Gravelle Plant Ltd has extended the life of its 15-year-old Cat® D6T dozer by commissioning a full certified rebuild, carried out by Finning UK & Ireland at its Llantrisant Rebuild Centre in South Wales.
The D6T, originally built in 2010, had clocked over 17,600 hours, working across the world including major infrastructure work in Senegal and on the Tonkolili iron ore project in Sierra Leone, one of Africa’s largest mineral developments. Gravelle Plant supplied multiple machines to the contract, including the D6T, which worked in tropical and landfill environments before returning home for refurbishment.
Rather than retire the machine, Gravelle Plant opted for a Cat Certified Rebuild, which combined a complete overhaul of the powertrain and hydraulics with a new undercarriage and refreshed cab. The decision was driven by cost and the company’s familiarity with the machine.
Peter Gravelle, Director of Gravelle Plant Ltd, said: “We’ve run Cat dozers for decades and this one has been part of some huge projects for us. The total cost of the certified rebuild was significantly lower than the price of a new machine, so it was an easy choice. We’ve worked with Finning since 1978, and they now support a mixed fleet of around 70 Cat machines for us. We’d been discussing rebuilds for a while and the tailored approach and service support on this rebuild meant we could spec the machine exactly how we needed.”
The rebuild was completed at the Finning Llantrisant facility, one of five specialist Rebuild, Repair and Response (RRR) centres in the UK. The machine first underwent inspection on-site before disassembly and replacement of parts. During the rebuild, the machine was also fitted with SITECH Trimble Earthworks®, an advanced grade control platform.
Mark Tudball, Product Manager for Aftermarket at Finning UK & Ireland, said: “This project was a great example of what a Cat Certified Rebuild is all about. The machine had experienced heavy wear, including severe corrosion from landfill operation, which required custom fabrication of steps and handrails as part of the refurbishment.
“It was also upgraded with a VisionLink® enabled service contract, offering condition monitoring, oil sampling, telemetry, and regular health checks during its extended warranty period. This D6T now has a 5-year or 8,000-hour warranty, supported by an ongoing service plan. The machine was rebuilt in late 2024 and is already back at work in the Gravelle Plant fleet.”
To find out more about rebuild solutions from Finning, visit : https://www.finning.com/en_GB/services/response-repair-rebuild/rebuilds.html
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