PAH Pump package includes Cat C15® ACERT™ and Cat TH35 Transmission

Customer: Gardner Denver

Location: Quincy, Illinois

Customer Business Issue: Custom packages include Cat engine and transmission

Solution: Cat C13 ACERT, Cat C15 ACERT, Cat TH35 Transmission,
Cat 3512, Cat 3516, Cat C4.4 ACERT, Cat C6.6 ACERT, Cat C9 ACERT

Cat Dealer: Altorfer

Drilling for oil and natural gas on land requires a wide range of power applications. Caterpillar® covers the field with engines and custom packages specific to any drilling application.

Gardner Denver — a recognized leader in the drilling field, providing compressed air and gas, vacuum and fluid transfer technologies to industries throughout the world — has been powering its pumps for production, natural gas and oil drilling with Cat® engines for years. The company recently added Cat transmissions and Cat custom packages to its product offering.

“With more than 150 years of manufacturing experience, as a company we feel we have earned the trust of our customers,” says Phil Shults, manager of customer service for Gardner Denver’s pump division. “We strive to partner with other manufacturers with similar relationships and reputations with their customers.”

“Gardner Denver customers (typically drilling contractors) want a reliable, quality product with a name they can trust. They recognize and trust the Cat name, which is one of the reasons we have been using Cat engines and products since I started more than 35 years ago.

Custom packages include Cat engine and transmission

Gardner Denver’s most recent project is a custom packaging solution utilizing a Cat C15 ACERT and a Cat TH35 Transmission.

Rated at 440 hp at 1,800 rpm, the Cat C15 ACERT with Cat TH35 Transmission is connected to a Gardner Denver PAH pump through a v-belt, chain drive or gearbox, depending on customer specification.

“Before Cat custom packages existed, we purchased engines from one manufacturer and transmissions from another manufacturer. We had to adapt all the components to each other and assemble it all ourselves,” recalls Shults. “It was a process that never went smoothly.”

Now Gardner Denver purchases custom packages through Cat dealer, Altorfer Power Systems.

“When a Cat custom package is delivered to us now, it’s complete with engine, transmission, controls and muffler system, and its factory tested with all settings specific to the application — we just bolt it to our main skid and tie it into our drive system,” says Shults.

Cat custom packages have saved Gardner Denver both time and money.

“Time is a big issue. Purchasing a complete package — customized exactly the way our customer specifies it — has cut our assembly time in half,” says Shults. “And although we haven’t completed a specific cost analysis yet, we certainly haven’t seen any cost penalties from using a Cat custom package.”

According to Shults, the marriage of a Cat engine and Cat transmission in a custom configuration has brought additional benefits as well:

• Fuel savings and low emissions. “Based on the data provided to us by Altorfer, we believe the fuel saved over the life of this unit will be a significant benefit.”
• Increased life of and capabilities of engine. “Because of the marriage of the Cat transmission and Cat engine, we are able to configure variations in speeds for our pump to suit numerous drilling applications.”
• Simple start and no downtime. “One of our customers that purchased a custom Cat pump package traveled to our facility recently from Indonesia. Cat factory reps and our Altorfer rep Mike Neisler, conducted a training session for them. They were impressed with how easy the unit started and ran — so impressed that any concerns they had with ease of operation were eliminated.”

Dealer-support is a huge plus

“To meet the requirements of our customers, because each of their applications are different, we need access to various power configurations like the offerings from Caterpillar,” says Shults. “This is a large part of what drives what we purchase from Caterpillar. They have complete custom packages that meet our customers’ requirements and its all backed up by the worldwide dealer network,” he adds.

“We are definitely sold on Cat custom packages, especially those with Cat engines and Cat transmissions. We were elated when Caterpillar introduced these transmission offerings.

To date Gardner Denver has placed numerous pump packages with Cat custom power packages in the field.

“We’ve not had any concerns to speak of. We know that if issues do arise, the Cat dealer network is ready to help. The service from our dealer alone is unbelievable. They understand our business and are here if we have an issue or a question. We look forward to working with Altorfer and Caterpillar in the future,” Shults concludes.