Flannery Plant Hire delighted to put the UKs first high drive Electric Drive dozer to work: First 100-hours delivers 24.8% fuel saving.
Flannery Plant Hire (OVAL Ltd) have put the UKs first Cat D6 XE to work with Balfour Beatty on the M4 Smart Motorway Scheme. A world-first for the dozer market, the new Cat D6 XE is fitted with a high-drive, electric drive transmission that increases fuel efficiency by up to 35 per cent while providing improved productivity, thanks to more effective power transfer to the ground. As early investors in hybrid excavator, the purchase of the D6 XE demonstrates the hirer’s continued commitment to green construction.
Patrick Flannery, Managing Director explains:
“As the construction industry is challenged to lower emissions in the built environment by 50% and looking ahead reaching the net zero carbon buildings in the UK by 2050, it is very clear to us that plant hire is key to delivering against these ambitions. We hope that our unparalleled investment in more sustainable, innovative products supports our customers and our company values.
As the first hirer to invest in hybrid excavators and having demonstrated the value of this technology on a variety of projects it made absolute sense for us to look to other areas of our fleet where similar technology is now available.”
Having completed its first 100-hours Flannery have completed an early comparison of the D6XE with 6-of its standard D6 Dozers (monitoring more than 1000-hours across these machines). The fuel burn recorded during the working hours of the D6XE was 17.55litres per hour, a 24.8% saving when compared with the traditional models. When idling the D6XE delivered a 22.9% fuel saving.
Heather Bryant, Health, Safety, Environment & Sustainability Director from Balfour Beatty comments:
“It is very exciting to be the first user of this technology and to be working with Flannery’s on this initiative. At Balfour Beatty, we are committed to embedding innovation and technology into our projects which help us to operate in a safe, effective and environmentally supportive manner. Where we can use greener, more eco-friendly tools and techniques, we are able to offer long term, sustainable options to our customers. We value our supply chain partners who proactively support and share these goals. It is great to see Flannery’s continuing to invest in new products like these and we look forward to continuing to work in partnership on this and other great initiatives.”
As with all Flannery dozers the machine comes complete with extra safety features including a seat belt indicator and high visibility handrails. It also arrives onsite with the newly launched Flannery ECO decals.
Fitted with CAT Product Link the machines performance will be closely monitored over the coming months so that a full case study can be developed in conjunction with Balfour Beatty and CAT UK dealer Finning.
