THE CAT 6020B In the first phase of production, the Cat 6020B, with its 224 t operating weight, will be supplied only in backhoe configuration
Several new CAT earthmoving products for the mining, construction and allied industries are scheduled to be released in South Africa during 2016 by CATerpillar’s Southern African dealer, Barloworld Equipment, a division of Barloworld.
An example is the 22 t payload CAT 6020B hydraulic shovel, which landed for the first time in Africa in January following its worldwide release late last year. Replacing the CAT 6018, the CAT 6020B slots into what Caterpillar refers to as its versatility class, joining the CAT 6015/ CAT 6015 face shovel units.
Barloworld Equipment, along with other key CAT dealers serving Africa, were represented at the Caterpillar stand during this year’s Investing in African Mining Indaba.
Caterpillar’s key emphasis at the Indaba, held last month in Cape Town, was centred around CAT solutions and how they help customers in all industries achieve higher levels of productivity.
Examples include Equipment Management Solutions, a telemetry package that forms part of the CAT Connect suite and provides solutions that enable customers to pinpoint a machine’s location and determine its level of use and mechanical health.
“Overall, our business focus as a CAT dealer is on working closely with customers to help them get the maximum return on their earthmoving investments. “The Indaba enabled us to engage with existing and potential customers and . . . identify business opportunities,” says Barloworld Equipment divisional executive director of sales and marketing Shane Fitzpatrick. He notes that Cat
erpillar’s stand allowed for excellent interaction between the CAT dealers and visitors, who were “extremely interested” in the range of available CAT products and services.
Notable trends among visitors’ themes of interest were risk management and forecasting, as well as right-sizing businesses for competitive growth, adds Fitzpatrick.
Other popular topics discussed with visitors to the Caterpillar stand included CAT earth- moving machinery fleet optimisation for existing and new mine developments, regional coverage support and the after-sales support assurances provided to customers working across the con-tinent by the Caterpillar African dealer footprint .
Barloworld Equipment is following up on enquiries and requests from Mining Indaba attendees operating within Southern Africa.