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Littler Machinery builds its rental business on Cat® compactors

For nearly 50 years, the Littler family has understood the value of Cat^® equipment. Merchant Navy Veteran Fred Littler worked for a Cat dealer in the north of England in the early 1960s, then started his own machinery trading company in 1975.

“My father only ever traded Cat equipment,” says son Richard Littler, who today serves as president of Littler Machinery Ltd. “It’s a product you can build a business on. When we’re buying equipment, Cat machines are unquestionably a currency unto themselves.”

“Fabulous experience” for landfill operator

It’s a currency that’s paying off for Littler Machinery’s new rental business. Based in Formby, just north of Liverpool, the company sells equipment all over the world — and just 18 months ago began renting machines across the United Kingdom. Among the first rental products out the door were Cat K Series Landfill Compactors. That wasn’t a surprise to Littler.

“We’ve always been a dealer in Cat compactors,” he says. “It’s a better product. It’s unique in manufacturing design. Because we rent new ones, that’s appealing to landfill operators.”

The company currently has two Cat 816K compactors, with an 826K arriving in May and an 836K coming later this year. Within the next 24 months, Littler hopes to have eight to 12 Cat compactors in his fleet — filling a gap in the U.K. landfill market for shorter-term rentals.

The two 816Ks are already hard at work for the same operation. After putting 1,900 hours on the one compactor in just 11 months with very little downtime, the landfill operator reached back out to Littler to rent the second unit.

“When a customer rents a second machine from you after having the first one for less than a year, that tells the story,” Littler says. “They’re obviously having a fabulous experience with this product.”

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“Phenomenal” fuel savings, Comfortable cabs

Fuel savings are a big part of that experience. The landfill operator reports that the 816Ks use significantly less fuel than the larger competitive machine they replaced on the job.

“After just two or three months, they told us the fuel savings were phenomenal,” Littler says. “I think it’s something like half the fuel costs, maybe more.”

The K Series compactors’ quiet, comfortable, state-of-the-art cabs are another differentiator.

“Landfills are not particularly nice places to work,” Littler says. “The machine needs to help ease the operator’s working day. These K Series compactors are very modern units. The operator environment, serviceability and ease of use set them apart.”

Unmatched resale value

As the owner of the equipment, residual value is important to Littler — and he believes nothing can compare to Cat K Series Landfill Compactors.

“Whenever you do financial calculations for the rental market, you have to look at residual value,” he says. “K Series compactors have a worldwide appeal. We can get back 50 to 60 percent of the original purchase price. You won’t get that with any other brand of landfill compactor.”