CUSTOMER:

Magnolia Marine

DEALER:

Fabick Cat

SEGMENT:

Inland Waterway

SOLUTION:

Overhaul

LOCATION:

Illinois

SCOPE OF ENGINE USE:

Cat^® 3500 Engines

Transportation: A Grueling Schedule

Since 1968, Magnolia Marine Transport has transported petroleum to key ports throughout the United States. It boasts a fleet of 27 towboats and 100+ barges. A significant number of Magnolia Marine Transport’s 3,000-horsepower vessels work out of the operator’s Wood River, Illinois, facility. At any given time, numerous vessels will operate with a three-barge tow navigating critical inland waterways.

Depending on customer needs, Magnolia Marine Transport’s fleet might navigate from St. Louis to New Orleans or Houston. Vessels have moved along the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway through Lake Charles and serviced the Ohio River with stops in Owensboro. The way the Magnolia Marine Transport team sees it, they are in the business of customer service. Dealer Fabick Cat enables them to provide this at the very highest level.

With locations in Missouri, Illinois and Wisconsin, Fabick Cat understands the demands boat owners operate under, and the dealer is equipped to support vessel operators with Cat^® marine engines, generators and auxiliary engines to enable them to optimize uptime. Their experienced field service technicians can often perform complex repairs on the spot, saving busy boat operators a trip to the shop. The dealer’s technicians are specially trained on all aspects of Cat engines, making them a valuable extension of a vessel operator’s team.

Fabick Cat has supported Magnolia Marine Transport since 1997 with exceptional customer service and technical expertise. Barney Huskey, Director of Marine Engineering, fondly recalled his first meeting with members of the Fabick Cat team. He commented, “We called them and they immediately showed up with parts. That never happens.”

Expanding Power and Possibilities

Today, 22 Magnolia Marine Transport vessels are powered by Cat engines. The vessel operator has repowered five boats with Cat 3500 engines to date, and any vessel they’ve constructed since 2006 is powered by Cat 3500 engines.

“The reliability of the Cat 3500 engines is really unmatched,” said Huskey. “They suit our needs, whether repowering an older boat or building a new one.”

Cat 3500 engines meet Magnolia Marine Transport’s need for power to move barges with a 30,000-barrel capacity. The power and efficiency the 3500 series provides helps Magnolia Marine Transport lower day-rate costs. The engines also offer fuel efficiency, long runtime and minimal downtime—key factors for Magnolia Marine Transport’s 24/7 operation.

Extending Miles

After an impressive runtime of nearly a decade, the mv Miles Madison required an overhaul. Built in 2013, the 3,000-horsepower vessel was powered by Tier 2 A3W 3512 engines. Whereas most overhauls take 10 to 12 days, the Fabick Cat team was able to accomplish the overhaul in just seven days—a significant accomplishment in the industry.

Magnolia Marine Transport has worked closely with Fabick Cat since the dealer arrived with several necessary parts the vessel operator urgently needed more than two decades ago. Since then, Magnolia Marine Transport has relied upon Fabick Cat for nearly all their support needs, including parts, overhauls and top-ends. To ensure ease of collaboration, the Magnolia Marine Transport team communicates with Fabick Cat’s staff every two to three days. For these reasons—plus sheer determination—the mv Miles Madison overhaul was performed faster than the industry standard turnaround time, enabling Magnolia Marine Transport to avoid nearly a week of unnecessary downtime and come away from the overhaul with a completely refurbished vessel.

Magnolia Marine Transport benefits from the optimized runtime Cat engines provide. Maximum time on the water is especially crucial for transporting high-demand cargo, like petroleum, over a far-reaching and bustling inland waterway system.

Huskey explained, “They shuttle parts to us several times a week, and every interaction ends with a handshake. Fabick Cat understands the 24/7 nature of the marine transport industry. It’s tight, it operates on relationships, and we truly appreciate our relationship with Fabick Cat.”