Unveiling of First Cat® Vocational Truck at CONEXPO in March 2011
PEORIA, Ill., Oct. 26 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE: CAT) will unveil the first model in its full line of Cat® Vocational Trucks, the Cat CT660, at CONEXPO on March 22, 2011. The Class 8 trucks will be sold and serviced exclusively through the Cat North American Dealer network, with production beginning after CONEXPO for customer delivery later in the year.
To develop its first line of trucks, Caterpillar leveraged its industry-leading technologies, extensive knowledge of worksite and operator environments gained from meeting the heavy equipment needs of a wide range of industries, and an unparalleled dedication to customer support. The trucks will offer custom solutions for a large variety of job applications—from moving rock and hauling trash to logging and pouring concrete.
Before Caterpillar engineers started designing, the company asked vocational truck owners and drivers what they wanted and needed from their trucks. "Our design and manufacturing has been focused squarely on making the customer input we gathered a reality," said George Taylor, Director and General Manager of the Cat Global On-Highway Department.
Taylor added, "We coupled customer input with our knowledge learned from years of experience working closely with different industries to meet their heavy equipment needs to identify the ideal standard options for various industry applications. As a result, we're proud we will deliver a line of vocational trucks that our customers want, knowing they are built for a wide variety of jobs."
Caterpillar will offer the heavy-duty Cat Vocational Day Cab Trucks with a full range of popular engine ratings and torque capability options. The specs are designed explicitly for customers' demanding applications and include a Cat CT11 engine with ratings from 330 bhp to 390 bhp, a Cat CT13 with ratings from 410 bhp to 475 bhp and, coming in 2012, a Cat CT15 with ratings from 435 bhp to 550 bhp.
Because of its proven record for quality and reliability that maximizes uptime, the Cat CX31 torque converter style automatic transmission, with three standard locations for Rear Power Take Off drive positions, will be a noteworthy option for Cat Vocational Trucks. Caterpillar also offers a complete line of other OEM vocational transmission options, including Eaton manual and automated manual transmissions.
"These trucks are everything the Cat brand represents in terms of quality, durability, reliability, and driver ergonomics, so we're looking forward to seeing the reaction to the CT660 at CONEXPO," said Cat Vocational Truck Product Manager Gary Blood, who is responsible for product strategy, design and introduction of the new trucks.
Product Support and Dealer Readiness
According to Product Support Manager Tom Eberlin, customers can count on exceptional product support, as they do with all Cat equipment. That means support in the field, as well as from the 24/7 Cat On-Highway Call Center and from Cat dealers. Eberlin said, "Over the years, Caterpillar and our dealers have provided unsurpassed product support to our customers who operate our truck engines. We will continue to support the 1.6 million truck engines in operation today and leverage this support with our new vocational trucks."
Strategy/Dealer Development Manager Ed Cullen has been working closely with Cat dealers as they've been gearing up to support the new trucks with bumper-to-bumper service. Cullen has also been communicating truck options and features and benefits to dealerships, so they are well prepared to consult with customers during the sales process.
Cullen said, "We're sure owners, as well as the drivers, will be thrilled when we share details about the features and benefits of the CT660 at our unveiling, and they'll be equally thrilled with our full Cat truck line over the coming years, because these are the trucks customers told us they wanted."
About Caterpillar:
For more than 85 years, Caterpillar Inc. has been making progress possible and driving positive and sustainable change on every continent. With 2009 sales and revenues of $32.396 billion, Caterpillar is the world's leading manufacturer of construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas engines, industrial gas turbines and diesel-electric locomotives. The company also is a leading services provider through Caterpillar Financial Services, Caterpillar Remanufacturing Services, Caterpillar Logistics Services and Progress Rail Services. More information is available at: http://www.cat.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
Certain statements in this press release relate to future events and expectations and, as such, constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements are subject to known and unknown factors that may cause actual results of Caterpillar Inc. to be different from those expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements. Words such as "believe," "estimate," "will be," "will," "would," "expect," "anticipate," "plan," "project," "intend," "could," "should" or other similar words or expressions often identify forward-looking statements. All statements other than statements of historical fact are forward-looking statements, including, without limitation, statements regarding our outlook, projections, forecasts or trend descriptions. These statements do not guarantee future performance, and Caterpillar does not undertake to update its forward-looking statements.
It is important to note that actual results of the company may differ materially from those described or implied in such forward-looking statements based on a number of factors, including, but not limited to: (i) economic volatility in the global economy generally and in capital and credit markets; (ii) Caterpillar's ability to generate cash from operations, secure external funding for operations and manage liquidity needs; (iii) adverse changes in the economic conditions of the industries or markets Caterpillar serves; (iv) government regulations or policies, including those affecting interest rates, liquidity, access to capital and government spending on infrastructure development; (v) commodity price increases and/or limited availability of raw materials and component products, including steel; (vi) compliance costs associated with environmental laws and regulations; (vii) Caterpillar's and Cat Financial's ability to maintain their respective credit ratings, material increases in either company's cost of borrowing or an inability of either company to access capital markets; (viii) financial condition and credit worthiness of Cat Financial's customers; (ix) material adverse changes in our customers' access to liquidity and capital; (x) market acceptance of Caterpillar's products and services; (xi) effects of changes in the competitive environment, which may include decreased market share, lack of acceptance of price increases, and/or negative changes to our geographic and product mix of sales; (xii) Caterpillar's ability to successfully implement Caterpillar Production System or other productivity initiatives; (xiii) international trade and investment policies, such as import quotas, capital controls or tariffs; (xiv) failure of Caterpillar or Cat Financial to comply with financial covenants in their respective credit facilities; (xv) adverse changes in sourcing practices for our dealers or original equipment manufacturers; (xvi) additional tax expense or exposure; (xvii) political and economic risks associated with our global operations, including changes in laws, regulations or government policies, currency restrictions, restrictions on repatriation of earnings, burdensome tariffs or quotas, national and international conflict, including terrorist acts and political and economic instability or civil unrest in the countries in which Caterpillar operates; (xviii) currency fluctuations, particularly increases and decreases in the U.S. dollar against other currencies; (xix) increased payment obligations under our pension plans; (xx) inability to successfully integrate and realize expected benefits from acquisitions; (xxi) significant legal proceedings, claims, lawsuits or investigations; (xxii) imposition of significant costs or restrictions due to the enactment and implementation of health care reform legislation and proposed financial regulation legislation; (xxiii) changes in accounting standards or adoption of new accounting standards; (xxiv) adverse effects of natural disasters; and (xxv) other factors described in more detail under "Item 1A. Risk Factors" in Part I of our Form 10-K filed with the SEC on February 19, 2010 for the year ended December 31, 2009 and in Part II of our Form 10-Q filed with the SEC on May 3, 2010 for the quarter ended March 31, 2010. These filings are available on our website at www.cat.com/sec_filings.
SOURCE Caterpillar Inc.
Share this article