Heidelberg Materials has autonomously hauled more than two million tonnes of limestone at its Lake Bridgeport quarry in Texas, marking a significant milestone in the digitisation of quarry operations.
The achievement was delivered in under eight months using Pronto.ai’s Autonomous Haulage System (AHS), making the Lake Bridgeport operation North America’s first fully autonomous mixed-OEM production quarry fleet. The volume of material moved is equivalent to the weight of around 20,000 fully loaded freight train cars.
Following a successful pilot at the site, Heidelberg Materials equipped a mixed fleet of haul trucks with Pronto’s AHS, demonstrating that autonomous operations can scale beyond single-brand deployments. The fleet combines Caterpillar and Komatsu equipment operating simultaneously on a single autonomous platform.
The Lake Bridgeport deployment includes Caterpillar 775G rigid-frame trucks alongside Komatsu HD605-8 and next-generation HD605-10 models. The ability to run different truck brands on one autonomous system establishes a new benchmark for operational flexibility in the aggregates sector.
“True scalability in the aggregates industry requires the ability to automate the iron you already own,” said Anthony Levandowski, CEO of Pronto. “By successfully running a mixed fleet of Cat and Komatsu trucks on Pronto AHS, we have proven that autonomy is no longer a ‘one-brand’ luxury. We have unlocked the ability for Heidelberg Materials to optimise their fleet strategy independent of their AHS platform.”
Heidelberg Materials says the project highlights both productivity and workforce benefits. Scott Tipping, Global Director Competence Center Aggregates & Asphalt, said the milestone reflects the company’s broader focus on innovation and operational excellence.
“We are excited to mark this important milestone at our Lake Bridgeport quarry. It showcases our strong commitment to scaling innovative solutions that drive operational excellence at Heidelberg Materials,” Tipping said. “Our partnership with Pronto not only contributes to enhancing efficiency and safety at our sites, but it also helps us address recruiting challenges while further accelerating our sustainability efforts.”
The site uses Pronto’s vision-only AHS configuration, relying on cameras and artificial intelligence rather than lidar, radar or rigid pre-mapped routes. This approach allows trucks to operate in dynamic quarry environments where haul roads, loading points and dump locations change regularly.
Key operational features include dynamic zone management, enabling trucks to autonomously adapt to changing loading and dumping points without engineering intervention. Safety systems incorporate lightweight “Rover” transponders to manage interactions between autonomous trucks and manned vehicles and equipment.
Heidelberg Materials also points to sustainability gains, with optimised autonomous driving patterns reducing fuel consumption and extending tyre life.
The Lake Bridgeport milestone underpins a broader global agreement announced by the companies in February 2025. With the technology now validated at production scale, Heidelberg Materials and Pronto plan to deploy Pronto AHS across more than 100 trucks at operations in North America, Europe and the Asia-Pacific region.
