Altorfer Cat and Plote Construction teamed up on July 9, 2025, to celebrate 100 years of Caterpillar at Plote headquarters, 1100 Brandt Dr. Hoffman Estates, Ill. The event featured an equipment showcase, which included a new D5 dozer and a rebuilt 980H wheel loader, both in Cat's limited edition centennial grey.

Plote Construction has 30 Caterpillar 980 wheel loaders in its fleet. Because the cost to rebuild is significantly less than purchasing new, this isn't the company's first rebuild with Altorfer.

"We've done five 980 rebuilds over the past eight years," said Dan Plote, president of Plote Construction Company. "We've had a lot of success with it and it's more affordable than a brand new 980. We had some machines that were worn out — 25,000 hours — and we talked to Altorfer, who gave us a quote to rebuild. The reason we painted it battleship gray is that coincidentally, we were able to get one of the centennial D5 dozers sitting next to it, so we came up with the idea to paint the rebuild the same way."

Altorfer offers four variations of rebuilds. Certified machine component rebuild (CMCR), which varies from engine, transmission, torque, axles and pumps; certified powertrain (CPT), which covers standard powertrain components; CPT + Hydraulics, which is for CPT components plus all major hydraulic components (pumps, valves, hoses, etc.); and certified machine rebuild (CMR), which takes the machine down to its frame and then built up from there with all new components.

"Our rebuild process takes about nine weeks to complete," said Sam Will, product support representative of Altorfer Cat. "Typically, we run two or three technicians on rebuilds at a time. It is a grueling process, so having more hands is better."

The CPT + Hydraulics rebuild of Plote's machine included the option to rebuild existing components or replace them with new or reman (remanufactured) parts. Plote chose reman due to cost.

"Altorfer took about three months to rebuild — stripped it all the way down to the frame, replaced all the components — planetary gears, transmission, engine, rebuilding the cylinders, all new hoses, all new wiring," said Plote. "It was super high-houred and past its first life."

The rebuilt machine also comes with a Caterpillar equipment protection plan (EPP). Each warranty varies depending on the rebuild.

"Cat offers a 3-year, 5,000-hour warranty," said Will. "The CMCR warranty is just for the component you choose; CPT is all powertrain related parts that were replaced; and CPT + Hydraulics is powertrain and hydraulics."

Plote's machine will have a 4-year, 6,000-hour CPT + Hydraulics warranty.

"We've had five certified rebuilds over the past eight years that were super successful," said Plote. "We've had zero issues. We're very interested in doing the certified rebuilds again which also gives us a warranty."

With such a large fleet of machines, Plote needs reliable service to minimize downtime.

"Altorfer does a great job," said Plote. "They're kind of new to the neighborhood — they bought out Patten Tractor about seven years ago. We formed a great relationship with them. We had been with Patten for many, many years. Plote Construction is 61 years old now, and we're carrying on the tradition with Altorfer."

For more information, visit altorfer.com, plote.com and cat.com.  CEG

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