Hastings Deering, traditionally known as a market leader in the mining and construction sectors, has invested heavily in the roads construction and infrastructure sector over the past seven years. The addition of the Weiler E285 Remixing Transfer Vehicle to its fleet is a sign of the company’s intent and future plans in the road construction industry.
Ryan Van Den Broek, Sales Manager – Roads, Construction and Infrastructure at Hastings Deering, says the addition of the PM620 alone has created a real buzz for its Queensland customers in particular.
“With the PM620, I feel like we’ve got a new quality of machine – it’s highly technical, more efficient, safer and quieter,” says Mr. Van Den Broek.
“We’ve been doing demonstrations over the past few months with all the major players in southeast Queensland. We’ve had clients come along because they’ve heard from other customers that it’s great, and they want demos now too.”
He says many of their civil customers have also opted for the new profiler, given that their experiences with other Cat machines have been positive.
The efficiency and significantly reduced noise levels on the new machine have been two major improvements that customers have noticed, according to Mr. Van Den Broek.
“Our customers love features such as the retractable canopy, and overall, the machines are smaller and easier to transport,” he says.
One of the first PM620 profilers sold by Hastings Deering in Australia is being used as part of tunnel works on the WestConnex project in Sydney, because its compactness makes it suitable to go below ground.
“We demonstrated it cutting through Sydney sandstone fairly quickly and we sold the first profiler to the tunnel contractor based on that experience.
“Because it’s so compact it can easily be dropped down into the tunnel site without having parts disassembled and then reassembled, making it a more efficient and cost effective alternative to other machines.”
The introduction of the PM620 has also put the Hastings Deering in good stead to enter a corner of the market dominated by competitors, according to Mr. Van Den Broek.
“There was always going to be trepidation with customers because one of our competitors has been in this space for a while, but creating healthy competition and providing alternatives is good for the customer.”
Mr. Van Den Broek says the same fuel, noise and efficiency benefits are embodied by the Cat F-Series pavers, which were launched in Australia at the Australian Asphalt Pavement Association’s International Flexible Pavements Conference in September 2015.
“Noise levels and fuel efficiency have been a focus for Cat, especially on the new F-Series asphalt pavers,” he says.
“We’ve had some really good feedback, especially from some of our big customers like Brisbane City Council. The council selected one of the Cat pavers to support its other machines, and it’s now their flagship machine within its fleet.
The new Cat road construction machinery is already proving its worth for the team at Hastings Deering, and the inclusion of the new Weiler product is bolstering its market offering even more.
“We were the first in the industry to become a Weiler dealership in Australia and the first to offer these material transfer vehicles and road wideners to the market,” says Mr. Van Den Broek.
The US-based manufacturing firm is the same company that builds the screeds for Cat pavers and works quite closely with Cat in its home state of Iowa.
Mr. Van Den Broek says the Weiler products really complement Cat’s own machines, especially in helping to create an end-to-end solution in road construction.
The E2850 material transfer vehicle, which was launched in November 2016, provides non-contact, non-stop and offset paving while producing reduced particle and thermal segregation.
“It keeps the material temperature even, reduces cold spots, and when we compact the material there’s a nice even heat across the whole mat,” adds Mr. Van Den Broek.
With a new range of products and some major road and infrastructure projects on the horizon in Queensland, Mr. Van Den Broek says Hastings Deering is well positioned to provide a complete end-to-end service for its customers in 2017.
“One of the big things we’ve really got going for us is our dealership footprint,” he asserts.
“We’ve got 23 business centres across our territories, which makes it very easy for our customers to come in to get that service they need when they need it.
“For our national customers who are coming from interstate, we are able to provide unmatched facilities, service and equipment expertise.”
That aftersales support is what Mr. Van Den Broek says the Cat brand and its dealerships pride themselves on.
“We make sure that when we’re dealing with a paving customer, for instance, we have the technology and parts in holding to help the customer when needed,” he says.
Not only does Hastings Deering ensure there are parts on-hand at local business centres for its customers across its territory, but it provides extensive after sales service to ensure even critical engine parts are easily sourced or on-hand for replacement.
“At Hastings Deering we are committed to helping our customers succeed. We work with all our customers to provide solutions that reduce operating costs, and increase productivity and reliability,” says Mr. Van Den Broek.
“Hastings Deering is not only leading the way in aftersales support but also ensuring it can offer customers increased reliability and reduced costs. One example is our Fuel Edge Program, which guarantees that if you burn more fuel than the committed threshold, you will get a credit.”
As for the immediate future, Mr. Van Den Broek is excited about the new product innovations set to hit the market.
“The PM620 is just the first in a full product suite coming out over the next few years. Cat is introducing a full range of rollers and pavers, which will give us a real edge in the road construction market.”