Hastings Deering Celebrates Delivery of 5000th Mining Truck

The Hastings Deering team were behind the successful delivery of the 5000th 793 Caterpillar mining truck to Queensland's Byerwen Mine last May. 

Purchased by Macmahon for use on the QCoal site South West of Collinsville, the 793 was ordered by Caterpillar Dealer, Hastings Deering. Not only was the assembly of the now fifth generation machine to mark an extraordinary day, but would also celebrate the third Cat ® 793 in a fleet of 19 arriving to the recently opened mine. 

Mining Account Manager at Hastings Deering, Jason Garea says, "We knew the final on-site assembly and delivery was going to be an exceptionally special moment being the 5000th 793. When heavy equipment of this calibre arrives, a site collectively becomes energised and the Cat 793 absolutely created an impact.  

"High end heavy equipment takes constant research and data before deciding on the most productive class machine for each site.  Orders are made, products arrive but we build the machine under high level Quality Assurance Standards before moving onto the site location. Equipment is immaculate upon leaving and Our Field Equipment Assembly Team work on average five to seven days on-site before signing over any machine. The completion of this 793 was certainly a momentous occasion."

In reality, this is just another step completed for Hastings Deering, as the servicing and support does not end there. With assembly now complete and ownership taken of the Cat 793, a specialist team stepped forward, prepared to familiarise operators through the machine, sharing both standard and unique technologies, high-end technology, safety and emergency handlings always at the forefront.

Mr Garea adds, "Macmahon chose the 793 because it offers the ultimate cost-efficiency and productivity over the market in its range. Caterpillar data has shown production figures exceed those of our competitors in the same 220-ton size class trucks. One major advantage Cat trucks have over competitors is the ability to carry more payload. 

Performing their own research of the Byerwen Mine's potential productivity enabled Macmahon to accumulate data that was referenced with Caterpillars specifications in considering best product selection. 

Hastings Deering was able to supply temporary equipment to continue productivity until the arrival of the new equipment. Hastings Deering facilitates on-site visits during early equipment assembly, to ensure customer specifications are met before the partly built machine is transported to site. 

Hastings Deering offer continual support, maintenance and teams readily available to ensure the most effective on-going management and highest working efficiency of each machine delivered.

"Always paramount are running costs over the lifespan of heavy machinery and the 793 is proven to have excellent supporting data with a reputation that exceeds itself in surface mining productivity," Mr Garea explains. 

The primary example is the very first 793 that was assembled and delivered 27 years ago. Today it still operates in the United States, boosting an accumulated 173,000 operating hours, a consistent 6,500 hours over per year over this time. 

The Cat 793 continues to evolve with the next generation of fully autonomous trucks delivering productivity increases of over 20 percent while improving safety and measuring decreasing costs in the past four years of operations.