Flannery Plant Hire (Flannery), one of the largest providers of operated and self-drive plant in the UK, has signed an exclusive deal with Finning UK & Ireland at this year’s Plantworx exhibition (11th-13th June) to purchase 230 new Cat® machines as part of its fleet refurbishment programme.
Signed by Patrick Flannery Senior, the deal is the biggest single order for Finning in 2019 and will bring the average age of the Flannery fleet to an impressive 1.8 years.
The company’s investment totals over £30 million and sees Flannery take delivery of the UK’s first Cat D6XE next-generation dozer; Caterpillar’s ground-breaking new high-drive, electric drive transmission machine. The deal includes units from the Next Gen Hex range of excavators, including Cat 308 minis, Cat 315 and Cat 325 excavators with zero tail swing. The line up also includes the new Cat 730 articulated dump trucks fitted with the Caterpillar Production Measurement (CPM) system alongside a broad range of other Caterpillar machines.
This new investment, part of the hirer’s £46 million CAPEX spend for 2019, is the latest in a long partnership between Flannery and Finning as Patrick Flannery Senior explains:
“We’ve been using Caterpillar technology since I established the business in 1972, partnering with Finning to ensure we maintain a young and modern fleet of machines. As a leading provider of equipment to many major contractors working on large infrastructure projects in the UK, it is vital that we can offer equipment that can meet the rigours of a high-performing site.
“As well as the fuel efficiency, reliability and lower cost of maintenance that is inherent to models in the Caterpillar portfolio, we are finding that our customers are looking for new and improved ways to monitor and report on productivity on site. The connected technology features that Finning has been able to offer as part of this deal, including the latest CPM system, will be a key part of our product offer moving forwards, helping our customers to retain a competitive edge on site.
“Of course, our primary focus is always safety and as we would expect, these new Cat machines deliver many innovative safety features. We also ensure that, where relevant, 360-vision cameras, load control systems and automatic quick couplers are factory fitted as part of our market-leading plant specification. In such a competitive market, it is important for us to demonstrate our continued investment; not just in the latest technology but also in driving the safest site environment possible.”
