At Independence Construction Materials (ICM) Asphalt & Stone, Devault, Pa., their customers depend on them to provide the materials they need, when they need them. This is why everyone at ICM knows the importance of the quality, reliability and service life of their quarry equipment. To ensure their equipment is up and running ICM relies on teamwork, operational prowess and good maintenance to give the customers the desired result.

The exemplary combination of those three ICM business standards went into the history of a Cat 992C wheel loader that was the centerpiece of a ceremony at ICM on Sept. 18.

ICM, a business unit of American Infrastructure, headquartered in Worcester, Pa., purchased the 1983 Cat 992C as a dealer rebuild with 30,000 frame hours on it, in August of 1995. Since making the purchase, the company has put more than 40,000 additional hours on the 992C, giving her a total of 70,000 frame hours, an astonishing number of working hours for a piece of iron.

Kevin Fritzinger, equipment manager, ICM, credited Jim Thompson, the operator of the 992C and Pete Rega, the mechanic in charge of its upkeep, for their “due diligence in maintaining the machine.” And it’s about the cooperation that comes from great relationships, starting with the dealer and continuing through to each person who has anything to do with a piece of equipment.

That meant that quite a lot of people gathered at the celebration, including employees of Ransome CAT, the local Cat dealer and the entire ICM Devault quarry team, a tight-knit group that looks on itself as a family. Ross Myers, CEO of American Infrastructure, conducted the ceremony, which honored the old and introduced something new.

Ross Myers was joined by Wayne Bromley, president, Ransome CAT to present Thompson and Rega with scale models of the 992C in appreciation of the meticulous work they had done keeping the real thing up and running. In addition, Bromley and Myers were pleased to recognize the great relationship between the two companies, which was further cemented by Myers’s recent purchase of a new 990H wheel loader from Ransome.

The decision to purchase the 990H had been made in large part because of the impressive performance not only of the 992C, but also of the Ransome and ICM employees who have worked together on past purchases.

The 990H had approximately 20 hours on it the day of the ceremony, barely noticeable on the time clock compared with its predecessor but sure to log in hours at an equally impressive rate. Fritzinger commented that they were “just getting started with the machine. It came in on five tractor-trailers and was assembled by a team of Ransome CAT field service technicians led by Bob Ogden, Ransome CAT, technical field specialist, so it has only been in operation a short time.”

The venerable 992C is not yet ready to be put out to pasture and will be moved to a lighter application until the right time comes for it to be retired. CEG

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