Cat machines help build infrastructure for the 2012 APEC summit

The summit of APEC (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation) taking place on Russky island, close to Vladivostok, Russia, in 2012 has prompted a myriad of construction projects in the area. The massive construction site includes hotels and conference centre, airport reconstruction, highway construction and reconstruction, an opera and ballet theatre, sea facade including port structures and infrastructure, and the Eastern Bosporus Straight Bridge, which will link the continent to the island. The bridge will be the world’s largest cable-stayed bridge upon completion. The works are under way and scheduled to finish by the end of 2011. Several Cat machines are clocking up hours as part of the project.

Last year the local Cat dealer Amur Machinery supplied 12 Cat machines and rented 10 additional units to Crocus ZAO, the general contractor laying the groundwork for the summit’s facilities. In February this year, another 17 machines were purchased: four 428E backhoe loaders, a D5NXL, a D6T, a D7G and two D6NXL and two D9R track-type tractors, three CS56 vibratory soil compactors as well as a 320DL, a 325DL and a 330DL hydraulic excavator. Cat Financial funded the entire mix of track type-tractors and excavators.

Crocus ZAO was nominated as the general contractor to fulfill the U.S. $2.5 billion contract in early 2009.
Caterpillar CIS Industry Sales Manager Robert Thiel commented participation in the construction works:
"This project is unique due to the large construction volume in the very limited timeframe. Reliable Cat machines together with world-class product support from Amur Machinery and attractive finance terms from Caterpillar Financial were major drivers for the project. We are proud to be part of this major infrastructure project in Russia."

The APEC forum includes 21 member economies that are home to more than 2.7 billion people and represent approximately 55 percent of world GDP and 49 percent of world trade.