A case study “Purpose-Built Pipeline Machinery” with insights on dozers and tail winches utilized in the oil and gas industry was published August 2023 in Word Pipelines magazine. The article highlights the integral nature of logistical coordination and engineered performance for the best results from equipment factory to field and presents a global perspective through the lens of Pipeline Machinery, Caterpillar and PACCAR Winch.
One company exemplifying the integration of advanced equipment solutions is Pipeline Machinery International (PLM), a Cat® equipment dealer that transcends geographical boundaries to cater exclusively to the pipeline industry, exemplifying the integration of performance-component, factory-engineered solutions.
PLM, established in 2005, serves equipment needs for pipeline industry associated projects across nearly 200 countries, demonstrating a global commitment to yellow iron excellence and innovation.
From helping transport and stage heavy equipment and materials, to installations and site restorations, clean up, and much more—such tasks are in many cases tied to both tough and demanding pipeline construction sites or working conditions, calling for heavy duty equipment and ultra reliable components.
Part of the Cat Dealer Network, PLM is dedicated exclusively to the pipeline industry. Their support extends to projects worldwide, making available a wide range of purpose-built machines and ancillary services to get and keep the exact equipment operators want and need on-site and running.
The pipeline industry is faced with myriad challenges, including logistical hurdles that extend from being able to readily procure the right engineered machinery to ensuring that equipment can perform as it was designed and intended.
Not being able to get the right equipment on site when you need it, or dealing with unreliable performance or less-than-efficient productivity outputs after it arrives, costs time and money. This can significantly impact project timelines and budgets, slow project velocity and throughput, and diminish ROI value.
To address these challenges, PLM invests in equipment and collaborations that are known to work and are backed with the appropriate level of custom, global reaching support. PLM’s offer for sale and for lease is purpose-built machines from pipelayers and sidebooms, excavators and dozers, as well as custom pipeline machinery solutions, safety training, fleet management, product assistance, and more.
A PACCAR Winch brand, CARCO is recognized for its exacting standards and compatibility with Cat dozers, emphasizing ease of use, line pull and winching safety and efficiency.
The right dozer and winch combo allows for stable speed control of loads, especially on challenging terrains, demonstrating an unparalleled level of control and safety.
CARCO‘s work in the pipeline arenas can be characterized by their distinctive and tailored configurations and optimizations of Cat factory-installed tail winches, with the PA85, PA110 or PA140 factory-coupled with Cat crawler dozers given as prime examples.
With the pipeline construction market expected to see significant investment, PLM’s commitment to innovation and customer support positions it as a key player in facilitating successful projects.
Mike Dearing, PLM: “There are a lot of machines moving…. They tend to be highly nomadic, going from state to state, across the world, for that matter. At the end of the day, winch performance comes down to safety, smoothness and dependability…. You can have (CARCO winches) sit for extreme periods of time and start right back up without a hiccup. That’s a great benefit of working with PACCAR Winch.”
Eric Predeek, PACCAR Winch: “PACCAR is on the ground when things are booming, and we are out on the ROW with end users and operators for site visits, and safety and training events. The PA85 for the D6 and PA110 for the D7 are big movers right now. We have boots on ground on pipeline ROWs.”
A high-quality engineering approach and holistic outlook on providing dedicated customer service is crucial in an industry characterized by cyclical work patterns and, in some cases, the need for machinery that can endure periods of dormancy without compromising performance.
The global pipeline construction industry is looking forward to an expansive phase, as projections had indicated installation of tens of thousands of miles of new pipeline by 2028. In the post-Covid economy, constructive interaction between OEMs, equipment dealers, customers—and value-add sales, rental and service relationships—is becoming increasingly more vital than ever.
Having reliable partners, you can count on isn’t just about addressing the immediate needs of the industry; it’s about setting the stage for a future where pipeline projects and the entire sector can proceed with an unprecedented level of dozer and tail winch heavy equipment and machinery performance, safety, and logistics cost-efficiency.
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