Gough Cat out...Terra Cat in
THE FORMER GOUGH CAT, NEW ZEALAND’S Caterpillar importer since the 1930s, has been rebranded Terra Cat by new owners Sime Darby.
The Malaysian industrial/automotive giant, which bought Gough Group last August in a deal said to be worth $211million, revealed the new name for its dealership at a flash event at an Auckland winery in December.
Terra Industrial NZ chief executive Grant Whitelaw outlined a vision “for a revitalised future based on new ownership, customer passion for Cat products and expanded customer solutions.
“We are building on a magnificent legacy of 90 years. The company has a great history in working with customers to help build NZ, and we are taking this forward as we draw on new resource and expand our customer offering,” he said.
The expertise and experience of Sime Darby, owner of some of the world’s leading Cat dealerships, will bring new strength to the company, Whitelaw said.
The company will be introducing some industry firsts to help customers get more value from the equipment than they realise is available.
As a first step, it’s launching a new customer portal to give easy online access to vital information about fuel efficiency, machine locations, hours on equipment, oil lab results and the like. It will move to a more solutionfocused model of helping customers solve problems as well as providing machinery, he said.
The company says that the Gough Group purchase provided “the rare opportunity to expand in the Asia Pacific region and gain exposure to NZ construction and forestry sectors.”
T&D