From mega haul trucks as tall as four-story buildings to hydraulic shovels that can effortlessly scoop up tons of rocks and dirt at a time—mining equipment is some of the mightiest machinery in the world.
Heavy equipment is used to mine precious metals, materials for power generation and other important minerals needed for a wide range of everyday purposes like construction and making consumer goods including advanced electronics and electric car batteries, just to name a few.
Heavy Metal Equipment & Rentals (HME), a Camrose, Alberta-based company, is helping to fill a niche in the mining equipment world—providing machine rental options that haven’t traditionally existed in the sector.
“We find that there are many situations where the equipment’s useful lifespan is much longer than the current needs on a project, and companies don’t want to buy equipment and invest in the infrastructure to manage, support, maintain, and dispose of it, if they don’t need to”, says Jesse van der Werf, president & CEO for HME.
Finning has been an instrumental partner in HME’s growth journey, which has seen them quickly become one of the largest mining heavy equipment rental providers in North America.
“Together, HME, Caterpillar and Finning have created a true partnership, delivering a unique offering for our customers, especially for those that prefer to rent their mining fleet. It is an all-around win for everyone involved, especially our customers,” says Cheryl Gray, Finning’s vice president, mining.
Given the sheer size and cost of mining equipment, rental has not historically been widely practiced in the sector. Now, thanks to HME, miners and contractors can add to their fleet without buying, if the economic benefits are there for utilization but not acquisition.
HME’s 1,000-plus-piece fleet is mostly comprised of Finning-supplied Caterpillar equipment from Cat 797 haul trucks to excavators, dozers, graders and everything in between—anything a mine operator or contractor might need. By the end of 2022 HME will have 58, 797 size haul trucks, with more to come in 2023. In November 2022, HME signed a three-year parts, component and labour supply agreement with Finning to support its fleet of Caterpillar equipment.
“HME has been strategic in developing the rental market, with Finning and Caterpillar being instrumental partners. It has been a valued partnership for over 20 years now and we look forward to working together for many years to come,” says van der Werf.
HME’s largest market is the Alberta oilsands, but it also operates across Canada and has more recently expanded into the United States. They have also expanded their scope to service different industry sectors including many mining applications and large infrastructure construction—a list that continues to grow.
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