Ceredigion County Council Makes Investment In New Cat® Telehandler Fleet

TUESDAY, MARCH 24 TH, 2015

After 14 successive years of hiring their equipment, Ceredigion County Council has made its first ever investment of general construction machines, purchasing two Cat® TH407C telehandlers through UK Caterpillar dealer Finning.

The new telehandlers will be used across a multitude of applications within the Welsh region, including loading road salt in the winter months and day-to-day tasks in the local authority yard. As part of the equipment specification process, Finning supplied test units to ensure they could complete the diverse range of tasks.

Following the extensive trial period, coupled with long-time discussions and negotiations, the two Cat TH407Cs were delivered to Ceredigion Council in December 2014. Recognising the environment in which the machines would be active, Finning put together an anti corrosion package, also supplying the machines with RDS weigh loader systems, Spillard colour cameras for reverse manoeuvres, 1.5 cubic metre buckets, and a fiveyear/5000 hour premium warranty.

Haydn Williams, Municipal Manager for Ceredigion County Council, commented on the purchase of the Cat TH407Cs, saying: “Following extensive trialling of the units with comparable loading shovels, we opted for a Finning package that included a five year warranty.”

“This extended warranty gave us great confidence in the longevity of the equipment in these testing times, when best value must be proven in all local authority dealings. All of the operators involved in the trials agreed that the Cat TH407C was the most versatile and comfortable telehandler to use.”

Iwan Jenkins, Finning Territory Sales Representative for South Wales, added: “This deal illustrates that Ceredigion County Council sees the value in optimising its fleet’s cost-per-movement by buying its machinery. Due to this decision, Finning was able to put together the ideal bespoke machine specifications and the service support, all before pen was put to paper. This would not have been possible if Ceredigion continued to hire its equipment.”

“From an operator perspective, they feel greater pride in a machine they know will be used for the next five years. As part of the trials we had some great feedback on the Cat TH407C, with the vehicle’s visibility enhanced further with the Spillard Camera System. We are also able to remote monitor each machine’s performance and service accordingly.”