Caterpillar hopes to trade in Cuba when the embargo is lifted.
With a collapsing market in Brazil, the off-highway vehicle giant is hoping to reverse its recent sales misfortunes by winning contracts in the Communist State with which it has good relations.
Cuba's 60-year old cars Image: Brian Snelson |
So far, the Cuban hospitality sector has seen much of the economic activity. Road renewal and major infrastructure schemes are an ideal market for the manufacturer of heavy plant machinery.
Bill Lane, Caterpillar's director of global government affairs stated: “Everybody focuses on the 60-year-old cars that are on the streets, but we focus on the 60-year-old roads they are being driven on. That’s where we see our opportunity.”
If and when the Cuban embargo is lifted by the US Congress, Caterpillar is planning to supply the market with equipment from its Brazilian operations where the company's business "has basically tanked," according to Bradley Halverson, Caterpillar’s chief financial officer.