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Celebrating decades of delivering Cat® machinery for WEM Civil
In 1958, Western Earthmoving rolled onto construction and earthworks sites across Western Sydney for the first time, armed with only a handful of machines.
Nearly 70 years and a name-change later, WEM Civil has transformed into a much larger civil contracting enterprise, supporting projects across New South Wales from residential and industrial developments to sporting fields and community recreation areas.
The family owned and operated business has a growing fleet of more than 200 machines – most wearing the Cat brand.
“During the 60s and 70s, Sydney went through a very big expansion of property development and the business grew with the market and the need was for our fleet to expand,” WEM Civil Chief Executive Officer Michael Ragg explains.
“We’ve been well supported by the Cat dealer throughout that time, whether that be through parts, new machinery, field service, used machinery, expertise.
“There’s been great support throughout our near seven-decade history.”
Caterpillar has been integral to WEM Civil’s operations, from the very first Cat D7 Dozer acquired in the 1970s to the more than 90 Cat machines in its fleet today.
“We appreciate all the support that we get throughout our many decades-long history together,” Michael says.
“It’s great to see support and passion from the dealer side in being able to provide us the products we need to facilitate the projects we’re involved with.”
WEM’s Cat Fleet in Action
For the past two decades, WesTrac has partnered with WEM Civil to deliver, maintain and service Cat machines, while also working with the business to meet its future needs – ahead of time.
“We try and take a proactive approach in identifying items in our fleet for turnover in a systematic way so we’re not leaving it too late,” Michael says.
“That allows us to be well planned and being able to talk with WesTrac so they can plan and place orders from factory…well in advance.”
WesTrac Heavy Construction Sales Representative Roberto Manna says the joint forward planning helps both businesses align to the common goal of achieving maximum productivity and efficiency on site.
“We have developed the relationship quite well that we are now in a position where we are forecasting their equipment needs at times up to 6 to 12 months out,” Roberto explains.
“We’ve got into a routine, which certainly helps them planning forward and helps us make sure we can get the equipment on time for when they need it for their projects.”
WEM Civil has recently received a range of new Cat machines, and WesTrac’s forward-looking strategy ensures there are plenty more on the way, as the company grows to meet demand.
“Just this financial year, we’ve ordered and taken delivery of six Cat 745 Articulated Trucks, two Cat 352 Excavators, two Cat 963 Track Loaders and two Cat 336 Excavators,” Michael lists.
“We’ve placed orders for some more dump trucks, track loaders and some more excavators, on top of that going into next year.”
Latest technology is the key
Importantly for WEM Civil, the pipeline of machines guarantees operators have the latest Cat technology including integrated GPS systems and fleet monitoring through VisionLink®.
“GPS technology is definitely one that’s come ahead in leaps and bounds over the 25-plus years that WEM has been using the technology,” Michael says.
“The level of accuracy our operators can work to and the autonomy that can be provided … has added huge efficiencies for our organisation.
WEM’s Cat 140M Motor Grader
“We introduced VisionLink about a year ago and have been rolling that out across all our Cat equipment over the past year.”
“VisionLink enables us to not only geolocate where the machinery is, but also understand fuel burn data, understand diagnostics, repairs, services that need to be done.”
“The data coming from our machines gets funnelled into our company-wide database. When we use this data, in conjunction with other data streams across our business, we can make informed decisions faster than ever before.”
Field service proves vital
WesTrac’s field service technicians have also been vital for keeping WEM Civil’s machines running efficiently and reducing downtime across operations.
“WesTrac takes care of complex diagnostic repairs that are needed across our fleet,” Michael explains.
“Their technicians assist with great expertise to help solve problems or act as our additional backup. This is critical when our field service team is busy and additional repairs come up. We can call on WesTrac at any time to come help us.”
Fluid sampling gives valuable insights
WEM Civil has also benefited from WesTrac’s state-of-the-art fluid analysis process, which tests performance of fluid samples at WesTrac’s dedicated in-house Scheduled Oil Sampling (S•O•S) laboratory in Tomago.
“We’re frequently getting oil samples checked by WesTrac as a way to be doing preventative maintenance on our machinery,” Michael says.
“Fluid sampling is a great service and gives us insight to correct anything that could be going wrong before it actually goes wrong.”
Sustainability is a focus
As the construction industry evolves to focus on sustainability, so does WEM Civil, and the advanced technology and sustainable design of Cat machines play a major role in helping the business build better.
“We’re seeing the market is moving this way more and more, [and] we need to be looking for more sustainable ways to be doing business, whether that be more fuel efficient, less carbon impacted, greater community involvement, better governance,” Michael explains.
“Caterpillar is definitely at the front end of research into the tech that’s going to help make a difference.”
“We’re being challenged by our clients as well to be looking at smarter and better ways to do things.”
“So, we’ll definitely be leaning on Caterpillar and WesTrac to help support our needs, to help our clients who will build the communities of tomorrow.”
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