With the theme of “Wherever There’s Mining, We’re There,” Caterpillar Inc. opened the largest single exhibit ever presented at MINExpo International in Las Vegas during the 2012 event held Sept. 24-26.
With more than 52,000 square feet of exhibit space inside the Las Vegas Convention Center, visitors to the Caterpillar exhibit witnessed the largest single exhibit in the history of the show as well as the first heavy-haul locomotive to be displayed at MINExpo.
The 52,000-square-foot Caterpillar exhibit featured 18 complete mining and support machines and components, models and technology displays representing the broadest mining product line available and the most extensive customer support system in the world.
“There is no bigger stage to give us this remarkable opportunity to tell the Caterpillar mining story. We recognize that mining is at the core of an unprecedented drive for urbanization and modernization,” said Doug Oberhelman, chairman and CEO, Caterpillar. “The long-term outlook is positive for this industry, and we’re uniquely positioned to capitalize on that growth. That’s why the company has made major investments in mining across the Caterpillar organization, including the acquisitions of Bucyrus and Siwei.”
The Caterpillar exhibit was divided into two areas – surface mining and underground mining equipment. It featured more than two dozen products and technologies, including off-highway mining trucks, hydraulic shovels, a next-generation track-type tractor and a variety of underground mining machines and support equipment.
The Caterpillar exhibit’s 420,000-pound electro-motive diesel locomotive engine was featured for the first time at MINExpo and ranks among the largest mobile mining equipment in the world. The locomotive traveled thousands of miles along railways to arrive at Las Vegas and was transported down Las Vegas Blvd. overnight to arrive at the convention center.
Workers for Caterpillar began the exhibit assembly in late July and will continue dismantling well into October.
