Caterpillar, Navistar Move Relationship Forward With Global Joint Venture for Commercial Trucks and North America Strategic Alli
07 April 2009 - 8:00AM
PR Newswire (US)
PEORIA, Ill. and WARRENVILLE, Ill., April 6 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/
-- As the next step in the alliance announced in June 2008,
Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE: CAT) and Navistar International Corporation
(NYSE:NAV) have signed a definitive agreement to produce
Caterpillar heavy-duty vocational trucks for sale in North America
and form a 50/50 joint venture that will pursue global commercial
truck opportunities outside of North America. "This joint venture
leverages the complementary strengths of two great companies to
serve global markets," said Daniel C. Ustian, Chairman, President
and CEO, Navistar. "The venture will be distinctively positioned to
offer customers world class on-highway trucks through the unequaled
sales and service network of Cat and International dealers around
the world, and the deep product expertise of Navistar." "We are
extremely pleased with the commitment that the teams have
demonstrated to make the signing of this global venture possible,"
said Caterpillar Chairman and CEO Jim Owens. "This is an important
milestone and Caterpillar looks forward to becoming a significant
player in the global on-highway truck market. Additionally, the
introduction of a Cat Vocational Truck line in North America
represents an exciting opportunity for Caterpillar and the
Caterpillar dealer network to extend our reach in this market and
offer customers a total job site solution." Global Commercial Truck
Markets Outside of North America The 50/50 joint venture will
develop, manufacture and distribute commercial trucks in regions
outside of North America and India. Markets for the joint venture
products will be assessed individually with initial focus being
Australia, Brazil, China, Russia, South Africa and Turkey. It is
anticipated that the portfolio of products will feature both aero
nose and cab-over designs and will be sold under both the
Caterpillar and International brands. The first products are
expected to be available as early as the third quarter of 2009. "We
believe this clearly is an opportunity where the whole is greater
than the sum of the parts," said Dee Kapur, President Navistar
Truck Group. "While Cat and Navistar do not compete in our core
businesses, each brings distinctive capabilities to the table and
have common goals to expand the base of engine, truck and equipment
customers worldwide." The transaction is subject to receipt of
various regulatory approvals and other closing conditions,
including the execution of the related joint venture operating
agreement and other ancillary agreements. Following the closing of
the transaction, a leadership team and board of directors comprised
of both Caterpillar and Navistar representatives will be named.
North America Caterpillar Vocational Trucks Under the strategic
alliance Caterpillar and Navistar will develop and manufacture a
new line of heavy-duty Caterpillar vocational trucks for North
America only. The new Caterpillar trucks will be co-developed by
Caterpillar and Navistar and manufactured in Navistar's Garland,
Texas facility. The trucks will be sold and serviced through the
Caterpillar North American Dealer network. "The heavy-duty
vocational trucks will be purpose-built to complement Caterpillar's
existing product line and will give Caterpillar dealers an
unmatched ability to support customer needs from extraction through
delivery," said George Taylor, Director and General Manager of the
Caterpillar Global On-Highway Department. The Caterpillar trucks
will feature key Caterpillar proprietary components and technology
and will target customers who operate in a wide variety of
vocational applications, such as earth moving, quarry, waste,
mining, general and heavy construction, logging and road
construction. "Caterpillar is proud to be working with an
innovative leader to provide our customers distinctly Caterpillar
vocational trucks in North America," Taylor added. The new
Caterpillar on-highway vocational trucks will be unveiled in late
2010 and will go into full production in early 2011. The trucks
will be sold and serviced exclusively by Caterpillar Dealers in
North America. The transaction is subject to various closing
conditions, including the execution of the related strategic
alliance agreement and certain other ancillary agreements. About
Caterpillar For more than 80 years, Caterpillar Inc. has been
making progress possible and driving positive and sustainable
change on every continent. With 2008 sales and revenues of $51.324
billion, Caterpillar is the world's leading manufacturer of
construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas engines
and industrial gas turbines. 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/. About Navistar Navistar International
Corporation traces its roots to 1831 and the former McCormick and
International Harvester companies. Today it is the largest North
American producer of mid-range diesel engines and class 6-8
commercial trucks and buses. Navistar, through its Defense Systems
Group, is the leading producer of Mine Resistant Ambush Protected
(MRAP) vehicles for the Department of Defense, safeguarding the
American warfighter. The company produces International(R) brand
commercial trucks, MaxxForce brand diesel engines, IC brand school
and commercial buses, and Workhorse brand chassis for motor homes
and step vans, and is a private label designer and manufacturer of
diesel engines for the pickup truck, van and SUV markets. Navistar
is also a provider of truck and diesel engine parts. A wholly owned
subsidiary offers financing services. Additional information is
available at: http://www.navistar.com/. SAFE HARBOR Certain
statements in this release relate to future events and expectations
and as such constitute forward-looking statements involving 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. In this context, words such as "will,"
"would," "expect," "anticipate," "should" or other similar words
and phrases often identify forward-looking statements made on
behalf of Caterpillar. 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 and uncertainties, including, but not limited to, (i)
adverse change in general economic conditions; (ii) adverse change
in the industries Caterpillar serves including construction,
infrastructure, mining, energy, marine and electric power
generation; (iii) Caterpillar's ability to manage material,
including steel, and freight costs; (iv) Caterpillar's ability to
generate cash from operations, secure external funding for its
operations and manage its liquidity needs; (v) material adverse
change in customers' access to liquidity and capital; (vi) currency
exchange or interest rates changes; (vii) political stability;
(viii) market acceptance of the company's products and services;
(ix) significant changes in the competitive environment; (x)
epidemic diseases; (xi) severe change in weather conditions
negatively impacting operations; (xii) changes in law, regulations
and tax rates; and (xiii) other general economic, business and
financing conditions and factors described in more detail in the
company's Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange
Commission on February 20, 2009. This filing is available on our
website at http://www.cat.com/sec_filings. We do not undertake to
update our forward-looking statements. NAVISTAR FORWARD-LOOKING
STATEMENT Information provided and statements contained in this
report that are not purely historical are forward-looking
statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act
of 1933, as amended, Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of
1934, as amended, and the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act
of 1995. Such forward-looking statements only speak as of the date
of this report and the company assumes no obligation to update the
information included in this report. Such forward-looking
statements include information concerning our possible or assumed
future results of operations, including descriptions of our
business strategy. These statements often include words such as
"believe," "expect," "anticipate," "intend," "plan," "estimate," or
similar expressions. These statements are not guarantees of
performance or results and they involve risks, uncertainties, and
assumptions and depend on a number of factors. These factors
include the ability of Navistar and Caterpillar to fulfill the
conditions set forth in the definitive agreement and the entering
into the definitive joint venture agreement and strategic alliance
agreement and related agreements and the factors described in Item
1A. Risk Factors of our Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended October
31, 2008, which was filed on December 30, 2008 as modified by Item
1A, Risk Factors of our Form 10-Q for the first quarter ended
January 31, 2009, which was filed on March 11, 2009. Although we
believe that these forward-looking statements are based on
reasonable assumptions, there are many factors that could affect
our actual financial results or results of operations and could
cause actual results to differ materially from those in the
forward-looking statements. All future written and oral
forward-looking statements by us or persons acting on our behalf
are expressly qualified in their entirety by the cautionary
statements contained or referred to above. Except for our ongoing
obligations to disclose material information as required by the
federal securities laws, we do not have any obligations or
intention to release publicly any revisions to any forward-looking
statements to reflect events or circumstances in the future or to
reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events. DATASOURCE:
Caterpillar Inc. CONTACT: Business Press, Kate Kenny, Corporate
Public Affairs, +1-309-636-5253, ; Trade Press, Charissa Ebbert,
On-Highway Trade Press Relations, +1-309-578-7378, , both of
Caterpillar Inc.; or Business, Roy Wiley, +1-630-753-2627, or Trade
Press, Steve Schrier, +1-630-753-2264, or Investors, Heather Kos,
+1-630-753-2406, all of Navistar International Corporation Web
Site: http://www.navistar.com/ http://www.cat.com/
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