Cat's plans for 500 new stores

Caterpillar said it wants to open more that 550 new Cat Rental Store locations worldwide within the next three years. The ambition was announced the weekend before the Conexpo exhibition as Cat marked the opening of its 500th US store and the 10th anniversary of the creation of the first Cat Rental Store.

“We are very pleased with the progress of the Cat Rental Store network, and excited about the future,” said Jim Johnson, Caterpillar’s general manager of global rental and used equipment, “Dealers are attracting new customers while servicing their traditional customers in a more comprehensive manner. Our plans are to support Caterpillar dealers in growing The Cat Rental Store network in every region of the world to reach 2000 outlets in the 3 – 5 year timeframe”.

The current Cat Rental Store network consists of over 1400 stores with combined dealer rental revenues of US$ 4 billion.

The first Cat Rental Store was opened in 1998 by Wagner Equipment Co of Colorado. There are now 1429 stores throughout the world. In March, North American store number 500 opened in Biloxi, operated by Thompson Machinery.