MOSSVILLE, Ill. When motorcoaches start rolling off assembly lines next quarter with 2007 Caterpillar engines, operators will find that the Cat dealer shelves are stocked with parts and its technicians ready to provide any service needed.

In fact, Cat says its service and support network, including Cat dealers, is ready to roll.

"Over the past year, 56 fleets have rolled up nearly 12 million miles on more than 100 Cat 2007 preproduction engines," said George Taylor, director and general manager for Global On-Highway Business at Caterpillar.

To provide seamless service to bus and truck owners and operators, more than 600 technicians at both Cat dealers and OEM dealers have received extensive technical training on 2007 Cat engines.

The training, says Taylor, has included hands-on instruction on all of the systems and technology employed by the 2007 engines: the diesel particulate filter, the Cat Regeneration System, and Caterpillar's Clean Gas Induction.

Online training programs also have been provided, along with a dealer training kit, including a training manual, a DVD and various supporting material to train branch locations and OEM dealers.

The online training program has reached more than 20,000 technicians who work at both Caterpillar and OEM dealers, said Steve Ashburn, product support consultant, Caterpillar Global On-Highway Engines.

"And for three months last fall, we brought in Caterpillar training instructors from every dealership in North America for in-depth training on the new 2007 engines. These people are responsible for passing this knowledge to technicians at dealerships across North America," said Ashburn.

The parts distribution process also will be seamless, with parts already stocked and available when needed, according to Taylor. Cat engine parts currently are available through any Caterpillar authorized dealer.

The Cat electronic technician software has been updated to diagnose the 07 engines.

The ACERT emissions-reduction technology used by Caterpillar has been refined for 2007, and Cat engines have major enhancements - a refined combustion process called clean-gas induction and a self-regenerating diesel particulate filter.

More information is available at www.cat.com.