First Pipeline Industry Days in Malaga: Equipment shown and sold!

Caterpillar Global Pipeline (CGP) & PipeLine Machinery International (PLM) hosted the first ever Pipeline Industry Day at the Caterpillar Demonstration and Learning Center in Malaga, Spain, on April 23, 2007. Over 80 participants including customers from Europe, Africa, the Middle East, China and Russia attended with 23 countries represented.

The agenda consisted of the demonstration of traditional Caterpillar^® equipment dozers, excavators and graders. The featured equipment was the new T-Series purpose-built pipelayers - the 583T and the 587T plus the 572RII and the 561N, along with some allied products PLM distributes exclusively.

EAME Pipeline Manager Marco Jannuzzi detailed the Caterpillar innovations introduced over the past year including environmental, technical and ergonomic enhancements. CGP General Manager Dan Macholan outlined Caterpillar's commitment to the pipeline industry, the new pipelayer distribution system and the new model pipelayer details. PLM President Mel Ternan explained the global solutions concept that an industry-specific dealership dedicated to the pipeline industry can provide.

The presentations were followed by the pipeline equipment demonstration. All current model pipelayers - the 561N, 572RII, 583T & 587T - were demonstrated as well as other major Caterpillar equipment used by the pipeline industry, including the 330D, and 345CL, and the D8T. Other complimentary machines were demonstrated including a pipelayer conversion package for a D6N, a hydraulic conversion kit (to update mechanical draw works of older model pipelayers), as well as a pin on pipeline welding attachment all engineered and constructed by the Caterpillar partner Vanguard Equipment and available exclusively from PLM. Also on hand for the demonstration was a Lift Technologies vacuum pipe-handling machine also distributed by PLM.

Customers were welcomed to sit in and operate the demo equipment and given full access to operators and engineers to answer any questions on the units. All demo equipment was sold to customers either before or during the presentation, which speaks to the success of the first Pipeline Industry Day.