by Richard Cosgrove | Sat 19 Jul 2025
Breedon secure first new rebuild option from Finning
Finning has helped Breedon Group make strides in sustainability and reduce costs by providing the option to buy a certified rebuilt, used Cat®machine when the company began looking to replace a couple of the older machines in its fleet.
This innovative approach by Finning UK and Ireland, the world’s largest dealer of Cat equipment, parts and aftermarket services, is a genuine win, for both the environment and customers alike as it opens opportunities to buy a wider range of machine types from the company’s national stock of new, used, rebuilt, and now used rebuilt Cat machines.
With cost and sustainability pressures steadily growing across the industry, choosing a rebuilt or used machine when replacing plant equipment not only makes commercial sense but it’s also better for the environment. As demand for used machines continues to grow, customers are increasingly investing in high-quality, used equipment. In line with this, Finning combined the two popular options to create an environmentally friendly and commercially sustainable proposition – certified rebuilt, used Cat machines – or ‘rebuilt and ready to go – again’.
To deliver the offer, Finning first reviewed its national stock of used equipment and identified some of the most frequently rebuilt Cat machine models, such as the 775 Off-Highway trucks, that were approaching the end of their first operational life. These machines are suitable for rebuilding with the company’s Cat certified rebuild engineers having extensive experience rebuilding these over the last three years at workshops in Cannock, Llantrisant and Glasgow.
Customer service is critical to Finning, so the team has worked closely with the operations team at Breedon to ensure they have the right mix of fleet of machines to meet their ongoing operational needs. A big part of this is reviewing the age and efficiency of the machines running across their sites and recommending a cost-effective solution to replace equipment that’s coming to the end of its operational life.
“As a leading aggregates supplier, Breedon owns and operates many Cat 775 Off-Highway trucks across its quarry operations, and found two of their machines were approaching the end of their operational capacity,” explains Dean Turner, Corporate Account Manager, Mineral Products at Finning.
“As part of our service to Breedon we explored all options for replacing the trucks and identified two Cat 775s within our used machine stock that had the potential to be rebuilt and proposed this option that would mean the company could have like new replacement machines, onsite and operating within 12 weeks, cutting new equipment lead time by over 50%.
“Breedon agreed so we scheduled the two machines into the workshop at our Glasgow and Llantrisant branches, one of our specialist repair and rebuild centres, to undergo a full Cat Certified Rebuild.
“The Cat Certified Rebuild process is extensive and robust and is carried out by trained service engineers to meet the highest standards using the latest technology, specialised equipment and strict quality control procedures. The result is like-new performance. Each rebuild also incorporates any engineering or software updates introduced for that model after it was originally manufactured, meaning the rebuilt machine performs as-new. The 775’s come complete with extensive powertrain and hydraulic warranty cover of five years / 10,000 hours.”
The two Cat 775 trucks were rebuilt within 12 weeks – during which time Breedon was able to keep its existing machines running.
“There was a clear commercial benefit to us choosing a rebuilt, used machine as it comes in at around 60% of the cost when compared with buying a brand-new machine. This was most certainly a factor in our decision, explains Rob Maurice-Jones, Area Operations Manager at Breedon.
“However, it was the sustainability benefits of incorporating rebuilt used machines into the fleet that really clinched the deal with Finning. We have ambitious sustainability targets to meet as a company, which include reducing our operational CO2 by more than 23% by 2030.
“Choosing a rebuilt machine saves on the production of over 60 tons of steel, which translates to savings of around 100 tons of CO2 emissions. We currently have more than 290 Cat machines across our fleet and value the quality and performance. Having several Cat Certified Rebuilds has given us the reassurance we need, and we know it’s been rebuilt to an extremely high standard so will remain at the top of its operating capability for another 15,000 hours or more.”
3 issues of Earthmovers for just £3 - click here