FCC Environment Ltd, part of the Spanish company Fomento de Construcciones y Contratas, owns and operates more than 200 waste recycling, treatment and disposal facilities across the UK.
Its waste processing fleet alone comprises 500 machines, including landfill compactors, wheeled excavators, tracked loaders and articulated dump trucks. Caterpillar equipment accounts for the nearly have of it all.
One of these machines is a Cat 836 landfill compactor that was purchased from Finning in 2007 with a full repair and maintenance programme. Now 15 years old and rather tired, the machine is temporarily going back to Finning for the UK’s first certified machine rebuild (CMR) to give it another 15 years of operating life.
FCC group plant manager Bill Stone began discussions with the Finning team when the machine’s transmission failed at the back end of last year and decided to go for a rebuild rather than replace it with a new machine.
Finning engine and drivetrain product manager Adam Walker, who is overseeing the project, says: “Sustainability is now at the forefront of the waste industry so we’ve seen a shift in demand towards companies requesting remanufactured or reconditioned parts for their machines, or for the entire machine to be rebuilt.
“This is the first machine rebuild that FCC has commissioned but the company now plans for this approach to become an integral part of their fleet management succession plan because it enables them to demonstrate a clear commitment to improving the environmental impact of their operations and reducing emissions in the drive to net zero.”
He continues: “Rebuilding a machine instead of buying new requires 85% less energy, uses 86% less water and generates around 61% fewer greenhouse gases. Plus, we recover and recycle over 65% of the original machine, so it’s ready to be used as a replacement part in another machine.
“Not only that, but customers choosing a rebuild machine option will typically save around 50-60% on the cost compared with buying a new machine. While remanufactured parts, of which there are around 8000+ Cat certified ones available, can be up to 60% less than the cost of a brand new one.”
FCC’s Bill Stone says: “We have a commitment to run our operation in an environmentally and socially responsible way, and by choosing to rebuild and give our assets a second life rather than buy new, we are helping to meet that commitment.
“Our mobile plant fleet is key to our operation, so it is essential these assets are managed effectively, and Finning plays a vital part in that.”
