“If it doubled in size from last year, I can’t imagine what it’s going to be next year.”

A returning attendee said that at this year’s CAT Tech Conference. We’ve been asking ourselves the same thing.

From July 22–24, Caterpillar Reman Center (CRC) teams came to Rottler’s headquarters in Kent, Washington from Mongolia, Mexico, Armenia, Poland, and across the United States. It was the biggest CAT Tech Conference we’ve hosted so far.

One question behind three days

The conference is built around one question: how can we apply the basic fundamentals of what’s going on here to get as much life as possible out of an engine?

Rottler has been building machines since 1923, which makes this our 103rd year. We like to joke that Rottlers just make more Rottlers. The shop runs plenty of other machines too, though, because the job is really about using the right tool for the right job. Every CRC team at the conference already knows that.

Learning next to the machines

Most of the conference happened on the shop floor, not in a classroom. Attendees gathered around full-size CAT blocks on machines like the EM109H Linear, F80, and F99Y. They watched demos up close and asked questions as the work happened.

That was what many of them valued most. As one attendee put it, it’s important to “do things that are hands-on rather than just talking about them. Actually see the machines, get an opportunity to interact.”

What attendees took home

We asked attendees, “What are some key takeaways that you got from the past two days?” Here’s what we heard:

• Crankshaft balancing and polishing
• Honing, and measuring surface roughness
• Metal spray repair
• Proper block setup on the machine
• Machine maintenance, and knowing “there is a lot of information available to me”

One attendee first came last year knowing very little about how a block gets refurbished. “I know how it ended up and how it started,” he said. This year he could “see the importance of all the little details that go into rebuilding an engine.”

The people are the point

The answer we heard most often wasn’t about a machine. It was about the people.

Attendees talked about “the collaboration: all the vendors, the dealers” and about getting “different perspectives from everybody,” seeing what other dealers and shops are doing. One team said they “met a lot of dealers that we haven’t had contact with in the past.” Another put it simply: “It’s the interaction with the network of the people.”

Some teams are growing, too. One group brought two more people this year and is setting up its own machine shop.

Time off the shop floor

We made time for fun, too. Attendees got out for some golf and spent a day at the NHRA Northwest Nationals, cheering on the Rottler Pro Stock car.

One attendee called it “probably two of the best work trips I’ve been on. Extremely informational, a lot of fun.”

Already planning next year

This year’s conference was the biggest yet. We’re already planning next year’s event, and we’re planning for more people.

Thank you to every CRC team, vendor, and guest who made the trip. We appreciate you coming out, and we look forward to seeing you, and the people you bring with you, next year.