For Release in North America: July 2012
Release Number: xxxPR12
Peaks Island, Maine, the home base of family-owned and operated business LPA Inc., hosted hundreds of customers, suppliers, friends and family in a celebration of LPA’s victory in the “Win a Cat® Truck” contest. The June 13 event featured the delivery of the Cat CT660 dump truck via one of LPA’s ferries—accompanied by a water-spouting fireboat and police boat escorts—delivering the truck to the marina operated by the company.
The barging and excavating company generated more than 3,000 votes in an online competition of video appeals from more than 300 contractors and haulers across the USA. Coley Mulkern, CEO of LPA, explained in the video that the fourth-generation family business provides a wide variety of services to the islands in and near Casco Bay, near Portland, Maine. The CT660, equipped with a dump body, would become part of their critical supply line bringing materials from the mainland to the islands and hauling debris away from the islands and back to the mainland for recycling or disposal.
At the delivery ceremony, Mulkern thanked his customers and friends for supporting LPA through their votes, and he thanked Caterpillar and Milton Cat, the regional Cat dealer, for their support throughout the years.
“One thing our three companies—Caterpillar, Milton and LPA—have in common is our business philosophy,” Mulkern said. “We all believe the way to succeed in business is to work hard, give customers a quality product for a fair price and appreciate every customer for supporting you no matter how large or small they are. This new truck will help us deliver reliable, high quality service to our customers for decades to come. Winning this truck is a win for the entire community.”
Mulkern and the President of LPA, Katherine Plante, whose father, Lionel Plante Sr., started the company, accepted the truck from George Taylor, Director of Caterpillar Global On-Highway Truck Group.
“The LPA entry emphasized that reliability in tough conditions was a key for successful operation,” Taylor said. “The truck has to handle well on mainland highways, negotiate steep ramps at marine landings, and maneuver well on rugged island roads. And it has to operate in areas far from a truck service bay. It can’t have a bad day. We think the CT660 is up to the task.”
About 50 employees of Milton Cat’s Scarborough, Maine, location accompanied the truck as it was barged to Peaks Island. Chris Milton, President of Milton Cat, focused his remarks on the LPA business.
“LPA represents the type of business that’s at the core of our regional economy—family owned companies that build their reputations one day at a time, one job at a time, delivering their very best to their customers,” Milton said. “Every single member of the Milton Cat team is proud to play a role supporting them.”
The specially painted CT660 also was specially equipped for extended durability and reliability in the corrosive marine environment. Extensive use of stainless steel and totally sealed electrical harnesses were part of the specifying process.
Those systems and the entire truck will be put to the test immediately. “As soon as the party is over, we start hauling 3,000 yards of aggregates to make concrete on the islands,” Mulkern said. “We do need this truck.”
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Note to Editors: Caterpillar rolls-out products and services in each of its territories at different time intervals. Although every effort is made to ensure that product information is released only after Caterpillar has received confirmation from our dealer network, our plants, and our marketing subsidiaries that products and services are available in the relevant region, editors are kindly requested to verify with their local dealer for product availability and specifications.
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