Designed from the ground up to deliver a versatile loading solution, the Cat 950 GC wheel loader is the first choice for fleet owners seeking premium performance at a competitive cost in the utility class.

The Cat^® 950 GC wheel loader is simple to operate, reliable and productive. This machine comes at a competitive price with all the advantages of its Caterpillar lineage, but without the ‘trimmings’

What does this mean? Caterpillar recognised a gap in the wheel loader market for a lower-priced option to suit customers needing a versatile, durable utility machine with good parts availability and low fuel consumption. The 950 GC was designed from scratch using proven Cat components and technology based on years of research into customer needs. Even the frame is new.

Barloworld Equipment sold the first Cat 950 GC in Southern Africa in August 2014 and its benefits are even more appealing for customers in the current economic climate characterised by variable work opportunities and soaring costs.

Applications

The 950 GC is built for applications such as plant hire, agriculture, construction and roadbuilding, materials handling, and light-duty mining. Barloworld Equipment customers in Southern Africa who have invested in this model include quarries and mines, storage yards, asphalt plants, government departments, construction contractors and plant hire companies, among others.

“We have several Cat 950 GC units in the Barloworld Equipment Rental fleet,” says Sivu Potelwa, product specialist: Global Construction and Infrastructure, Barloworld Equipment. “This is a perfect rental unit due to its competitive purchase price, low fuel consumption, simple operation
and reliability.”

She adds that Caterpillar prides itself on world-class reliability across all its products and nothing is omitted from any Cat machine that might compromise
this reputation.

Performance is another priority for buyers, as well as rental customers. Complex features that might not add value for price-sensitive customers or rental users are excluded, but the design and components in the Cat 950 GC are combined to provide levels of productivity that compete very favourably with other 5 t payload loaders on the market.

As the Cat dealer for Southern Africa, Barloworld Equipment also offers industry-beating value in terms of parts availability and technical support for the 950 GC.

950 GC vs 950L

The Cat 950 GC does not replace, but rather complements the popular Cat 950L midsize wheel loader, which has an exceptional reputation for reliability, durability and performance in heavy-duty applications.

“The 950L is designed for environments that require 24-hour machine availability in tough conditions,” says Potelwa. “These customers focus more on total life-cycle costs that impact their cost per tonne. The 950 GC is better suited to customers seeking a lower acquisition cost for a machine that may work shorter shifts and will be valued according to cost per hour.”

“The 950 GC is designed to be easy to operate, maintain and repair, without any compromise on performance. The machine is purpose designed to meet the needs of customers in the targeted segments using Cat legacy components that have been tried and tested for thousands of hours. The result is excellent value for money.”

Power train

The Cat C7.1 engine provides a net power rating of 151 kW and meets Stage IIIA (Tier 3) emissions standards. Its new fuel injection system is specifically designed for diesel available in emerging markets. The Engine Idle Management System (EIMS) minimises fuel consumption by reducing engine rpm after a specified period of
idle time.

An electronically controlled, hydraulically driven, variable-speed cooling fan adjusts to meet the varying cooling requirements of the machine. This results in a reduced average fan speed, lowering fuel consumption, noise levels and radiator plugging.

The 950 GC’s power-shift countershaft transmission is designed and built by Caterpillar with high contact ratio gears, which means there are always up to three teeth in contact. These heat-treated gears, complemented by heavy-duty bearings, make the transmission durable and fuel efficient, also reducing noise and vibration.

Hydraulically actuated wet disc brakes are incorporated in heavy-duty axles with inboard planetary final drives and specially heat-treated bevel gears.

Buckets

The shape of the Cat Performance Series buckets paired with the 950 GC has been optimised, with longer floors, curved side walls and wider openings. Even less-experienced operators can achieve 110% to 115% fill factors in minimum time, speeding up cycles and saving fuel. A unique spill guard protects the cab and linkage components from material overflow.

The buckets are attached via Caterpillar’s proven Z-bar loader linkage with fabricated tilt lever to provide aggressive digging capabilities, high breakout forces, and lift and reach for a wide range of loading applications.

The 5 t wheel loader size class provides best-in-class B-pin height (4 188 mm) and dump clearance, allowing easy loading of on-highway trucks.

The loader linkage is powered by a load-sensing hydraulic system that only produces flow and pressure for the implement system when required, improving machine productivity, conserving engine horsepower, saving fuel and reducing heat.

Operation and maintenance

The Cat 950 GC cab has a cloth-covered mechanical suspension seat, low-effort pilot-operated implement controls and plenty of room. The windshield is designed to maximise viewing of the work area and air conditioning is standard.

Routine servicing is simple and safe with ground-level access to numerous grouped maintenance and service points for the hydraulic and electrical service centres. Grease fittings for difficult-to-reach components are also conveniently grouped.

The Cat 950 GC comes standard with Cat Equipment Management Solutions (EMSolutions) connectivity. This gives machine owners the capability to track location, geofence machines and remotely monitor operating parameters such as hours, fuel consumption, idle time and event or fault codes. Shared with Barloworld Equipment, EMSolutions provides a powerful diagnostic and maintenance tool that guarantees maximum uptime.

“We are confident that, in the right application, customers will find the950 GC delivers very competitive performance across the spectrum of 5 t loaders, coupled with low fuel consumption and the long life for which Cat machines are renowned,” concludes Potelwa.

www.barloworld-equipment.com