Drilling Into The Advantages Of Cat^® Reman Engines

A Century of Rock-Solid Drilling Support

In architecture, a “keystone” is what holds the other pieces in place — the central supporting element. For customers in the drilling industry, Keystone Drill Services certainly lives up to the name.

From three locations in Pennsylvania and Ohio, Keystone has supported drilling operations around the world for more than 100 years, across industries as diverse as construction, mining and aggregates, oil and gas, water well drilling and more.

In addition to serving as an authorized distributor for some of the world’s top drilling brands, the company manufactures its own custom-engineered products and provides parts, repairs, rebuilds and rentals for a wide range of makes and models.

In the early 2000s, Keystone expanded its already broad lineup of services by adding rebuilds, refurbishments and booster packages for Cat-powered air compressors made by brands like Atlas Copco, Doosan, Gardner Denver and Sullair. They also support Cat-powered drill products manufactured by Beretta Alfredo and Epiroc with additional services provided for Allu equipment.

A Convenient Transition From New to Like New

Air compressors and boosters used in drilling operations typically reach the end of their first life between 10,000 and 14,000 hours of operation. When they’re ready for a rebuild, their engines often need replacing, too.

For Keystone, it just made sense to use Cat Reman products. After all, Cat Reman engines are designed to meet Caterpillar performance specifications and remanufactured to perform like new. Since they’re available for a fraction of the cost of new when customers return used core (i.e., an end-of-life engine or component) to their dealer, the benefits are clear.

That’s why the company trusts in its local Cat dealer, Cleveland Brothers, to supply Cat Reman engines for its rebuild projects. As a result of their relationship, Keystone is now an OEM distributor at their Somerset, Pennsylvania location, authorized by Caterpillar for service and warranty on Cat Industrial Engines. Keystone Founder and President Tom Walker says, “We have purchased somewhere around 175 Cat Reman C15 engines,” which neatly sums up the value of Cat Reman to Keystone and their customers.

Cost-effective, Drop-in Solutions

Quality and performance aren’t the only reasons Keystone continues to rely on Cat Reman engines. Over the past 20 years, the company has discovered many other advantages, like cost-efficiency and time savings.

According to Walker, Cat Reman engines are competitively priced when compared to other options. And their customers have caught on. Carl Foust, Keystone’s chief engineer, explains that customers will “specify to use Cat Reman parts to keep the costs down.” And they often want more than engines, requesting additional Cat Reman products — like starters, alternators and turbochargers — to help keep rebuild costs down.

From a timing perspective, Keystone typically receives Cat Reman engines from Cleveland Bros. within a week or two of ordering, making it easy to keep projects on schedule. Each engine is delivered as a drop-in ready solution, which helps reduce the amount of preparation and assembly time required.

Walker says. “We take the old engine out, plug the Cat Reman engine in and away we go. It saves us overall labor on the whole project.”

Those are savings Keystone can pass along to its customers.

Worldwide Technical and Customer Support at Your Service

Beyond delivery, Keystone’s technicians have a strong level of confidence in Cat parts, which allow them to better support their customers. “Being able to have that familiarity with the Cat engine, we’re able to basically take care of 80-90% of the issues in the field.”

When they need additional expertise, service and support, they trust in the Cat dealer network. That starts locally with Cleveland Bros., which Keystone relies on not only to supply Cat Reman products but to provide technical assistance.

“Their technical team is excellent,” says Foust, “I can call after hours, and they’re willing to answer questions and forward the technical manuals and data we need.”

The support available for Keystone customers around the world is just as important. The company rents and sells rebuilt compressors in Africa, the Americas, Asia, Australia and Europe — taking comfort in the fact that there are Cat dealers nearby to handle any issues. “The fact that there are Cat dealers all over the U.S. and worldwide, that is extremely important to us,” Walker says.

“We have people in Pennsylvania who rent compressors and take them to California. Having a good engine with good availability and excellent support just makes sense.”

The same-as-new, 12-month Caterpillar Limited Warranty* on Cat Reman products also helps provide peace of mind.

Case in point: Keystone recently exported a product to Finland. When it was delivered to the customer, the turbocharger wasn’t working. The Keystone team immediately called the closest Cat dealer, drove to the nearest branch store, exchanged the damaged part for a Cat Reman turbo under warranty and had the product back up and running in less than 24 hours.

Foust explains: “I didn’t think we could ever find a replacement turbo for a brand-new Tier 4 Final/EU Stage V engine in Finland, but the local Cat dealer pulled through for us. It was an amazing dealer. I was really amazed by the size and how they helped us.”

Curious to discover how Cat Reman engines and other components could support your business success? Visit the Cat Reman hub for more insight on the remanufacturing process, sustainability benefits and more.

^{*Warranty can vary by model and application; limitations apply. For complete details about the applicable Caterpillar Limited Warranty, contact an authorized Cat dealer.}