What does it take to convince a technology-averse company to adopt new high-tech tools? A dramatic jump in productivity combined with improved jobsite safety did the trick for one of Cat® dealer Empire’s heavy construction customer.
According to Terry Dagen, commercial manager for Connected Worksite at Empire, this customer was looking to add two Cat 623H scrapers to its fleet—but wasn’t convinced that technology was necessary to boost productivity. The company needed the machines quickly, though, and Empire had two on its lot already equipped with Cat Grade Control.
The dealer team convinced the customer to give these high-tech scrapers a try, then spent more than 40 hours in the field integrating them into the existing fleet. Empire also provided training on how to use the Cat precision grading system, GPS units and sequence assist technology (a process in which a group of actions is divided into sequences and then commanded at the push of a button).
“This technology is not a supplement or add-on,” Dagen says. “It is truly the lifeblood of the machine.”
It didn’t take long for the customer to agree with Dagen’s assessment. Productivity increased by 25 to 30 percent, and jobsite safety improved as well, since the technology allowed operators to focus more on what was happening around them.
These immediate results convinced the customer to purchase or lease four additional machine systems—and also to recommend Cat Grade Control to three other Empire customers who subsequently bought systems of their own.
“The integrated technology of the scrapers opened the door for us to show them all the other technology that they weren’t previously interested in,” Dagen says.
