More than two years ago, when Cat was in the design phase of its CT660 on-highway truck, the manufacturer contacted O&G Industries to see about sending a field engineer to work with O&G’s staff and drivers.
Today, O&G has one of six pilot trucks that are being put to work in the field for evaluation by the customers.
“We were contacted by Caterpillar two-and-a-half years ago when they were in the design phase of the CT660. They wanted to send a field engineer to come work with our people and ride along with our drivers so that their engineers could better design a truck that would meet the needs of the Caterpillar customers,” said James Zambero, vice president of O&G Industries.
“We own a very large fleet of trucks that includes 115 tri-axle dumps. We also have a fleet of concrete trucks and heavy hauling trucks for moving our construction equipment from job site to job site. We are also involved in equipment hauling for hire, so their engineers were able to see a wide variety of truck applications. The engineers took the information they gathered back to Caterpillar.”
Introduction to
the Public
The CT660 was displayed to the public at a customer event held at H.O. Penn Machinery Company’s Newington, Conn., facility Sept. 23. Contractors and vocational truck owners from across Connecticut were invited to the event and Zambero was in attendance to receive the keys to the new truck.
“The CT660 product is a fantastic complement to our current product lines,” said Alan Sanzenbacher, vice president of business development at H.O. Penn. “We have relationships with more than 60 percent of the vocational truck operators in our territory from servicing Cat on-highway engines and selling off-road equipment.”
Refuse trucks, construction trucks, concrete trucks, heavy hauling trucks and municipal trucks are all classified as vocational trucks.
The CT660 assigned to O&G is a dump truck with Caterpillar’s CX31 automatic transmission paired with Cat’s 475 hp (354 kW) CT13 engine.
The event also featured displays of H.O. Penn’s on-highway product support offerings such as remanufactured Allison transmissions; replacement seats, back-up alarm and camera systems and emissions solutions.
Positive Feedback
“I am very excited about a lot of what I can see in this truck,” Zambero said. “The cab layout is very good. Visibility has been dramatically improved; the controls are user friendly and are positioned very close to the driver; the truck is 1,500 pounds lighter than other dump trucks in our fleet. I believe that this will allow us to increase our payload by 1,500 pounds, which translates to us as more profit from that truck.
“In a lot of the strategic areas of the trucks, heavy steel has been replaced with lighter, very durable plastics, which is part of what has helped decrease the truck’s vehicle weight.”
O&G Industries will be using its Cat CT660 over the next year, during which time it will be sending information back to Caterpillar so that possible modifications or new features can be incorporated into future generations of the truck.
About the CT660
The CT660 is the first of three generations of vocational trucks that will be sold and serviced exclusively by Caterpillar dealers. It is a set-back axle truck and is available with an 11- or 13-liter optional engine. The second generation of trucks will be available in mid-year 2012 with a 15-liter engine option. The third generation of trucks will be introduced in early 2013 with a set-forward axle design.
These trucks are specifically designed for severe-duty applications such as dump trucks, cement mixers, waste carriers and heavy haulers. CEG
This story also appears on Truck and Trailer Guide.
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