WSM’s Gary Hahn & Bruce Weber (center l & r) visit the Caterpillar plant in Clayton. |
If you build it they will come. No, it’s not the line from the hit movie “Field of Dreams.” Instead, it’s what happened when a proud corporate partner of NC State Athletics invited two members of the Wolfpack Sports Marketing team to their home turf to see what they do, and how they do it.
Caterpillar is the world leader in the manufacturing of heavy equipment. Some of CAT’s best products are made right here in North Carolina. So, the CAT team invited Gary Hahn, “Voice of the Wolfpack,” and Bruce Weber, Business Development Associate at WSM who services the Caterpillar account, to their Clayton plant to see exactly how these impressive machines are put together from start to finish.
“It takes quite a team to do what our friends at CAT do on a daily basis,” remarked Weber. “After visiting the Clayton plant it’s easy to see why Caterpillar is Number One.”
Up to five thousand people tour the Clayton plant each year. This particular facility runs twenty-four hours a day and produces backhoe loaders and small wheel loaders, two of Caterpillar’s more popular machines. It’s something to see them created from start to finish. It’s even more fun to actually get to operate the equipment, something Caterpillar had these two Wolfpackers do during the tour.
“It was a real kick to get to operate some of the machinery,” said Hahn. “I always wanted to drive a bulldozer and I got my chance. Fortunately, I didn’t destroy anything or hurt anyone.”
The CAT team made sure of that. But for them it’s all part of a day’s work. “It was a pleasure hosting Bruce Weber and Gary Hahn here at the Clayton Facility,” said Rick Francis of Caterpillar. “They were like two kids in a sandbox when they got behind the controls of a Caterpillar skid steer loader and backhoe loader.”
It’s safe to say that Hahn and Weber won’t be giving up their day jobs anytime soon. But should the need arise, these two would-be operators are standing by. And, after the trip to the Clayton plant, it’s easy to understand why our company is proud to say: Caterpillar and NC State… partnering to make progress possible.
Thanks to WSM’s Brenda Steen for this capcom story & photo.
