Caterpillar is to build a regional training centre for the African and Middle East region in Dubai, UAE. The centre will offer hands-on machines and power systems technical and sales training to Caterpillar?s dealers and customers in the region.

With an investment of more than $ 7 million, the 1,700 sq m facility will employ about 40 people, mostly high-level technical staff who will primarily be recruited from the region. The facility is expected to open before the end of the year and will be located at Caterpillar?s Middle East parts distribution centre and regional office in Jebel Ali, Dubai.

According to the company, its dealers in the Africa and the Middle East region employ more than 7,000 technicians.

The centre will include a lab for scheduled oil sampling analysis, which the company says will help turnaround time of emergency samples and reduce machine downtime.