Collaboration to assist in scaling autonomous solutions
Caterpillar has announced a collaboration with Luck Stone, the USA’s largest family owned and operated producer of crushed stone, sand and gravel, to deploy its autonomous solution to Luck Stone’s Bull Run Plant in Chantilly, Virginia. This will be Cat’s first autonomous deployment in the aggregates industry and will expand the company’s autonomous truck fleet to include the 100-ton-class (90-tonne-class) Cat 777.
Looking to accelerate autonomous solutions beyond mining, Cat will implement its existing MineStar Command for Hauling system at the Bull Run quarry, on a fleet of 777G trucks. This will allow the company to gain greater insights on quarry operations to tailor the next generation of autonomous solutions specific to quarry and aggregate applications. This project supports the acceleration of autonomous technology for operations with fewer mobile assets to allow a step change in safety and productivity, as currently experienced at large mining operations.
Luck Stone and Caterpillar’s partnership
“Luck Stone and Caterpillar’s partnership has been grounded in shared values for many years,” said Charlie Luck, president and CEO of Luck Companies. “Together we believe that safety, innovation and a commitment to people are critical, not only to propelling important projects like this, but also to ensuring our focus on the future and all of the exciting possibilities technology affords our industry. Our collaboration will provide opportunities for associates to learn and grow, improve safety and result in production efficiencies. We are thrilled to partner with Caterpillar to achieve this ‘first’ for our industry.”
“Caterpillar has a long-standing relationship with Luck Stone, and we look forward to working together to bring the demonstrated benefits of increased safety and productivity to the quarry industry. We’re excited to get in the dirt and work alongside Luck Stone’s innovative team, so we can learn how to scale our already proven mining solution for another industry,” said Denise Johnson, Caterpillar group president of Resource Industries.
Autonomy solutions rollout in 2024
The current autonomy solutions will be implemented in 2024. This project builds on Cat’s history in autonomy and automation: the firm is recognised as a leader, with the largest fleet of autonomous haul trucks, now numbering more than 560 trucks. These trucks have travelled more than 187 million kilometres and autonomously moved more than 5.1 billion tonnes – most notably, all without a single lost-time injury.
