Fergusson Group Invests InN Largest UK Cat 966K Fleet With Finning

Fergusson Group - the Scottish-based solid fuel import, export and distribution business – has created the largest Cat 966K wheel loader fleet in the UK, with six units. In a supply agreement deal with Finning UK and Ireland, breaking the £2m barrier, Fergusson Group also added a Cat 725 ADT, Cat 320DL excavator and Cat 226b skid steer loader to its fleet.

The deal is the first in the UK to reward the innovative developments surrounding the new Cat 966K, launched by Caterpillar in early 2012. Marrying the Cat C9.3 ACERT™ Stage IIIB compliant engine, with new performance series buckets, the new Cat 966K fleet will deliver significant operating efficiencies to Fergusson Group.

All six Cat 966K wheel loaders are now in operation at Fergusson Group's main hub at Hunterston Terminal, from where the business moves in the region of 2 million tonnes of coal a year.

Operations director John Shute said the agreement provides the group with the platform to fulfil its supply commitments across a range of specialist industrial markets including the energy sector.

He added: "We have experienced significant growth in recent years and this level of investment in plant infrastructure will allow us to meet the supply demands of our customers as well as providing the back-up capacity to realise new growth markets.

"As we continue to grow volume through our main hub at Hunterston, it's vital that our plant equipment delivers reliability and provides efficiency in performance.
"The agreement with Finning meets this demand through the delivery of robust Caterpillar machinery, with a responsive back-up and support function which is critical to our operational effectiveness."

In addition to the purchase of the Cat 966K units, Fergusson Group also invested in a full service and maintenance contract with Finning, providing round the clock service for the new fleet. Commenting about the deal, Finning territory sales manager, Oliver Halligan said: "The scale of the operation that Fergusson Group is running at Hunterston and the expertise needed to deliver services to customers is impressive. By working closely with the team on site we were able to build a trust between the two businesses. Key to this was the shared understanding of the new investment in plant and equipment on the site from an early stage. Having this knowledge, allowed us to support the business with the specification process, matching mobile and fixed plant, to achieve the best possible results.

"We were also able to build up an equipment solution package to support the business at the right level, with engineers and field service staff from our local Glasgow branch, combining with our head office expertise."