Modern Machines Are Smarter and So Are the Technicians Behind Them

Lucas Haddock spoke to Tom March, the recent winner of the Caterpillar Inc. Global Dealer Technician Challenge at CONEXPO-CON/AGG 2026 in Las Vegas

It was a long journey for Tom, with the challenge beginning back in September 2024 with a dealer competition for Finning UK & Ireland.

This later led him to qualify for the global Caterpillar competition with the semi-finals in February of 2025 and the last stage of the competition the week before CONEXPO in Edwards, Peoria.

Being announced as the winner at CONEXPO, Tom said: “I couldn’t believe it, such an incredible feeling, being in Las Vegas for the show and then winning it’s surreal.” With 10 to 15 years' worth of experience with Caterpillar machinery."

Tom added: “This is definitely the highlight of my career working with Caterpillar, winning a global competition for a job I love doing.”

An amazing win for Tom and Finning, and it was brilliant to hear his thoughts on the challenge and listen to how it went for him.