Aidan Harrison's 200 series Caterpillar fleet.

Whilst machine aesthetics, operator enhancements, and a host of emissions regulations have changed the way manufacturers build their equipment, essentially, under the skin, there’s still a steel frame carrying an engine, cooling pack, and hydraulic system that moves the attachment wherever the operator wants it.

Many of the excavators on sites nowadays have a certain ‘frontline’ shelf life with contractors before they find a second life and potentially a third before they are scrapped. The introduction of electronics and the like has exasperated this with many systems having a certain shelf life before repairs or replacements are required. Whilst many older operators hark back to ‘the good old days', ask them to spend a summer in a cab with no air conditioning, phone connectivity, or sound insulation and they soon want their newer machines back.

There are some contractors though who relish using the older machinery on their projects and we caught up with one of them near Dublin Airport where they use their fleet of Whilst machine aesthetics, operator enhancements, and a host of emissions regulations have changed the way manufacturers build their equipment, essentially, under the skin, there’s still a steel frame carrying an engine, cooling pack, and hydraulic system that moves the attachment wherever the operator wants it.

Aidan Harrison is the man who runs possibly the largest fleet of working 200 series excavators in Europe and has built up the fleet over the last decade to undertake construction works for his successful commercial development company Channor Group. It is Channor Group which in turn owns the huge Blanchardstown Corporate Park on the outskirts of Dublin adjacent to the international airport and unlike many property development companies, Aidan and his team undertake all of the construction works on the park ready to house prospective clients.

Both Aidan and his Site Manager Martin Meleady have a long history in the plant and civil engineering industry.??Aidan has always had a passion for the older Caterpillar products.??When both him and Martin put the first 200 series machine to work, the seed was sown for something that keeps growing as and when suitable machines can be sourced. Just over six years ago Aidan sourced a 215C from the south of France which Martin set about restoring. Following extensive work on the machine, Aidan put it to work on a project and found it to work extremely well and extremely reliably. The success of the 215C triggered Aidan to look at expanding the fleet of 200 series machines to undertake further developments on the park, in-house, and at a reduced cost as opposed to hiring contractors to tackle the work. “We regularly scour the world markets for suitable machines.” Martin comments: “We have found several examples of 200 series machines still in good working order around the globe but have then come across huge costs for importing them.” This hasn’t stopped Aidan from amassing a large fleet from a wheeled 211B excavator, right up to what was seen as the most productive mass excavator of its era, the 245BME.

From the arrival of the 215C, the fleet continued to grow with the addition of 219D, 225D, and 229D models. “We try and find machines with sub 10,000 hours on them if we can.” Martin says: “This will hopefully mean less mechanical and hydraulic work to carry out when it comes to preparing them for work.” A quite rare machine has also been sourced in the shape of a 231DLC and was the final 200 series machine produced by Caterpillar prior to the launch of the 300 series.

While the 215C was sourced in France; Germany and the Netherlands have been home to several of the machines, all of which have been sourced in various states of repair, but with reasonable power packs. “The 1980 235 and the 245 were found in Holland but had originally come from Swiss fleets supplied by Ammann and had been previously restored leaving us little in the way of preparation to get them ready for work.” Martin explains: “The only machine to come to the fleet with excessive hours was one of the 1991, 219D models with 28,000 hours on the clock. This machine was sourced in Italy and was cosmetically good, so we decided to take a punt on it which has paid off thankfully.”

The current project the team is working on at Blanchardstown is the excavation of two, ten-story office blocks complete with two-story car parking below the buildings. With the topsoil stripped, it was evident that the power of the 235 and 245 machines would be required to remove the rock below. When we visited, Martin was sitting in the 1984 245 with standard mono boom configuration and fitted with a ripper tooth. “We have a new Komatsu PC490 with Xcentric ripper to get some of the stubborn material out as with live office blocks and a road adjacent to the site, no blasting could be undertaken.” He says. Ripping the material out of the ground, the oldest machine in the fleet, a 1980 vintage 235 was stockpiling the stone ready for crushing. “We don’t use the whole fleet on a daily basis.” Martin explains: “We have them here and set up for different scenarios and work them as and when they are needed. One thing we do find is, that they start on the turn of the key, each time. Their reliability for older machines is brilliant.” With the Komatsu making good progress and Martin’s area ripped to a point where the 235 can carry on, he jumps in the 245BME, a relatively modern 1992 machine that came to the fleet with just 10,500 hours on the clock. With the hydraulics up to temperature, Martin proceeds to show off the impressive digging power of the 70t class excavator. Despite being 30 years old, the 245BME shows just what it is capable of. Digging the rock and casting it aside at a rate that many modern machines would struggle to keep up with, Martin soon clears away the material ripped by the Komatsu. “They are a little heavy on the levers, a little bit on the warm side, and a little bit noisy.” He continues: “But, they will dig and dig. The 245BME is also pretty good on fuel and returns about 40 litres per hour with no AdBlue, minimal electrics, and the ability to put a smile on your face too!”

Despite the age of the excavators, parts availability hasn’t been an issue on any of the machines. “We know of so many breakers and dealers that we can get our hands on pretty much any parts quickly.” Martin states: “We also have a great relationship with Christy Hughes in the store's department at Finning in Dublin. He’s been very proactive in sourcing parts for us and has been an invaluable part of the team in putting the fleet together.”

So, what’s next on the list to bring into the fleet? “We are on the lookout for a 245DME.” Martin says: “We have seen a few examples, but they haven’t been in the best of condition. We are still hoping one can be sourced before they all disappear.”