Working Together To Get the Right Equipment Underground

The U.S. Gypsum mine in Sperry, Iowa, is more than 620 feet underground and accessible only via shaft, which makes getting equipment in the mine a difficult challenge. When it was time for a new loader, U.S. Gypsum turned to local Cat® dealer Altorfer, a long-time partner of its surface operation.

Once the mine decided on a new Cat R1600H, Altorfer went to work figuring out the right way to disassemble the machine on the surface, send the hundreds of individual pieces down the shaft, and then re-assemble it underground. It took a partnership to ensure a successful project, with Altorfer engineers, Caterpillar engineers and mine personnel working in close collaboration throughout the process.

The mine has since purchased an additional R1600H and Altorfer has developed best practices that are being shared with other Cat dealers around the world.