Luck Stone, Cat collaborate on autonomous tech

Irving, Texas-based Caterpillar Inc. has announced an autonomous vehicle collaboration with Luck Stone, a Richmond, Virginia-based family-owned and operated producer of crushed stone, sand and gravel.

At its Bull Run plant in Chantilly, Virginia, Luck Stone is using Caterpillar's autonomous solution, the first use of Caterpillar's autonomous equipment in the aggregates industry with 777G trucks.

Looking to accelerate autonomous solutions beyond mining, Caterpillar will implement its existing Cat MineStar Command for Hauling system at the Bull Run quarry on a fleet of 777G trucks. This will allow Caterpillar to gain greater insights into quarry operations so it can tailor the next generation of autonomous solutions specific to quarry and aggregate applications.

RELATED: Caterpillar introduced 4 new electric machines

"Luck Stone and Caterpillar's partnership has been grounded in shared values for many years," Luck Stone President and CEO Charlie Luck says. "Together we believe that safety, innovation and a commitment to people are critical, not only to propelling important projects like this but to ensuring our focus on the future and all of the exciting possibilities technology affords our industry. Our collaboration will provide opportunities for associates to learn and grow, improve safety and result in production efficiencies. We are thrilled to partner with Caterpillar to achieve this ‘first’ for our industry."

The autonomous solutions will be implemented in 2024. This project builds on Caterpillar's history in autonomy and automation. Caterpillar is recognized as an industry leader with more than 560 autonomous trucks in service. These trucks have traveled more than 116 million miles and autonomously moved more than 5.1 billion metric tons without a single zero lost-time injury.

"Caterpillar has a long-standing relationship with Luck Stone, and we look forward to working together to bring the demonstrated benefits of increased safety and productivity to the quarry industry," Caterpillar Group President of Resource Industries Denise Johnson says. "We’re excited to get in the dirt and work alongside Luck Stone's innovative team, so we can learn how to scale our already proven mining solution for another industry."