Major Cat Motor Grader Milestone Celebrated

The 1,000th Caterpillar 24 motor grader built by the giant North American manufacturer, has been delivered to Rio Tinto by Australian dealer WesTrac during a ceremony which was held in Perth. The 72-tonne machine then departed to make its journey to Rio Tinto’s vast Paraburdoo iron ore mine in Western Australia’s Pilbara region.

The Cat 24 is the largest production motor grader in the world today. The first example rolled off the production line at the Decatur factory in Illinois, some 26 years ago in 1996 and numerous upgrades have taken place over the years.

The 24 was designed to meet the demands of large-scale mining businesses, to help build and maintain haul roads so they are suitable for the huge ultra-class dump trucks.

As indicated by the model number, the 24 features a wide 24-foot (7.3m) blade, allowing operators to make fewer passes than in smaller graders.

This from the official press release from WesTrac.

Florian Dumalle, Caterpillar’s area manager for large motor graders, said the team behind the Cat 24 Motor Grader were understandably proud when the 1,000th machine was completed and left the factory.

“For the team at the Decatur plant, it was certainly a momentous occasion,” Dumalle said.

“Today was also a fantastic opportunity for us to thank all of those involved in making our success possible. This would not have been achieved without our collaborators WesTrac and of course Rio Tinto,” he added.

“These large machines have evolved over the past two decades to be a top performer with a great reputation in the mining industry. It is great to celebrate this type of success together, and we look forward to seeing the next 1,000 machines.”

WesTrac general manager of mining, Shane Thomas, said the handover marked another significant milestone in WesTrac and Caterpillar’s relationship with Rio Tinto.

“The partnership has evolved over many years as Rio Tinto has continued to develop mines across Western Australia,” Thomas said.

“We’ve celebrated countless milestones, many to do with world-leading technological advances, but it is pleasing to be reminded that the loyalty many operators have for Cat equipment stems from tried-and-true models such as the 24 Motor Grader, which has been made in the Decatur manufacturing facility for more than 25 years now.”

Pictured left to right: Richard Blaxill (WesTrac), Florian Dumalle (Caterpillar), Ben Woffenden (Rio Tinto) and Shane Thomas (WesTrac)

According to Rio Tinto general manager of mining equipment, Ben Woffenden, the Cat 24 Motor Grader was well regarded within Rio Tinto, providing the right combination of power, weight and blade width to manage haul road maintenance at Rio’s remote mine sites.

“The Cat 24 Motor Grader is a safe, reliable and high-performing machine, that plays a core role in building and maintaining haul roads across Rio Tinto’s Pilbara and US operations,” Woffenden said.

“This is the third-generation model we’ve used across our Pilbara mining operations and it is a privilege to take delivery of the 1,000th machine from Caterpillar and WesTrac.”

“The machine will be put to work when it arrives at Paraburdoo. As a 24 x 7 operation, the effective upkeep of haul roads is required to keep our fleet working productively and efficiently, so the 24 Motor Grader has a vital role to play.”

The handover ceremony at WesTrac’s Perth branch was attended by team members from WesTrac, Caterpillar and Rio Tinto.

Watch a Cat 24 in action in this video from Cat Mining.