News & Highlights

M-Series Motor Graders Converge on Madison County

A fleet of fourteen Caterpillar® M-Series Motor Graders were recently delivered to Madison County.

When asked why the purchase of fourteen M-Series CAT® Motorgraders makes good business sense for Madison County, Judge Wes Fowler is quick with his reply. “It’s simple,” says Judge Fowler, “the deal must meet four requirements: 1) Price. 2) Quality 3) Service and 4) Buy Back. When I knew that Riggs CAT and Caterpillar would meet the criteria, the rest was easy.”

Judge Fowler, a 22-year veteran of public office, is no stranger to fleet acquisition and Life Cycle Costing – in fact, this is his third time to go through this process for Madison County. He does his homework, compiles the research and makes the best deal possible for the county. The deal was put together based on the basic principles of Life Cycle Costing (LCC) - acquisition cost, repurchase value and maintenance repair cost. The judge looked carefully at the overall cost for the length of the lease, not simply the cost of acquisition.

Price
Knowing the monthly cost of equipment lease/ownership is the top priority when considering such a purchase. Judge Fowler quickly learned that Riggs Cat and Caterpillar Financial were willing to do what was needed to make this purchase a reality. Joining in a spirit of cooperation, Riggs Sales Rep Steve Smith worked with the Cat Finance team to construct a deal that worked for all involved. “Knowing the total cost up front, with no unplanned expenses, is very important to a county such as Madison. The cost per hour of owning and operating these machines was a top priority for the Judge and we worked closely with Cat Finance to make sure we could satisfy those requirements,” says Steve. “It truly is a business partnership – not just a business deal.”

Quality
Judge Fowler has high praise for Cat Quality. “They’re simply one of the best.” However, guaranteed delivery of the fourteen M-Series Motorgraders by early December was no small feat and could not have been accomplished without the cooperation and commitment of Caterpillar to this project. Fortunately, all things went as planned and on a bright cold day in early December you might say that the grader operators of Madison County received an early Christmas present as the machines were delivered - as promised, as scheduled.

Judge Fowler goes on to say that an overwhelming majority of his operators would now hate to go back to the previous type of controls. Even senior operators praise the ease of operation of the new graders and have learned to operate the joystick controls in relatively short order. The ergonomically friendly cockpit and the new controls result in less arm and body strain by the end of the day – in fact, 78% less body function is needed to operate the machine.

Service
Predetermined operating costs are important when running any business – including the business of county government. A full machine, extended warranty, through Caterpillar, covers all of the machines. Madison County will not need to be concerned with unexpected service issues or lengthy downtime during the lease agreement and the Riggs Cat Service team will handle all factory recommended service as well as any unexpected service issues - if and when they arise.

Buy Back
A key component to Life Cycle Costing is the Buy Back. The guaranteed Buy Back allows this northwest Arkansas county the privilege of full ownership yet also protects them from future market fluctuations. Madison County, at the end of their lease, will have three choices concerning their fleet of graders:
1) Buy and keep
2) Buy and sell
3) Return the graders to Riggs Cat at a guaranteed price.

The acquisition of the M-series Motorgraders for Madison County truly became a team effort from the time the initial order was placed, to the production and final inspection and delivery of the machines. The completion of this project was the successful end result of one judge doing his homework, communicating his requirements and trusting the ‘best of the best’ to deliver the goods. Riggs Cat did just that.