Maximum availability

A fleet of Case wheeled loaders is helping a ready mix concrete supplier in Canada meet the needs of its customers whatever the weather. Winnipeg-based Building Products and Concrete Supply has been operating a Case 621C since 2001 and has since added a 921C and a 721D to the fleet.

During the summer the machines can be working for up to 14 hours at a time and can be called on to move up to 4500 tonnes of stone and sand per shift. According to the company's president Linton Mounk, temperatures in Winnipeg can vary by up to 79 °C between summer and winter.

This climate, combined with the work load, adds up to create some harsh conditions for these machines – even during the slower winter periods the 612C and 721D are rented out for snow clearance.

“Machine uptime is essential,” said Mr Mounk. “Especially at one of our satellite operations – if a loader goes down, you're out of business. That is why we needed wheeled loaders that would be available 99.9% of the time and, apart from a problem with some seals, the Case machines have been.

“The Auto-Shift feature is particularly useful for stockpiling work – it picks the right gear for you and you don't have to stop and shift. It has helped us reduce our cycle time significantly.”