(BPT) - Nine equipment operators compete head-to-head this March in the final round of the competition during CONEXPO-CON/AGG in Las Vegas
After two rounds of putting their heavy machinery and technology skills to the test, only nine of the original 5,500 operators are left in Caterpillar's Global Operator Challenge. The final round of competitions will take place at the company's outdoor Festival Grounds exhibit F4455 during CONEXPO-CON/AGG March 14-18 and will also be live-streamed on cat.com.
More than 70 Cat dealers from more than 30 countries kicked off the program by holding local operator challenges from March through September 2022. The 2022/2023 competition is the world's largest construction industry event of its kind.
The final round will be the ultimate test of precision. Scoring is based on the operator's skills, efficiency, and competence in executing a variety of tasks while using Caterpillar heavy machinery integrated with the latest Caterpillar technology.
Here are the Global finalists:
Representing Europe:
- Pontus Erickson - Sweden
- Sebastian Behr - Germany (placed third in the 2020 Global Operator Challenge)
- Lukasz Mokrzynski - Poland
Representing Americas:
- John Schiedeck - United States (Texas)
- Matt Ferris - United States (Arizona)
- Fernando Do Nascimento - Brazil
Representing Asia-Pacific:
- Patrick Doheny - Australia
- Masato Imai - Japan
- Nick Thompson - Australia
The winner of this competition will be crowned as 2023's Global Operator Challenge World Champion at approximately 3 p.m. PDT during the live event on Tuesday, and will receive an all-expense-paid trip for two to one Caterpillar location worldwide.
