The vehicle was bought from exclusive Caterpillar dealer Finning UK and Ireland and is customised with photos of old machines and other memories from the company's history. CATPLANT says it is a thank you to its staff for their hard work during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The family-run quarry has been working with Finning since it was established and now has more than 30 Cat machines in its fleet including compactors, 90-tonne excavators and several mini-diggers.
The newly-purchased D9T is a rental model that was rebuilt through the Response, Repair and Rebuild department at Finning. Cat says the D9T is built to be rebuilt, making it not unusual for them to log more than 100,000 hours.
Alongside the D9T, CATPLANT has also invested in the brand new D6 XE Dozer, claimed to be the world’s first high-drive electric-drive dozer to be put to work creating new batters for the landfill in the quarry. The D6 XE boasts up to 35% better fuel efficiency than previous models, with class-leading maneuverability and power, increasing agility and enabling faster cycle times.
“This will be the second time that we’ve had a machine customised, with our first being done to mark the passing of the founder of CATPLANT,” said CATPLANT managing director Ronnie Harrod. “Commemorative machines are special to us, and we’re always keen to use high-performance technology, so the new customised D9T is an excellent way to thank our team, who have gone above and beyond this year to adapt and get the work done in the middle of a global pandemic.
Ben Jarzyna, product support account manager at Finning, commented on CATPLANT's 40th anniversary: “The company has changed over the years, but quickly adopting technology has kept it at the forefront of the industry. Wrapping the technology that’s helped the team to be so successful is a perfect way to celebrate the 40th anniversary.”
