VIP Tour at Caterpillar ForestPro Training Center

Interim President Richardson and other administrators from the College of Agriculture and School of Forestry and Wildlife Sciences recently visited Caterpillar's ForestPro Training Center. The January 10 ^th visit, which was hosted by the School of Forestry and Wildlife Sciences and the Biosystems Engineering Department, was the first opportunity to show off the new facility to Auburn's president. The ForestPro Training Center, which is located on AAES property north of Auburn, is used by Caterpillar Corporation to demonstrate and test their line of forest products equipment and to educate users of their equipment. Caterpillar completed the Center in the fall of 2004. Each year, the facility brings hundreds of visitors from around the globe to Auburn to see the latest in forest products equipment designs. As an added bonus to Auburn, students in Biosystems Engineering and Forestry and Wildlife Sciences frequently use the Center for classes and laboratory activities in courses that cover off-highway vehicle design, hydraulic control system design, forest harvesting system design, and machinery management. AU faculty also use the facility for research and extension efforts in forest operations and forest engineering. For more information on the Center, go to www.forestpro.com.