Types of Industrial Construction Equipment

Heavy-duty equipment manufacturers like Caterpillar design and build high-quality equipment to meet the specific needs of industrial construction sites. Different types of heavy equipment serve diverse functions depending on the project and its size. Some equipment is multi-purpose, which is why you'll often see the same machinery for entirely different assignments, like roadwork, utilities, commercial building, agriculture or landscaping.

Though some construction devices are known for their versatility, others are employed strictly for their specialization, such as tracked loaders and diggers used on rough terrain.

If you're wondering about the different types of machinery you can choose from, follow our guide below to equipment used in industrial construction. In this post we'll cover five main categories of industrial construction machines you can rent from The Cat® Rental Store:

Jump to a section:

Earthmoving Equipment
Transportation Equipment
Material Handling Equipment
Concrete Equipment
Other Equipment

1. Earthmoving Equipment

Industrial construction starts with earthmovers. Before construction can even begin, your work site needs to be demolished and leveled, with piles of soil and rock moved and compacted for a durable, even building surface. The quality of your earthmoving equipment contributes to how quickly you can prepare your site for the construction phase.

Earthmoving machines are some of the most heavy-duty of all industrial construction equipment. Designed to dig, load, move, compact and grade large, heavy amounts of soil, rock and mineral, earthmoving equipment needs to be robust and reliable. Digging into the earth is no easy feat. It requires powerful, rugged machinery that's heavy enough to defeat even the toughest terrain.

On industrial sites, time is of the essence, with project managers under deadlines to perform their earthmoving duties as efficiently as possible. That's where Cat earthmoving equipment comes in. Here are some of the common types of earthmoving heavy equipment for construction you'll likely need on your next earthworks project:

Excavators: When you think of digging up soil and rock, the first machine that comes to mind is probably the excavator. In earthmoving projects, excavators are always tracked, which gives them ample surface area to spread across irregular terrain and stabilize the machine — optimizing its performance. Excavators come in full-size as well as mini capacities and have a variety of work tool attachment options to increase their versatility.
Dozers: Bulldozers are incredibly heavy equipment, designed this way to push, move and crush considerable amounts of dirt and rock. Their weight gives them enough force to move even giant boulders, clearing a project site effortlessly. Caterpillar's variety of small, medium and large dozers with unique work tool attachments give you plenty of options to find the right bulldozer for your industrial construction project.
Loaders: Loaders are a group of construction tools with a range of capabilities and capacities. Backhoe loaders have both an excavator arm and a digging bucket, making it a reliable, multi-purpose machine. Compact track and multi-terrain loaders are tracked earthmoving machines that are also small enough to maneuver in tight spots, while still being able to traverse uneven ground.
Graders: Maneuverable and durable, motor graders efficiently smooth and slope dirt to prepare for paving or construction. Cat motor graders come with a 12-foot or 18-foot blade for different road coverage needs. They're also designed for rugged performance and can operate in tough terrain. World-class cabs, advanced technology and superior hydraulics make for comfortable operation and excellent grading.
Scrapers: Scrapers are the earthmoving and smoothing solutions for expansive industrial sites. Their large capacity allows them to efficiently accomplish digging and leveling of wide-open areas in preparation for major construction projects. Scrapers are the most efficient way to clear vast stretches of land quickly. Elevating pan-scrapers and open bowl pull scrapers can fit all your project needs.
Tractors: Site-prep tractors are versatile heavy-duty machines for clearing small or large lots for residential, industrial, roadwork or utility projects. With multiple work tool attachment capability, tractors allow you to perform numerous tasks with one equipment rental. Perform a broad range of jobs with help from hydrostatic drive power trains and powerful hydraulics.
Compactors: Compactors crush and compress loads of waste or soil and contribute to the smoothing and leveling of a work site. The work performed by a heavy-duty compactor machine condenses, stabilizes and prepares your earth for concrete foundations or pavements.

If you've got an upcoming construction project, whether its residential, commercial or industrial — or a massive utility, roadwork or mining project — make sure you have the right earthmoving equipment to clear your work site. The Cat Rental Store near you has an extensive inventory of heavy-duty earthmoving equipment available for flexible rental agreements, giving you the convenience you need to complete your project effectively. Browse all Cat earthmoving equipment available at The Cat Rental Store.

2. Transportation Equipment

An overlooked category of heavy construction tools includes the machines that execute the project's logistics — the transportation equipment. Before breaking ground and building your structure, your heavy-duty equipment, as well as your building supplies, need to arrive at the site. You also need a solution for hauling and unloading earth and waste once your project has started operation or finished. It's essential to have reliable vehicles available to execute extensive loading and hauling and ensure your project starts on time and stays on track.

Various types of transportation devices serve different purposes, giving them unique capabilities. Some, particularly those with rubber wheels, can be driven on the road, while others are towed or used for on-site applications only. Depending on the type of hauler, you may need a special permit to operate the vehicle on designated roadways.

When planning your project's logistics, consider these useful transportation options:

Dump trucks: Dump trucks are a staple at any industrial construction site, including utilities, roadwork and infrastructure projects. Dump trucks are often an end-to-end equipment piece, necessary at the start of the project to haul away dug-up and moved earth and at the end for final clean-up and waste hauling. Use Cat dump truck rentals for hauling and dumping all your job site's loose materials.
Articulated trucks: Also known as an articulated hauler or an articulated dump truck (ADT), these vehicles haul earth and debris across the job site and sometimes on roadways. Articulated trucks are desirable on industrial construction sites because they can easily traverse various terrains, including the most rugged conditions imaginable.
Off-highway trucks: Off-highway trucks are advantageous hauling options on large, intricate industrial sites like mining, roadwork or other massive infrastructure projects. As their name suggests, off-highway trucks stay on-site, where they haul earth and debris, covering uneven landscapes.
On-highway trucks: On-highway trucks are a versatile transportation equipment option, acting as a dump truck, waste hauler or cement mixer. Caterpillar's reliable on-highway vehicles allow you to transport heavy loads safely and efficiently on public roadways. Cat on-highway trucks handle like a regular automobile and are equipped with the latest technology to ensure driver safety while on the road.
Utility and equipment trailers: Utility and equipment trailers allow you to transport your earthmoving and other construction equipment safely. Trust The Cat Rental Store to supply you with reliable utility trailers for all your equipment hauling needs.

The Cat Rental Store will provide you with the transportation equipment you need to move your machinery and building supplies to and from your job site safely. When time is of the essence, you want to transport your tools as efficiently as possible while maintaining their quality. For rugged hauling and carrying, rent a dependable Cat truck that will meet your specific on-site requirements.

3. Material Handling Equipment

No matter what type of industrial project is in question, material handling and hoisting equipment will be necessary throughout the job's timeline. Material handling and hoisting equipment allow you to move supplies, tools and other devices safely and efficiently across the work site.

These specialized pieces of machinery give you lift, load and hoist capacity from the ground to hard-to-reach areas. Caterpillar manufactures them with the utmost safety and stability in mind. Various material handling machines have distinctive specializations, and you might need to take advantage of multiple models to move your materials efficiently. Using the appropriate models for the tasks at hand will make your jobs run smoothly every time.

The Cat Rental Store offers the following material handling equipment for your industrial projects:

Forklifts: Forklifts help you safely move loads up or down and can operate on stable or uneven terrain. Cat straight-mast forklifts are designed for optimal operation on low-height material lifts but have the high capacity you need. Don't forget the essential forklift training to ensure the safe operation of your forklift rental.
Aerial boom lifts: Construction duties that call for lifting and placing personnel and materials require aerial boom lifts. Both straight and articulating boom lifts help you lift and place your workers and supplies at heights safely and efficiently. Choose from boom lift rentals that reach heights from 30 to 180 feet.
Telehandlers: For tasks that require material handling at much higher heights, choose a Cat telehandler. Telehandlers have telescopic arms, which the operator can raise or lower and extend forward. They also come with numerous attachment capabilities for further versatility, allowing you to safely lift workers to great heights and provide them with a stable platform to perform their work.
Material handlers: Like telehandlers, material handlers also have a long arm boom, but these employ work tool attachments allowing them to grab scraps and materials from the ground and move them via a pivoting cab, similar to an excavator. Material handlers are useful on job sites with lots of debris that needs to be moved from one pile to another. Contractors commonly use them for initial site prep, as well as final site clean-up for efficient disposal practices.
Crane trucks: Crane trucks are a common and vital type of heavy construction equipment. Rely on superior Cat crane trucks to hoist and move heavy loads across a job site and to high heights. Crane trucks lift heavy loads with their crane arm and have dependable maneuverability thanks to their smaller footprint. These vehicles can be one of the more formidable pieces to operate on a construction site and require highly skilled operators who will uphold the highest safety standards.

When assembling your fleet of heavy-duty equipment for industrial construction, don't overlook your material-handling needs. Material handling equipment from The Cat Rental Store makes many job site tasks easier and safer, providing you with the ability to achieve great heights from a stabilized point.

The Cat Rental Store makes it easy to acquire material handling vehicles quickly and seamlessly, offering you a flexible contract arrangement throughout your project timeline. To solve your material handling needs, browse our inventory of material handling equipment today and increase your job site productivity.

4. Concrete Equipment

Virtually all industrial construction projects require concrete, from infrastructure megaprojects to smaller civil assignments and everything in between. Despite its ubiquity on a construction site, concrete is a very specialized segment of contracting and requires the right tools and equipment as well as precise timing and execution.

If you're managing the cement phase of a construction project, it's critical to acquire the essential tools at the right time, meaning you should reserve your concrete rental equipment in advance of when it is needed on the job site. Concrete supplies and materials first need to be hauled and delivered to the site in preparation for mixing and pouring. Transporting materials requires specific hauling equipment to deliver the supplies safely. Next, a range of devices mix, pour, spread and finish the concrete to its proper grade and level.

In large-scale industrial projects, construction professionals may establish local batch plants. These are single on-site facilities where workers combine all the wet and dry ingredients for concrete on the spot.

Depending on the job, specialized equipment can also roll and crush pavement for asphalt roadwork. The size of equipment also varies throughout the concrete contracting process, ranging from large cement trucks to smaller buckets and mixers. Here are some examples of the types of tools you'll need for concrete construction:

Concrete buckets: Concrete buckets are a fast and convenient way to mobilize and deliver concrete around the work site. They have movable bottom gates and can be attached to cranes or cables, allowing you to move and pour concrete when and where you need it. Concrete buckets are a necessity on large projects like civil engineering jobs and utility contracting assignments. Increase the versatility of a cement bucket with separate attachments like side chutes, vertical discharge chutes and grouting work tools.
Concrete buggies: Concrete buggies are powered wheelbarrows that allow you to quickly and conveniently move mixed cement from one location to another. With a buggy, you can access areas that are inaccessible with trucks. Don't waste precious time and labor pushing around manual wheelbarrows. Choose a concrete buggy to maximize your productivity and maintain your workflow.
Concrete mixers: When it comes to concrete construction, nothing is more crucial than well-mixed concrete. Improperly mixed concrete results in structural issues, risking the project's integrity. Concrete mixers ensure the quality of this building material by adequately mixing the cement, water and aggregate ingredients. You'll be prepared to pour smooth concrete every time when you use a cement mixer from The Cat Rental Store.
Vibrators: You need to use concrete vibrators to ensure your poured cement ends up with the highest quality result. By using vibrators, you can eliminate air bubbles that naturally form after pouring the cement. The vibrators help ensure a smooth and sturdy finish.
Concrete tools, saws and trowels: Turn to The Cat Rental Store for your complete supply of miscellaneous concrete tools. From saws and drills to industrial trowels and grinders, The Cat Rental Store helps you ensure a smooth and precise concrete finish every time.

Ensure your project runs smoothly with the right concrete equipment for industrial construction. With The Cat Rental Store, you can assemble an inventory of concrete tools to improve your productivity and ensure a quality product.

5. Equipment for Other Uses

With industrial construction projects getting bigger and bigger — and the marketplace getting more and more competitive — having specialized tools for every facet of the job is essential to delivering your structures on-time and on-budget. The Cat Rental Store ensures that we have the latest in industrial equipment technology, right down to miscellaneous tools and accessories for highly specific jobs. We're proud to be your one-stop shop for all your industrial construction needs, including power generation, work tool attachments, power tools and more.

Here are some of the other types of equipment used in construction that you might benefit from:

Pneumatic tools: General contracting requires a host of different tools and equipment to execute duties, from rigorous jobs to fine-detailed tasks. Our lightweight and versatile pneumatic tools allow you to work smarter and safer, using devices like chipping hammers, rock drills and piercing tools to complete various construction jobs. These easy-to-handle machines are compact yet rugged enough for industrial settings and don't require an electrical source.
Air compressors: Take advantage of diesel-powered air compressors to supply your pneumatic tools with compressed air on-demand. Choose from either stationary or portable air compressors, and take them with you from location to location. When you travel to a different work site or need a quick solution, portable air compressors help you maintain productivity and uphold your ideal workflow.
Power generation equipment: Never be caught unprepared when you rent power generation equipment for temporary and emergency power supply. Mobile generators ensure continuous productivity by supplying you with a steady stream of power during planned shutdowns, emergency interruptions or any other backup power requirements. With a wide variety of Cat power-generation equipment, you'll find all the sizes and options you need in a power supply. Visit our rental power division for a complete overview of industrial choices.
Work tool attachments: No conversation about industrial construction equipment would be complete without discussing the vast array of work tool attachments available. Optimize the productivity, performance and versatility of your rental fleet with Cat work tool attachments like buckets, hammers and winches. Turn any piece of construction equipment into a multi-purpose machine, and work smarter and faster. With dozens of options to choose from, you'll be sure to find the work tool solution you need.

For even more industrial construction equipment and tools, consult The Cat Rental Store to find the perfect solution to increase your work performance.

Choose The Cat® Rental Store for Your Industrial Construction Equipment Needs

The Cat Rental Store is your trusted and reliable industrial construction equipment supplier, carrying premium Cat equipment that meets our quality guarantee. When you rent from The Cat Rental Store near you, you'll encounter the most extensive inventory of equipment available, thanks to our vast network of authorized Cat dealers. Whether you need transportation, concrete, material handling or earthmoving heavy equipment for construction, your local Cat Rental Store will find the right option for you.

Take on industrial construction projects with peace of mind. All Cat equipment is meticulously inspected and maintained by certified technicians, and you'll always have access to the latest Cat technology.

For everything you need to make your job easier, contact The Cat Rental Store today at 1-800-RENT-CAT or visit one of our local dealers.

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