Cat Financial Program Supports Customers During Disasters

By Edgar Sandoval, Contributor | Posted: May 7, 2021 | Revised: March 28, 2022

Our Customer Care Program offered assistance to eligible customers financially impacted by COVID-19. The program provided payment relief to eligible customers, which allowed many to stay safe, stay afloat, and most importantly retain the hard-working employees who depend on them for jobs. But the impact of the Customer Care Program is nothing new — Cat Financial offered similar support when Hurricane Harvey ravaged southeast Texas.

“Hurricane Harvey was something that devastated the Houston area,” said Shaun Dean, CEO of Joslin Construction, a longtime Cat Financial customer. “We had record rainfall. A lot of folks were displaced in our organization. We had 57 team members, including myself, who couldn’t return to their homes after the hurricane. At that point, construction was a secondary thought for a couple of weeks. It was really about helping people get food, get water, find a place to live, get the things they needed. So, at that point, you really saw the human spirit kick in across the whole area.”

Harvey dropped more than 40 inches of rain and caused more than 125 billion dollars in damage to the Houston area. Dean credits Caterpillar and Cat Financial with helping him and his company with financial planning solutions through an especially difficult time. But he says it was so much more than that.

“They called to check on us,” Dean continued. “Said what do you need? How can we help? There were some different things they did that really helped our business and the way they structured some of the existing instruments [we] had with them. And they really were flexible and what really impressed me about the Cat Financial brand compared to other lenders is they understood our challenges. They understood the needs that we had. And they were able to respond quickly, nimbly, and in a way that showed they had a full understanding of our business and the challenges we face in the construction industry.”

That partnership and support continue today as the world carefully navigates the effects of a global pandemic. We know business operations have changed, but we have the tools that can help make getting back to work as effortless, contact-free, and as safe as possible while the focus remains on running a successful business. And as one European customer put it, “You are giving us a lifeline that we did not expect.”

Cat Financial takes pride in being a true partner in business. For us, it’s about more than the machines… it’s about the people who rely on them to make a living and use them to make our world a better place.