Multiple Lives Start At The Foley Engine Rebuild Center
Foley Rebuild Center Delivers on Its Promises – and Delivers Big ROI for Cat Oil and Gas Engine Customers.
It’s an investment that pays for itself again and again and again.
“I’ve seen engines in the field that are older than I am, and I’m not that young,” says Jon Robinson, Vice President of Parts and Engine Rebuild at Foley Equipment. “Some of them have probably been rebuilt eight or 10 times. Just think of the revenue they’ve been able to generate over that time.”Rebuilt better than new
Keeping engines running and money flowing for oil and gas companies and other operations is one of Robinson’s top priorities. He’s responsible for the 127,000-square-foot Foley Engine Rebuild Center in Park City, Kansas.
Opened in 2008, the state-of-the-art facility was the first in the U.S. dedicated to Cat engine rebuilds that was able to accommodate Cat’s 3600 series. Today, it serves customers across the nation from all industries, with a majority coming from oil and gas. The central location makes it easy to transport engines in and out of production areas all across the United States.
At the center, a team of skilled technicians rebuild Cat engines of various types and sizes — from the 95-horsepower 3304 model all the way up to the 5000+ horsepower G3616 gas compression engine, which weighs in at a whopping 72,000 pounds. (That’s equivalent to about eight-and-a-half full-grown hippopotamuses.)
The team uses specialized tooling and processes to return every engine to like-new condition for a fraction of the cost of buying new. On site are a machine shop, blast and paint booths, and a 13,500-square-foot parts warehouse which is supported Foley’s Wichita location’s 30,000+ square-foot parts facility with daily truck deliveries being received from Cat’s Waco, Texas distribution center.
Two working dynamometers measure each rebuilt engine’s performance to ensure it meets expectations, and while not operated daily, a spare dynamometer is maintained for backup.
Process Quality Assurance
The Foley Engine Rebuild Center’s process is firmly rooted in the principles of safety, quality, reliability and connectivity, ensuring engines are upgraded to the latest Cat OEM specifications and performance monitoring technologies to improve efficiencies.
“We pull all the factory test results from when the engine was new, and we compare that to how it runs after our rebuild,” Robinson says. “A lot of times, the rebuilt engine runs just as well. In most cases, it actually runs better and performs better. Customers tell us the run rate of our rebuilt engines is 98-99%.”Upfront communication with no surprises
In 2017, the Foley Engine Rebuild Center received a Platinum award from Caterpillar for leadership in quality of work, strength of technician expertise, safety, capabilities and more — the only U.S. dealer at that time to have received the honor. The facility also maintains a five-star contamination control rating.
But there’s something customers who use the center appreciate even more: straight-up, honest communications.
In the industry, it is not uncommon for engine rebuild costs to be 20%+ higher than the initial quote due to incomplete scope of work, unforeseen problems or additional repair time.
Foley Equipment’s Rebuild Center provides customers with a flat rate that is devoid of any overages once the rebuild has been received in the shop and reviewed. Machine shop work, additional parts and labor are included upfront on working engines. In addition to flat-rate quotes, customers are given one point of contact throughout the entire rebuild process.“We’re very transparent. We say what we can do and what we can’t do,” Robinson says. “We do our best to guarantee our pricing and communicate our process, so there are no surprises for the customer.”
That means owning up to mistakes when they happen and taking steps to ensure they don’t occur again. “When there’s a problem — and there will be problems — do you own it or do you blame the customer?” Robinson says. “In the rare case that there are problems, we will get the customer an exchange engine, bring the other one back and do a root cause failure analysis to find the issue.”
We foster a culture that attracts the very best, so we deliver the very best
A commitment to getting the job done right for every customer is a big part of the culture at the Foley Engine Rebuild Center. And it’s a big reason the facility hasn’t had issues recruiting and retaining technicians despite an industry-wide shortage.
“Is there a tech shortage? Yes. Do we have a problem finding techs who can do the work? No,” Robinson says. “We put in the investment to train them and then we hold them accountable. They like working in a place where they can contribute and add value, and they’re constantly challenging each other to get better.”Many technicians working at the Foley Engine Rebuild Center have decades of rebuild experience. New recruits must complete a ten-week training curriculum, then partner with an experienced mentor on the shop floor before beginning to work independently.
It’s a strategy that’s been working well for more than a decade now with more than six classes of dozens of technicians successfully completing the training.
“We put our name on every rebuild, and our technicians take pride in their work,” Robinson says. “Our culture here is one where everyone wants to build the best product. We understand that oil and gas is a 24-hour-a-day business, and we do everything we can to keep their engines running.”
For second, third and fourth lives and beyond. Learn more about the Foley Engine Rebuild Center here.