NINE finalists will battle it out in Caterpillar’s Global Operator Challenge 2023 in Las Vegas.
After two rounds of putting heavy machinery and technology skills to the test, only nine of the original 5,500 operators are left in the competition. The final round will take place during CONEXPO-CON/AGG on March 14-18 and will also be live-streamed on cat.com.
The finalists will participate in various challenges showcasing the ability to operate Cat equipment safely and efficiently.
“This competition started with thousands of operators from different industries registering for the challenge,” said Jessica Nunley, global marketing manager for Caterpillar. “After narrowing down the contestants to just 5,500 participants in the first round hosted by Cat dealers around the world, 84 semi-finalists advanced to our regional competitions held at Caterpillar sites in Europe, North America, South America and Asia.
“We are excited to challenge the skills of the nine finalists left standing and crowning this year’s Global Operator Challenge Champion.”
The final three challenges and the machines involved will not be revealed until just two days before the event. Jaus Neigum, the 2020 World Champion, has helped design one of this year’s challenges.
Representing Europe in Las Vegas will be Pontus Ericksson from Sweden, Germany’s Sebastian Behr and Łukasz Mokrzyński from Poland. Representing Americas will be John Schiedeck and Matt Ferris from the United States along with Brazil’s Fernando Do Nascimento. Representing Asia-Pacific will be Patrick Doheny and Nick Thompson from Australia and Japan’s Masato Imai.
The winner will receive an all expenses paid trip for two to one Caterpillar location worldwide.
