Seguin Gazette: Governor visits Seguin to mark Caterpillar milestone

Felicia Frazar is the assistant editor for the Seguin Gazette.
felicia.frazar@seguingazette.com

Almost 10 years ago, Caterpillar broke ground in Seguin and began building a new engine manufacturing facility.

This week, the company rolled out its 400,000th engine at the plant, which received its final inspection signature from Texas Gov. Greg Abbott.

“We did get to recognize a landmark with the 400,000th engine that is being shipped from this facility,” Abbott said during a special ceremony at the plant. “That is something everybody here should be proud of, but very importantly this a tangible result of the hard work that you and your fellow workers put in. It is a landmark that you should be very, very proud of.”

Caterpillar Inc. group president Ramin Younessi thanked Abbott for helping to celebrate the milestone.

“On behalf of Caterpillar, I would like to sincerely thank our governor,” he said. “We have a very proud group of about 2,500 folks in our four manufacturing plants in their area. I wanted to be here today to see the impressive line of operations that you have, to get to have officially signed the 400,000th engine manufactured by Caterpillar, but most importantly to thank you for the role you play in a very  dynamic economy helping to lead the way, making sure Texas remains the number one state in the United States for doing business.”

The final product, a 9.3-liter engine, is heading to a plant in Victoria for installation into an excavator, Younessi said.

In addition to signing the final inspection paperwork, Abbott presented Younessi with a state proclamation recognizing the company and the milestone.

“I just want to join you in thanking the role your leaders play,” Abbott said. “These are very active citizens that in our community, but they are very good business people. They have the uniqueness of being located in the best state for doing this.”

The state is spending $7.5 billion a year for the next 10 years on roads, which in turn helps to keep the Caterpillar engines running, Abbott said.

“The only thing that can be as good of a business as Caterpillar is right now is the orange cone business,” he said. “Let me tell you one of the reasons why we need to be building those roads, and that is because of all of the people moving here. There are a thousand people who move to Texas every single day. That is why Caterpillar plays such an important role, to help us build those roads faster, which is what our Texans wants.”

Additionally, Abbott said the continued harvesting of oil in Texas contributes to the need for more heavy equipment powered by CAT.

“We happen to be living in the region that is the most prolific gas and oil production region, I think, in the entire world right now,” he said. “We are adding tens of thousands of new oil and gas rigs, just in the Permian Basin well, not including the Eagle-Ford Basin.”

While the company is most notably known for building the large engines, Abbotts said there’s so much more.

“I know that you have more than 20 locations just in the state of Texas employing more than 4,000 people in our state, but you’re more than a good business, you’re a good friend, you’re like family,” he said. 

In the wake of Hurricane Harvey, just a year ago the company lent a helping hand.

“I know that Caterpillar was there to help out our fellow Texans dig out from Hurricane Harvey, from the charitable contributions of generators that you offered up and the tremendous contributions through the course of the past year,” Abbott said.

Joining the governor in the momentous occasion were state and local officials, including Texas Secretary of State Rolando Pablos,  Texas Transportation Commission chairman J. Bruce Bugg, Jr., State Senator Donna Campbell, State Rep. John Kuempel and Seguin Mayor Don Keil.

Also in attendance were Holt Cat chief administrative officer Corinna Holt Richter, General Manager Peter John Holt and Mustang-Caterpillar president Brad Tucker.

Abbott said he looked forward to joining the company in marking an even larger milestone.

“I look forward to returning, hopefully in the not too distant future, to sign the 1,000,000th engine issued by this Caterpillar plant,” he said.

To see the original story from the Seguin Gazette, please click here.