Customer Hails Durability of 19 year-old Cat® 325L that Earns 30,000 Machine Hours

Like many Cat machine owners, Danish customer Poul Hansen is proud of his hydraulic excavator. But Poul is especially proud because his Cat 325L Medium Hydraulic Excavator (MHEX) has been serving him well for the past 19 years, and is still going strong. Built in Gosselies for the EAME market, the 325L A Series MHEX was manufactured in September 1992 and delivered to the customer in Denmark on May 10, 1993. The machine was first put to use in a motorway project, and has worked on many other projects since then.

On July 31, 2012, Poul Hansen celebrated 30,000 SMUs (Service Meter Unit - number of hours the machine has worked) on his Cat 325L. Poul made a short video of the 325L and posted it on Youtube. To mark the amazing milestone, Poul's wife even baked a cake to commemorate the occasion.

The long lifespan of the 325L MHEX is a testament to the durability and quality of Caterpillar's hydraulic excavators. Over its 19 years of service, the 325L has never undergone any major overhaul other than changing its radiator, crankshaft, operator's seat and a few hoses.

In addition to proper care and an extremely well-organized maintenance process, Poul attributes the 325L's durability to the high quality of the machine's design. Caterpillar builds durability into the design and assembly of every hydraulic excavator right from the drawing board stage to the final manufacturing process.