from Finning.
‘Our application requires machinery that guarantees a high level of output at the lowest cost per tonne. It’s imperative for us to have machinery in operation that can deliver a high level of performance, so to know that we have a guaranteed uptime of 98% is crucial.
‘Quarrying demands machinery that is durable and robust, and with the added benefit of the Finsight engineers constantly monitoring the wheel loader’s performance, I am sure we will see benefits to the business in time.’
Just Add Diesel guarantees customers a 98% machine uptime, allowing businesses to benefit from higher-performance machinery and obtain greater productivity from the unit. For one monthly fee, the Just Add Diesel solution includes costs that are typical extras on a standard operating lease, such as servicing and maintenance, call-out charges and parts.
