Cat dealers in CIS ready for rental growth

Caterpillar dealers in the Russia and CIS states are ready to expand their rental operations as demand for rental equipment increases in the region.

Sergey Minko, Caterpillar CIS sales director for global construction and infrastructure, told IRN that infrastructure bottlenecks were hindering development in the CIS states, particularly the oil and gas sector; “Quite a few projects are pending, and as soon as finance is ready, the construction business should be on line very fast”.

He said that since the financial crisis contractors in the CIS have looked to rental rather than take the risk of adding equipment to their balance sheets.

Nicolas Guigon, rental and used manager for Caterpillar EAME (Europe, Africa and Middle East), said Cat dealers were ready to invest; “We think the opportunity is enormous, but we have difficulty quantifying it with any precision…We would hope to catch train. If we can grow at the same pace as the industry, that would be fantastic.”

Caterpillar has major dealers in the CIS, including Zeppelin, Wagner Asia (Mongolia), Mantrac Vostok (Urals and Volga Regions), Vostochnaya Technica (Eastern Russia, Siberia) and Borusan Makina (Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan and Kirgizstan).

All are offering rental to some degree, with Zeppelin and Wagner Asia both using the Cat Rental Store branding. Vostochnaya Technica operates a power division called VT Energo, which is active in rental.

A full version of the interview, including discussions with two of Cat’s dealers in the region, will appear in an upcoming issue of IRN.