News

Successful dozer rebuild leads to further fleet refurbishment

Smith Construction, a leading sports surface design and construction company, has given its Cat^® D6K Dozer a second life thanks to the expertise of Finning UK & Ireland. This has been so successful that the company is now looking to rebuild further machines.

After purchasing the Cat D6K in 2008 and having been operational for since then with 8,775 hours on the clock,  Finning recommended that dozer would benefit from a refresh to its powertrain and hydraulic components. Russell Smith, Plant & Fleet Manager at Smith Construction then discussed his options with Finning Product Support Manager Scott McConnell who recommended a Cat Certified Rebuild would be the best value option.

Scott McConnell comments: “Rebuild projects give companies the chance to save money whilst still receiving a “like new” machine that will be robust and reliable for years to come. For Smith Construction who operate on projects like surfacing, agricultural and landscaping, this durability was extremely important. By working with the specialists at our Finning Chesterfield brand, they were assured that the project would be carried out to the high Cat Certified Rebuild Standards.”

Finning was commissioned to carry out a full certified powertrain (CPT) and hydraulics rebuild which includes replacing the transmission, engine, differential, and final drives. The rebuild needed to be completed within a demanding timeframe. So, the team used the Finning service exchange to find vital machine components as well as ordering remanufactured stock to ensure this could be achieved, with no delays waiting for parts to arrive or be reconditioned.

The end result has impressed Smith Construction, as Russell Smith explains: “We use machines for easier work with low hours so it’s not cost-effective for us to buy a new machine. When the idea of the rebuild came up we thought that would be a more sustainable option for another 15 years of life for the machine – it's the perfect solution for us.

“The process of the rebuild has been very easy. The team has kept us informed at every stage of the rebuild, from the inspection to the stripping down – you can see you’re getting a quality rebuild. It’s the first project like this that we’ve commissioned and what surprised me was how it looked in the end. From appearing very tired when it came off our low loader, standing next to it now is like standing next to a new machine. I’m amazed with what Finning has managed to do with it.

“Perhaps the biggest endorsement we can give is that from the success of this rebuild we are now looking at reconditioning two more dozers, and potentially further projects across the fleet too.”

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