Electric Cat D6 XE Dozer powering sustainability for FCC Environment
One of the UK’s leading waste and resource management companies, FCC Environment, has taken another step towards its ambitious targets to help the industry meet its emission reduction and recycling obligations with the purchase of the world’s first high-drive electric drive dozer, the Cat® D6 XE, from exclusive Caterpillar® distributor, Finning UK & Ireland.
FCC Environment manages 100 contracts across 60 local authorities – recycling more than 1.8 million tonnes of waste each year, as well as operating a range of material recycling facilities, energy from waste plants and landfill sites. The company invested in the D6 XE as part of its drive to reach net zero, with the dozer boasting up to 35 per cent better fuel efficiency.
The company first decided to trial a soil specification dozer from Finning, and then invested in their own waste-specification D6 XE to work on one of its landfill sites. The waste handling package on the D6 XE provides added features to help protect both machine and operator in harsh waste applications, with specialized guarding, striker bars and seals helping to protect the machine from impact, wrapping and airborne debris. The landfill blades on the dozer are also equipped with a trash rack to increase productive capacity when working in a waste stream.
“As well as the increased efficiency with the new D6 XE, allowing us to do more with less and the benefits this has for the environment, coupled with an industry leading pedigree within the waste and recycling sector, we also chose the D6 XE for the aftermarket support gained from a collaborative relationship with Finning,” said Chris Ellis, Landfill Operations Director at FCC Environment. “Our mobile plant fleet is essential to our operation, so it is also essential that these assets are managed effectively – something that Finning plays a vital part in.
“We were looking for a partner that we could engage with on a regular basis to drive efficiencies through effective use of telemetry and condition monitoring, as well as contributing to our sustainability goals in a measurable, substantive way. Finning is proactive in booking planned maintenance and are quick to react to unplanned events. We have also utilised and took advantage of the Cat mantra “Built to be Rebuilt”, giving us the option to recycle assets via ground up rebuilds. This not only can help in delivering a second life at a lower financial cost compared to the acquisition of new machines, it can also greatly reduce the embedded CO2 emissions associated with mobile equipment.
“The relationship between FCC Environment and Finning has evolved over 20 years,” said Jonathan Davies, Industry Manager for Industrial Waste and Paving at Finning UK & Ireland. “The relationship has developed from the traditional supplier to customer arrangement into one where both companies have the mutual aim of driving the total cost of ownership and sustainability goals in the right direction.
“The company’s focus on reclaiming the value in waste from recycling and generating green energy from residual waste will play an important role in the industry’s aim to make improvements to environmental performance, and its investment into the new D6 XE will help them to deliver those sustainable benefits to both customers and local communities in the years ahead.”
The Cat D6 XE is designed specifically to reduce service and maintenance costs, with class-leading manoeuvrability and power to give operators more agility and faster cycle times.
