Daily operating conditions at Brevard County Landfill are extremely harsh. Sharp fragments, corrosive materials and sticky debris work their way into a machine’s components, accelerating wear and tear. Brevard County’s Solid Waste Division recently rebuilt two of their worn fleet machines, a Caterpillar® D7R track-type tractor and a Caterpillar M316 wheeled excavator, at a fraction of the cost of buying new.
Justin William’s, Palm Bay Heavy Equipment PSSR, persistence convinced Brevard County officials that a Ring Power rebuild would help get their money’s worth out of their Cat machines, and his timing couldn’t have been better. Accustomed to replacing equipment every five years, Brevard County had not considered a rebuild since 1999, when the landfill’s 826C landfill compactor was rebuilt. Once officials started comparing current equipment pricing with Ring Power’s rebuild options, County officials saw the advantage: the powertrain rebuilds would save more than $415,000 when compared to the cost of replacing the two machines.
The D7R was transported to Tampa’s Major Component Rebuild Center (MCRC) in early December 2010. Component specialists rebuilt the powertrain—engine, transmission, final drives, drive axles, differentials, hydraulic cylinders, pumps and motors—inspecting, testing and replacing as needed. Several weeks later, the M316 was brought in to Palm Bay’s service shop. Both rebuilds were completed within the scheduled 30 days, but the M316 was not delivered to Brevard County until March, after some additional work was completed.
Brevard County solid waste officials are very pleased with the “good as new” quality of the rebuilds—right down to the paint jobs! Congratulations to Ring Power’s Heavy Equipment service and product support personnel in Palm Bay and Tampa who made the rebuilds happen!
When it comes to overall productivity and operating cost, a Cat® machine is the best equipment investment you can make. When most competitive models reach the end of their life cycle, replacement may be the only solution. But Cat equipment has a sustainable design that allows the machine to be remanufactured by reusing many of the original parts, reducing waste and delivering a cost-effective alternative to replacing with new equipment.
To have your machine evaluated for a second-life rebuild and to see how much you could save, contact Ring Power.