Long standing South Yorkshire based aggregate quarry, CATPLANT invest in two new Terex Finlay 696 inclined screeners from the crushing and screening equipment experts, Molson Finlay to increase production capacity in their Doncaster facility.

Initially established over 40 years ago as a Plant Hire and Demolition company, CATPLANT has come a long way from their humble beginnings, including now taking delivery of the first Terex Finlay 696 2 deck and 696 3 deck screeners in the UK.

Now operating from a 135-acre quarry near the quaint village of Hampole (near Doncaster), they produce a wide range of aggregates from the Magnesium Limestone material. In addition, almost 60% of the quarry footprint is also taking non-hazardous material as landfill, leaving them as possibly the only landfill site left in South Yorkshire.

Since their formation by Sid Boulton, who sadly passed away in 2017, son-in-law Ronnie has always been leading the business, playing a key role in securing their current quarry in 1994, as well as obtaining the relevant permissions to adapt its purpose to include landfill in 2007.

Ronnie reminisces, “Sid is nothing short of an industry and local legend in these parts. His legacy is clear for all to see here at CATPLANT, from the way we do business to the way we treat our machinery.

“Things are different these days, but one vivid memory I have is the time he was negotiating with a salesman over the price of a new machine and it had come to the final few quid on the price. Sid pulled a coin out of his pocket and offered to “flip him for it” – it turns out that in the end Sid won and the salesman had some explaining to do when he got back to the office… but the point is that he was a man of his word. If he had lost that bet, he would have had no hesitation in paying out”.

These values are also clear in the way they deal with their suppliers of machinery. Ronnie and his team at CATPLANT have been long standing and loyal customers to Terex Finlay products for many years, in the same way as they have to other manufacturers. They have also been at the forfront of new product releases, being the first to take take delivery of the Terex Finlay 693 and 694 Supertrack models upon their release.

Ronnie commented, “We don’t rush into things when we are selecting a supplier, but once we have made our choice, we commit to working with our suppliers in a partnership style approach.

“I wasn’t sure what to think when I heard that Molson were purchasing Finlay Group back in 2018, but I have to say that they have really stepped it up a level. Both in terms of after sales support, with more parts in stock and even more engineers on the road, but they have also been upfront and honest at every step along the way, whilst delivering on all the promises made. Sometimes that’s a hard thing to do when the news isn’t what you want to hear, but it allows us to adapt and keep our production going”.

The most recent investment in their crushing and screening equipment is a pair of Terex Finlay 696 inclined screeners. The 696 was only unveiled to the UK market in September 2019 at the Finlay Open Day held by Molson Finlay, in conjunction with Terex Finlay at Breedon Northern’s Raisby Quarry in Durham.

The 696 is the largest mobile inclined screener currently in production at their state-of-the-art production facility in Omagh, Northern Ireland. With standard diesel engine and hybrid powered variants available in both 2 and 3 deck options, the 696 is based on the tried and tested 694+ model, making it a perfect match for quarrying, mining, sand and gravel, coal, woodchip and topsoil applications. 

The developments have been focused increasing the screening area to boost production throughout, with the 696-screen box measuring an impressive 6.1m x 1.7m (20’ x 5’ 7”), vs. 6.1m x 1.525m (20’ x 5’) on the 694+. This increase gives the 696 3D a total screening area of 31.1m² (335ft²), which can be adjusted to an angle between 18°and 32°.

Fed by a large 8m³ (10.5yd³) large hopper/feeder, fitted with a variable speed belt feeder to ensure consistent flow of material and can be fitted with remote tipping grid or double deck vibrating grid, with the ability to be in-line fed (or also loaded by an excavator or wheel loader).

On the 3-deck model, the fourth product oversize plus conveyor has hydraulic variable tilt and slew discharge for re-circulating to secondary crusher or stockpiling of finished material. 

With the standard diesel engine option powered by Caterpillar C4.4 (131hp) that meets with Stage V on European Emissions Regulations, the 696 3-deck weighs in at 40,050Kg and measures 19.7m long x 3m wide when folded into transport mode. When folded out into working mode, the 696 stands a 21m long x 18.5m wide, giving it a great presence, even in the largest quarry.

CATPLANT Quarry Manager, Bryn Anderson has the pair of 696’s set-up in a train with the 696 3-deck being in-line fed by a Terex Finlay J-1170 jaw crusher. The 696 3-deck creates three clean, sized products (75mm clean/40mm clean/20mm clean) with the fine’s feedings directly into the 696 2-deck screener. This then creates two additional clean sized aggregates on the fine’s conveyor.

Like all new Terex Finlay machines, these 696’s have come with a free 7-year subscription to the Terex T-Link telematics system. This technology can provide operators and managers with critical information to enable them to better manage their fleet.

Bryn added, “I use the T-Link system on a daily basis, but I also get great value from the weekly summary email that I receive first thing every Monday. From systems (the clear dashboard) I can quickly identify any potential issues and the system also allows me to dig into everything to investigate. We have also been able to Geofence the quarry to ensure that if anything were taken without our permission, it would not be able to start anywhere else.

“With the cost of fuel being such a key part of our cost per tonne, we also use T-Link to monitor each machines performance as well as staff behaviour, by digging into each machine idle time. These insights can help us make a big difference to how efficient our operation is.”

Molson Finlay Sales Manager, Brian Bell said, “Ronnie and Bryn are fantastic to deal with. They let you know exactly where you stand at every step of the way and have always been true to their word.

“I know these 696’s will be a great addition to their fleet and I am looking forward to seeing how much they improve their production over the coming years”.