Western Australia’s best operator has been named after the state final of the Caterpillar Global Operator Challenge
Caterpillar dealer WesTrac has crowned open pit supervisor Max Harris as Western Australia’s best Cat machinery operator, following the state final of the Global Operator Challenge.
Working with Northern Star, the 32-year-old from Boulder outperformed 10 other finalists in a series of three challenges designed to test the skill, accuracy and agility of competitors.
As the state champion, Harris won an all-expenses-paid trip to Japan, where he will compete against international operators at the Asia-Pacific Regional Final in October.
Only three operators from that final will be selected to travel to Las Vegas in March, 2026, to compete against the world’s best operators in the Caterpillar Global Operator Final held at CONEXPO.
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WesTrac WA construction general manager Cameron Callaway says the WA final, held at WesTrac’s Perth Branch dig pit, involved a variety of different challenges and required skills across three different Cat machines.
“The tasks performed by competitors included digging a trench, loading and carrying material over an obstacle course, and navigating a tight course, which all had to be completed with safety front-of-mind,” Callaway says.
“All of the operators, who have come from various companies across WA’s mining and construction industries, completed these tasks with remarkable precision, however there could only be one State Champion.
“Congratulations to Max (Harris) and on behalf of the entire team at WesTrac, we wish him every success as he heads to Japan to represent Western Australia.”
This year the 2025-26 Global Operator Challenge coincides with two major milestones, Caterpillar’s 100-year anniversary and WesTrac WA commemorating 35 years as a Cat dealer.
To learn more about the Global Operator Challenge, visit www.cat.com/operatorchallenge