Caterpillar Unveils Autonomous Cat 777 Truck at Luck Stone Quarry

Caterpillar tested its autonomous Cat 777 truck at Luck Stone’s Bull Run plant, advancing autonomous hauling in the quarry industry.

Texas, United States- Caterpillar Inc., has announced it has successfully demonstrated the fully autonomous operation of its Cat 777 off-highway truck. The debut of this latest model of Cat Mine Star Command for hauling at Luck Stone’s Bull Run plant in Chantilly, Va., marks a significant milestone in Caterpillar’s objective to deliver an autonomous hauling solution for the quarry and aggregates sector. 

Caterpillar is making significant strides in autonomous technology with the successful deployment of its first autonomous Cat 777 Off-Highway Truck at Luck Stone Quarry, the largest family-owned producer of crushed stone, sand, and gravel in the U.S. This follows the December 2022 partnership between Caterpillar and Luck Stone, aimed at accelerating the development of autonomous solutions for quarry and aggregate applications.

The addition of the 100-ton-class (90-tonne-class) Cat 777 to Caterpillar's autonomous fleet marks a major milestone for the company in the aggregates industry. Caterpillar’s autonomous trucks, already in use across three continents, have traveled over 325 million kilometers and moved more than 8.62 billion tonnes of material. These trucks haul more tons annually than the total U.S. crushed stone production.

Caterpillar’s Command for hauling technology is transforming operations at some of the world’s largest mines, delivering performance gains. For the past two years, Caterpillar has partnered closely with Luck Stone to develop a scalable, cost-effective system that enhances safety, productivity, and overall efficiency in the quarry sector.

Ms. Denise Johnson, group president of Caterpillar’s Resource Industries, said, “Congratulations to both the Luck Stone and Caterpillar teams for this outstanding achievement. It’s meaningful not just for Bull Run operations, but for our customers of all sizes as we develop new technologies to serve the quarry and aggregates as well as construction industries. This hands-on collaboration has accelerated our ability to scale our proven mining solution for this sector.” 

The success of autonomous hauling at Bull Run plant marks the initial milestone in the collaboration between Caterpillar and Luck Stone. This achievement lays the foundation for ongoing testing and validation of assumptions and technology before making autonomous technology commercially available in the aggregates industry. 

Mr. Charlie Luck, Chairman and CEO, Luck Companies, said, “The successful implementation of an autonomous hauling solution at our Bull Run Plant is a major accomplishment for Luck Stone associates, for Caterpillar, and for our industry.  Our mission is to ignite human potential and positively impact the lives of others, and this project does just that by providing opportunities and experiences for our associates to grow and learn. Caterpillar’s innovative technology will also improve safety and be a tool for attracting the next generation of mining professionals.  We’re excited for the future and what’s next for autonomy, and thankful for our continued, collaborative relationship with Caterpillar.”