Finning has supplied three new Caterpillar machines to the Hillhouse Quarry Group. This is said to provide a solution to reduce the size of its fleet by two units, while retaining the same level of productivity at its quartz-dolerite quarry in Ayrshire, Scotland.
Following multiple onsite surveys conducted by
The Cat 390D is larger than the group’s previous excavator and features improved lift capacity to cope with the task of filling the Cat 775Gs.
With an extended service period and proven reliability the team at Hillhouse will also benefit from a sustained higher level of uptime at the site.
“Our highest priority was reducing fuel costs, while at the same time it was essential that we retained the same level of productivity we were able to achieve with the old set up. We had been engaged in conversation with a number of companies to help us achieve this, but it was Finning that provided the most cost-efficient and financially viable solution,” says Gary Jones, quarry manager for the Hillhouse Group.
“We also asked Finning to help customise the excavator by installing extra wide walkways all around the side of the machine. This setup allows the engineer to reach all the important service points quickly and easily, enhancing safety. With the Cat 390D being the main excavator on the site, obviously we need to keep it running optimally at all times, and this additional feature will help us achieve that.”
The Finning bespoke engineering team at Cannock, County Staffordshire, England, worked on engineering the additional walkway, providing Hillhouse with a range of design options to choose from. Once confirmed, the designs were fabricated and retrofitted onto the Cat 390D at the Finning branch in Glasgow, Scotland, before being delivered to site.
Alistair Murdoch, along with Allan Duffy, both from Finning who worked on the deal, said: “Following an initial consultation with the team at Hillhouse and a number of onsite surveys, we put together a machine and service package that was designed to best meet their production needs. We recommended the Cat 390D Hydraulic excavator, as we felt this would offer a sufficient productivity improvement over the Cat 365C being used previously.
“The Hillhouse Group also benefitted from onsite induction training on all of the machines. In particular, as our machine experts were working alongside the operators they were able to configure the machines and in particular the Cat 775G’s to customisable fuel economy settings. This allowed the team to optimise the machine performance for the particular quarry environment.”
The Hillhouse Group is a modern heavy building materials business supplying drystone, coated stone and concrete products.
The business is privately owned, and Hillhouse Quarry has been producing crushed aggregate since 1907, remaining in the same family ownership until the present day.
In 1907 the plant was capable of producing 150tonnes of stone/day using the techniques of the day which included a rail track and wagon system from the face.
Today, with constant investment in the latest technology, Hillhouse Quarry is one of the largest privately-owned quarries and says it can provide the full range of building materials in a one-stop shop.
It now has three modern coating plants located in the quarry and Today, in addition to the production of drystone, the company also has three ready-mixed concrete plants with one on site at Hillhouse Quarry.
The Hillhouse Group has evolved through a number of acquisitions that have increased its ability to service its customers.
