In the 25th year of the Cat Certified Rebuild (CCR) Program, Whayne Supply has now delivered the 5,000th machine to be rebuilt as a “like-new machines.”
The Cat 980G Wheel Loader, owned by Sellersburg Stone, was rebuilt to new machine specifications in Whayne’s Louisville, Ky., shop, where the ceremony was held on Dec. 16.
Last year Cat dealers worldwide completed 500 total-machine rebuilds, which, on average, cost each machine owner 40- to 50-percent less than buying a comparable new machine — even though the process involves disassembling the machine to the bare frame and then rebuilding to meet factory warranty standards, according to Cat. The CCR Program ensures successful rebuilds and like-new machine performance for Cat customers, the company says.
“At Caterpillar, we don’t want to just sell machines; we want to continually support our customers over the lifetimes of these machines. And in this case and in many others—over multiple lives of our machines,” Doug Oberhelman, chairman and CEO of Caterpillar Inc., who was in Louisville to celebrate the delivery of the wheel loader, said in a written statement.
“The Certified Rebuild Program benefits more than Caterpillar and Cat dealers,” he continued. “By restoring used equipment to like-new condition, we minimize waste while providing high-quality, cost-effective solutions for our customers. That’s good for all of our businesses and good for the planet.”
Monty Boyd, president and CEO of Whayne Supply Co., said the dealer completed its first Cat Certified Rebuild — a D8K bulldozer — in 1985. “That unit is still in operation every day,” Boyd says. “Since then, Whayne has completed 400 certified rebuilds, which required 835,492 labor hours in our shops. This program has enabled the company to keep mechanics employed and has allowed Whayne to offer our customers a good alternative to buying a new machine. I am proud to say Whayne is the number one dealer in the world in completing Cat Certified Rebuilds.”
Throughout the past 25 years, Whayne has rebuilt 33 different models, the most common being large dozers, wheel loaders and trucks. The 980G Wheel Loader going to Sellersburg Stone will be used in the company’s Clark County, Ind., limestone quarry, located about eight miles north of downtown Louisville.
“In today’s very competitive environment we have to look for ways to keep our cost down as much as possible,” said Kenny Rush, vice president of Sellersburg Stone and Corydon Stone & Asphalt. “The Certified program gave us a chance to have a like-new machine at a much lower price. We are going to get a second life out of the 980G, and we should have more than 50,000 hours on it before it’s retired. If all goes well we may also look at doing a Certified Rebuild on our 990 or 992G in the near future.”
Sellersbug Stone is the largest quarry in the Louisville market and is one of the largest producers of limestone in Indiana. Sellersburg’s on-site asphalt plant is capable of producing 550 tons per hour and is one of six asphalt plants operated by the parent company, Gohmann Asphalt & Construction, Inc. The heavy and highway construction company also operates another limestone quarry and four concrete plants.
“We look at the guys at Whayne as friends and as partners. We rely on their equipment, their parts and their service,” Rush said. “We also see the guys at Whayne as consultants. Whayne has helped us size our equipment fleet to match our production requirements and they have even assisted us in designing our haul roads.”
