Few would consider Red Deer a mining town, but that could change as Finning makes its mark on the city.

Vancouver-based Finning International Inc., the largest Caterpillar equipment dealer in the world, officially opened its Centre of Excellence in Red Deer on Friday.

Formerly occupied by Collicutt Energy Services Ltd., the Edgar Industrial Park facilities it bought in January will be used to prepare Caterpillar products for delivery to customers and for rebuilding existing equipment.

That equipment will include trucks, backhoes, graders, excavators and loaders, much of which is used in the mining sector.

“The mining business is booming all over the world, so a big part of the work we’re going to do in this facility has to do with mining equipment,” said Finning Canada president Dave Parker.

This will include equipment for oilsands work, added Parker, with traditional oilfield, construction, forestry and other industries to draw equipment from the Red Deer plant as well.

“You’ll see big equipment being moved in and out of here on a daily basis,” said plant manager Scott Wakefield.

By centralizing the tasks of modifying new equipment for customers’ needs and repairing and overhauling existing equipment, resources at Finning branches elsewhere can be focused on customer service, he said.

Also at the opening ceremonies was Ian Reid, Finning Canada’s recently retired president. He engineered the $145-million deal to buy Collicutt.

Reid said he’s pleased with the changeover, including the fact Finning was able to retain about 65 per cent of Collicutt’s approximately 470 workers.

These, combined with new recruits, have pushed the staff count at the Red Deer Centre of Excellence to more than 300.

That number is expected to reach 350 to 360 by September, said Wakefield.

Some Collicutt employees whose skills weren’t applicable to Finning’s needs have chosen to leave or were laid off, he said.

Reid said the two Red Deer buildings Finning acquired in the Collicutt deal are well-suited for his company’s needs.

“We’re very, very pleased with it so far,” agreed Parker.

Finning has budgeted $5.3 million for renovations, said Wakefield. This includes the construction of new wash bays, the addition of large doors and new signage.

“The biggest sign in the Caterpillar world is now on this building outside,” noted Reid.

The remaining work should be completed by late fall, said Wakefield.

Finning is still completing projects that Collicutt committed to before the sale. Many of these relate to the fabrication of compressor packages.

Once the final compressor packages have been completed, said Parker, Finning will discontinue work in this area.

“Our plan and strategy is to continue to be an engine supplier, and not compete with our packaging customers, so we’ll phase out that piece of business.”

Finning will, however, continue to manufacture electrical power generation systems, he said.