Caterpillar’s 434E contract with the Australian Defence Force

15-Feb-10

In early March 2009, the Defence Materiel Organisation (DMO) signed a contract with Caterpillar^® for the supply of 28 military specification 434E backhoe loaders to replace their previous fleet which had been in operation since 1984.  

The primary function of the new backhoe loaders is to carry out light construction and shallow excavation of broken rock, earth, asphalt and similar material for such tasks as construction, repair and maintenance of roads, airfields and hard standings.  

The replacement project under which the new backhoe loaders were supplied is one of a number of Army Minor Projects currently in the pipeline to update the Defence Force’s ageing fleet of vehicles as part of a vehicle fleet management strategy.  The aim of the strategy is to modernise vehicle management within the Army to produce a young, simple to manage, and cost effective fleet optimised for operations.  Maximum utility will be made from every new vehicle that is owned by the Army under the strategy through the use of multipurpose attachments to reduce the current fleet complexity.

The 434E backhoe loaders tendered by Caterpillar will provide the Australian Army with state-of-the-art machines with features including fully enclosed air conditioned cabs, all wheel drive and all wheel steer functions, multipurpose buckets with fold over forks, hydraulic side shift and hydraulic ride control.  

Planned for assembly in England, the 434Es will be transported to Hastings Deering’s head office in Archerfield where all modifications will be made.  The first machine was dispatched to DMO in Sydney in September for field testing at the School of Military Engineering.  The delivery of the remaining units and subsequent training is scheduled to commence in the first quarter of 2010.

The contract signing ceremony was held in the historical Colonial Room at Victoria Barracks in Melbourne where attendees included representatives from Caterpillar, Hastings Deering and DMO personnel involved in the project.  

Engineer Vehicles Project Director Lieutenant Colonel Peter Cleasby-Jones noted this was Caterpillar’s first significant contract of this type with Defence in over a decade and that he looked forward to building a good working relationship with Caterpillar and Hastings Deering on the project.

Hastings Deering has been a key supplier to the Australia Defence Force for twenty years and this tender win follows on from success with the Army rental tender in 2008.  Hastings Deering Engineering Services will manage the engineering modifications of the backhoe loader fleet and the Hastings Deering Institute of Training will be responsible for developing and implementing the Operator Training Package.

Given the current economic climate, this commitment and the potential for a growing relationship with the Australian Defence Force is a positive for Hastings Deering.