Equipment firm eyes State projects as it marks 100 years

Mohamed Ibrahim, MD Mantrac Kenya, Nicolas Merer, East Africa Regional Director Mantrac Group, Nigel Lewis, Chief Operations Officer Mantrac Group, Lavanya Ajesh, Caterpillar Vice President, Africa Distribution - recently at the CAT at 100 celebrated in Kenya by Mantrac Group.[Benard Orwongo, Standard]

American construction, mining and other engineering equipment manufacturer Caterpillar has marked 100 years of its operation in Kenya.

This is as the firm eyes the government's affordable housing and infrastructure projects in its next growth cycle.

Egyptian Mantrac Group, which is the sole authorised dealer representative in the country, Africa and the Middle East with presence in 12 countries with offices in China, Dubai and the United Kingdom(UK), hosted the landmark centennial celebration on Tuesday last week at its headquarters located on Witu Road in Nairobi. Caterpillar equipment was first introduced in Kenya in 1925, through the exclusive dealership of Gailey and Roberts. The dealership was later taken over by Mantrac Kenya in 2002.

Mohamed Ibrahim, managing director of Mantrac Kenya, highlighted Caterpillar's role in Kenya's growth story and reaffirmed Mantrac Kenya's commitment to powering the next century of progress.

"When we build a road, we do not simply provide machines to lay asphalt. We improve lives, like the Kisumu Road that allowed fishermen to bring their catch to Nairobi markets," said Ibrahim.

He added that the company is ready to take opportunities in real estate and construction that come with the government's Affordable Housing Programme(AHP).

"I think we are in the right time in Kenya, we see a lot of good programs for development coming for the next five years at least, and those programs entail affordable housing. Excavation of foundations, grading and compactors will be the first requirement of any contractor working on AHP, and then after that we can use man-lifting equipment, which we also sell and can also be used in blocks, cement and concrete transportation," said Ibrahim.

Ibrahim said they have started to witness growth nowadays, and they see contractors are busy in different fields, including cement production, road construction, real estate, and agriculture.