Finning International, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, said the earthquake that struck Chile on Feb. 27, 2010, appears to have had minimal impact on its South American operations. The company continues to assess the full impact of the earthquake on its employees and operations.

Employees, branches and customers in the northern part of Chile, including the Antofagasta mining region, continue to operate as usual, the company said last week. Operations at mines closer to the epicenter were temporarily halted, but are expected to resume operations shortly.

Finning South America has about 5,000 employees, including about 1,000 who live in the impacted area. Based on preliminary information and assessments received at this point, there have been no reported injuries amongst employees and family members. The company’s operations in the impacted region include a corporate head office in Santiago and three branches, Concepcion, Temuco and Puerto Montt. These branches have sustained only minimal damages.

It appears that the heaviest damage has been to Finning’s head office in Santiago, however all information systems remain fully operational. For the time being, the company has relocated its employees to alternate Finning offices within Santiago.

“Our foremost priority is the well-being of our people and our thoughts are with them during these difficult times. Finning South America's executive is implementing their contingency plan to mitigate the impact on our operations and ensure that we can continue to fully service our customers. Finning is also committed to playing a proactive role in supporting its employees and providing humanitarian aid during the recovery effort,” said Mike Waites, Finning International president and CEO.

Finning continues to fully evaluate the impact of the earthquake on its South American employees and operations and will provide further updates as more complete information becomes available.

Finning, one of the world’s largest Caterpillar dealers, sells, rents and services equipment and engines in Western Canada, Chile, Argentina, Bolivia, Uruguay and the United Kingdom.