National plant hire specialist, Keyway Ltd, has invested in 50 new Caterpillar units to celebrate its 50th anniversary, in its first major deal with Finning UK and Ireland for 30 years.
Keyway has decided to increase its fleet as part of a major expansion plan, which includes the opening of a new site.
After its recent deal, Keyway now boasts a Cat fleet consisting of two Cat 308E2s with the latest new variable-angle-boom (VAB) and one Cat 972M Wheel Loader with CPM (Cat Production Measurement) technology.
The fleet also includes 20 Cat Utility Rollers, two Cat D6Ts, two Cat CS66B Soil Compactors and 21 Excavators, including five Cat 305Es, eight Cat 308E2s, four Cat 320ELs and four Cat 312Es.
Commenting on the deal, Eamonn McGurk, Managing Director of Keyway Ltd, said: “The move to Caterpillar is a big deal and very few people get an order for this amount of machines from us. We have grown a lot since the 1990’s and with our current expansion plans, we went to market to make this major fleet purchase.
“At the end of the day when we made our decision to buy Cat, 70% was down to the product and the rest was down to Finning. The team worked with us to put together a compelling deal and we opted for some of the kit to have an additional service package with Finsight monitoring and RMI contracts, the entire deal was supported by Cat Financial.”
Keyway Ltd.’s Cat 972M also has integrated CPM technology, this allows for real-time payload weighing that helps operators understand and optimise the machine’s payload potential. Automated reports are generated through VisionLink, which allows site manager’s to effectively monitor productivity on site.
The national plant hirer is also the first in the UK to purchase the new VA Boom (VAB) on the Cat 308E2 Mini Hydraulic Excavator. The VAB provides further flexibility, expanding the current boom and stick-working envelope, by 30 inches. The VAB will also accommodate further lift capacity whilst operators are working in confined spaces, as the machine will work closer to the blade and tracks.
Commenting on the Keyway deal, Bryan Gulliford, Territory Account Manager of Finning UK and Ireland, said: “This is the largest single unit deal for the southwest team this year and to a significant plant hirer. We hope that this deal will be the start of a very prosperous and great relationship between both companies going forward.”
For further information on Cat products and services from Finning, please visit www.finning.co.uk
