Photo courtesy of John Deere
The 4Rivers Equipment location at Fort Collins performed the company’s first machine rebuild though John Deere’s Powertrain ReLife Plus Program.
A project three years in the making, the 4Rivers Equipment location at Fort Collins, Colo., performed the company's first machine rebuild though John Deere's Powertrain ReLife Plus Program. Upon the project's completion, 4Rivers Equipment will have its first Certified Machine Rebuild Center.
The John Deere Powertrain ReLife Plus Program extends the life of a machine through its comprehensive and flexible machine rebuild solution. This process optimizes total owning and operating costs by getting a machine through its second life.
"Starting with a fresh set of remanufactured major powertrain components, the Powertrain ReLife Plus Program allows you to build on that strong foundation to create a customized repair plan unique to that particular machine," the John Deere website states. "Certified technicians conduct a thorough inspection of your machine to help you identify where investments are needed to give it new life while still giving you the flexibility to consider work to the less critical areas of the machine."
Additionally, the main goal of machine rebuilds is to provide the customer with as many options as possible to extend the life of their machine without compromising its expected performance and reliability.
"The biggest focus from [John] Deere's perspective is to offer the customer options. Whether that's a new tractor, a ReLife or something in-between, we want to do more business with them and give them choices on how they do business with us," Territory Customer Support Manager of John Deere Ryan Engelman said.
4Rivers Equipment has been searching for the right opportunity to introduce machine rebuilds for the past three years. The process is not quick and simple, though, as there is a list of qualifications to meet to become a certified rebuild center.
Engelman described the lengthy certification process as a massive spreadsheet where the dealership is scored on various areas from standard operating procedures to cleanliness and how they plan on exceeding a customer's expectations.
"We had to take a good, close look at ourselves, our processes and procedures," Director of Customer Support Braid Reid said. "Deere representatives came out and we sat down for four hours. We went through the whole thing, walked through the facility and explained our reason for picking the location. The next thing we know, we were off and running."
The final qualification to become a certified rebuild center is to successfully complete a full machine rebuild. After performing quotes for eight potential projects, the circumstances aligned for 4Rivers to finally begin a machine rebuild for the Pueblo County Fleet on their 772D motor grader.
"It's exciting to watch the professionalism and expertise of our dealership," Reid said when asked about the project finally coming to fruition. "It's exciting to see all of that in motion now."
The first milestone of the project took place on Dec. 21, where the customer came to the Fort Collins location and reviewed the process. The estimated completion date for the rebuild is the second week of February.
For more information, visit the 4Rivers social and blog channels as it documents the project.
John Deere's Machine Rebuild Program
"The cost of a rebuild is a fraction of a full replacement and can lengthen the life of John Deere articulated dump trucks, dozers, excavators, wheel loaders and scraper tractors," the John Deere website states.
John Deere breaks the Machine Rebuild Program down into six simple steps:
Step 1: Replace required major powertrain components like the transmission engine and axels;
Step 2: Review the results of the machine with dealer;
Step 3: Specify any additional parts to replace;
Step 4: Select ReLife warranty terms;
Step 5: Work is performed on your machine by certified John Deere technicians;
Step 6: Let you ReLife Machine help manage owning and operating costs.
For more information, visit https://www.deere.com/en/construction/machine-rebuild-program/
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