Ben Maclean, the 24-year-old owner of Farnham-based Down to Earth Developments is believed to be the UK’s youngest customer to own the latest electric drive Cat machines. He has invested in two Cat D6 XE dozers for his land reclamation business.

Maclean bought his first D6 XE earlier this year and was so impressed that he rapidly ordered another.

“It’s not just the electric drive using less fuel,” he says, “but the all-round technology package you get with Cat machines that saves costs in quite a few ways.”

He continues: “We also have two Cat 323 hydraulic excavators and their grade assist and payload technology help us get the job done that little bit quicker.”

Both of his D6 XE dozers are also fitted with Trimble 3D GPS systems – “which means we make the absolute minimum number of passes to get perfect grading”.

He bough the machines from Cat distributor Finning, whose UK customer service manager Ryan Trafford said: “We’re really pleased to be working with a next generation of machine owners, who really value sustainability when it comes to making decisions. Down to Earth Developments are experts in land reclamation and recovery, working with private clients and government agencies to restore land to its natural state.

“Sustainability is quite literally what they do. Customers like Ben are the first generation to have grown up understanding the importance of making responsible decisions, with sustainability being at the heart of that.”