Shale24 spoke with Germán Wilson, vice president of operations and country manager of Finning Argentina, on the sidelines of AOG Patagonia 2026 in Neuquen. Wilson is also president of the Chamber of Commerce Argentina Canada (CCAC), and the exhibition is organized by the Argentine Institute of Oil and Gas (IAPG). Canadian-headquartered Finning is the world’s largest Caterpillar dealer and has represented the brand in Argentina for 23 years.
Wilson, a Chilean based in Argentina, describes a different moment for the company. The business that historically sustained Finning was construction, tied to public works. Now mining and oil and gas are pushing hard, and the company has set a growth target that, he said, means becoming more than three times its current size by 2030.
In the conversation, Wilson compared the mining takeoff with what Vaca Muerta, one of the world’s largest shale plays, was ten years ago, explained why the shortage of technicians is the biggest bottleneck and argued that Argentina has what it takes to compete for data center investment.
Q: Finning has been in Argentina for 23 years and has always relied on construction and public works, but you talk about a turning point, with mining in particular. What changed in the business, and how is the company preparing for a leap of that magnitude?
A: What changed is mining, and also oil and gas, where demand is strong. We have three verticals: mining; energy, which includes oil and gas, power generation and industrial engines; and construction. Traditionally our strongest business was construction, closely tied to public works. With the change of era Argentina has gone through, the other two are getting a strong boost. At the same time, something very disruptive is happening in the capabilities needed to sustain the growth projected for the next five years, which is not that long a horizon. That demands an exceptional level of activity.
Beyond the volume of activity, we are focused on changing the way we do things, and training is one example. Caterpillar’s traditional curriculum takes about four years, four and a half years to prepare a fully qualified technician. The modern approach, which is a global conversation, works with modules of specific competencies, like building blocks that put together the technical profile each application needs. The beauty of it is that it speeds up training: instead of a generalist technician who can do everything, you turn out an engine specialist faster, and then comes the mentoring and follow-up process with our base.
Q: You train your own staff, but does training also reach customers? How much of the business comes from the service that follows the equipment sale?
A: Yes. In oil and gas we sell components that form part of, for example, a gas compression plant; elsewhere we sell finished products. In both cases we take care of maintenance and of having specific training available, and we work on the operation, above all in machinery. The new era of mining brings technologies that are only now arriving in the country. Bringing in the hardware is the first stage, the one that opens the door. Then comes the adoption of technologies, new ways of operating and maintenance strategies that go beyond what is done today. It is a different scale.
Q: Let’s talk about that difference in scale. What challenge do mining projects pose for Caterpillar and for the country? You said there isn’t enough machinery and that the machinery that will be needed isn’t even in the country.
A: We need to keep educating society about the real impact of large-scale mining on the economy. When these projects go into production, they will require equipment that does not exist in the country today. And it is not only the mining companies that need it: the contractors working for them, with targets for efficiency, earthmoving or infrastructure construction deadlines, need capacity that does not yet exist. That scale runs through the entire chain, because it demands repair capabilities and technologies that are not here today. As a primary supplier, we need to develop secondary suppliers, and we have a program to transfer standards, technologies, and operating and evaluation models to them so they can sustain what is coming.
Q: Earlier I asked whether mining today is what Vaca Muerta was ten years ago. You said there are things in common but also differences, and gave a two- to three-year window for mining to break through in force. What sets it apart from the early days of shale?
A: There are two differences. The first, and for me the biggest bottleneck, is technical personnel. Vaca Muerta did not have to compete with another industry that was also flourishing. Now there is a competitive environment, with technicians moving from one industry to another, and that is going to intensify because the shortage is very severe. Sometimes there is a debate over whether it has to be local people or not, and that is a minor issue compared with what will happen in two or three years. That is why public-private collaboration is so important to strengthen training programs and get people training now, because when the wave comes we will not be able to keep up.
The second difference is that Vaca Muerta concentrates much of the activity in Neuquen province. Argentina’s six large greenfield projects are spread across three or four provinces. Each has its own logistical challenge, with long distances and remote locations, and scale has to be found to generate investment. It is a business you cannot think about without a 30- or 40-year horizon, and that is why the window of opportunity opening up for Argentina is so relevant.
Q: When you talk about mining’s breakthrough and the challenges it will bring, which developments do you have in mind? Lithium, copper, gold?
A: Mining in general is a major challenge, but the scale of metal mining is on another level. Mining in Chile, a country with which we have a lot in common in terms of reserves, shows the scale of the opportunity. Wherever you look there is huge growth potential, and we are at very embryonic stages. I have spoken with provincial governments about how they support companies and about the role of SMEs. For me the elements are clear: transfer of standards, technology know-how and financing, where the provincial government often plays a role. That is how an ecosystem is built. The approach is collaborative.
Q: What challenges does Finning face in Argentina, and how does Caterpillar’s business look internationally, where power demand from data centers is starting to weigh in?
A: Growth challenges. We aim for the company to be more than three times larger by 2030 in Argentina, because of the mining disruption. In construction there is also a shift from public works to private contracting, and the fleets used for public works are often old, do not meet the standards to move into mining and lack the technology option. We are focused on that. Because we are embedded in productive value chains, the challenge is now, not three years from now.
Globally, Caterpillar is coming off a very positive run. Its share price, in line with Finning’s, is practically at its highest levels of the past twelve months, driven by very strong growth across different industries. One example is what is happening with data centers and artificial intelligence, which now require their own power. For Caterpillar it is a huge opportunity in the power generation business.
That is why the government is talking about a Súper RIGI to attract data center investment. Today Argentina is not on that map and Chile is. But the country has a series of blessings: abundant, low-cost energy; cold climates, which are very relevant because you do not have to spend energy on cooling; and human talent to develop it. Everything points to the country having more to offer. Today Argentina is on Caterpillar’s map as an important growth focus, and the amount of support and the number of visits we receive every week is impressive.
Wilson’s remarks come in a year in which Argentina’s mining portfolio is accelerating: Argentina’s Large Investment Incentive Regime (RIGI) has already approved Vicuña, the BHP–Lundin Mining venture in San Juan province, as the first copper project in the Strategic Long-Term Export Project category, and the sector is preparing for its largest hiring expansion in decades. For Finning, that growth starts in the workshop and the classroom.