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RYE Demolition bolsters fleet with four new Cat excavators

Finning has supplied two Cat 330 and two Cat 336 excavators to RYE Demolition, part of the RYE Group – an expert in demolition, groundworks, plant hire, and civil engineering based in Bedfordshire. All four machines are fitted with the latest on-board technology, specifically designed to improve and optimise performance and ensure efficient fuel consumption.

The new-generation machines also have a tranche of built-in safety features fitted as standard, such as the 360-degree camera, height and slew restrictors and an overload warning system. The machines are designed to reduce fuel consumption and costs, while increasing machine performance and operating efficiency – all of which were integral to the decision by RYE to purchase the Cat machines from Finning. 

Simon Barlow, Director at Rye Group said, “Fundamentally, demolition projects require extensive use of plant and machinery. It’s vital therefore that we use machines that can not only do the job but can also be run efficiently, so we can keep operating costs down and continue to limit the environmental impact of our operations. For example, we’ve switched our entire fleet to run on Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil (HVO), the first company in the demolition sector to do so.  

“As a company we have always invested in the latest machinery with the most efficient engines available. We had a lot of discussions with Finning about how to reduce the rate at which the machines burn fuel, for example,” Simon added. “The mandatory switch from red diesel to white, and subsequent price hike from 60 pence to nearly £2 a litre means we need to implement operational practices that mitigate both of these.”

The telematics fitted to the machines automatically feed data to Finning HQ, which is analysed by the ‘FinSight’ team and provide RYE with a monthly report on each of the machines’ performance. This ranges from showing how much fuel the fleet is using, daily run time and idling time of the machines. RYE uses this invaluable data to regularly review operator and on-site practices, avoid fuel wastage and improve overall machine efficiency on site. 

The safety record of both Cat and Finning also influenced RYE’s decision to invest in the Cat machines. Simon continued, “For the demolition sector safety is arguably the most important thing to consider. Cat machines are probably the safest machines available today designed specifically to keep operators and demolition contractors safe while out on site.

“The team at Finning also spent time to show us the benefit of the tailored operator settings feature in the machines,” Simon continued. “They were able to set individually tailored settings for each of our operators, including seat position, positioning and data showing on the home screen, through to setting the speed time preferences for each operator. 

“This is a genius feature. We have multiple operators who work across sites, so they would either have to recalibrate their preferences every time they used a different machine, which takes time. Or, operate the machine as it was without the specific settings – which has a direct impact on how accurate the operator is, how efficiently the machine runs and how productive it is overall.

“Although we have our own engineers, we decided to use Finning engineering and service for the first 12 months because of their quick response times and expertise in predictive maintenance to ensure the machines are operational as and when we need them. We simply cannot afford our machines to be out of action, so this intuitive, data led service is invaluable to us.”

“We’ve been extremely impressed with the service from the team at Finning, who take a tactical approach on identifying the best machines to strengthen our fleet. The new Cat 330 and 336 machines offer so many great features that help operator performance as well ensure they’re comfortable and safe," Simon concluded.

Jack Pilgrim, territory account manager for Finning said, “We’re delighted to build on our relationship with RYE, with the latest additions to their fleet. RYE has complete peace of mind because all their machines are covered by our five-year/7,500-hour premier warranty so are serviced by our skilled engineers. This offers guaranteed protection against unexpected repair bills and costly downtime because our customers want a great machine, but more importantly they want to make sure it is working as hard as it possibly can.”

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