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IN THE KNOW Cat Mining Group, Bucyrus Unite As Caterpillar Global Mining Driven by a key strategic imperative to expand its lead‐ ership and support for customers in the mining industry, Caterpillar Inc., at a special media event in Milwaukee, celebrated the integration of Bucyrus International. The acquisition was approved by regulatory authorities ear‐ lier this year. Caterpillar Group President Steve Wunning will have ex‐ ecutive office accountability for Caterpillar's Global Min‐ ing business. "We are pleased to complete this acquisition and are proud to welcome Bucyrus employ‐ ees to Caterpillar," Wunning said. "We are bringing to‐ gether the best people, the best products and the best facilities from both companies. This acquisition is all about growth and unprecedented opportunities. Com‐ bined with our aggressive product development and ca‐ pacity expansion plans, it will position Caterpillar to offer a broad range of surface and underground mining products and solutions to our customers. One of the major questions Caterpillar had to answer was in regard to the future branding of legacy Bucyrus products. "The rapid development of the world's emerging mar‐ kets is expected to continue to drive an increasing need for commodities as billions of people around the world seek to improve their standard of living," Wunning added. "Wherever there is mining, Caterpillar and our dealers will be there to serve our mining customers." As previously announced, Caterpillar Global Mining headquarters will be in Oak Creek, Wis., and will include three mining divisions reporting to Wunning. n Caterpillar Vice President Dave Bozeman will lead the Integrated Manufacturing Operations Division, which will include the global manufacturing operations for Caterpillar mining products. The division has manufacturing operations in Asia, Australia, Europe and North America. n Caterpillar Vice President Chris Curfman will lead the Mining Sales and Marketing Division, with global responsibility for maintaining and enhancing customer relationships, developing the global marketing strategy and ensuring future growth opportunities. n Luis de Leon, previously chief operating officer for Bucyrus, has been elected by the Caterpillar Board of Directors as a corporate vice president, and will lead the new Mining Products Division. The 8 ROCKproducts • OCTOBER 2011 www.rockproducts.com division will be responsible for overall mining product strategy development, product design and product sourcing. One of the major questions Caterpillar had to answer was in regard to the future branding of legacy Bucyrus products. The company said it sought input from deal‐ ers, customers, the leadership of Bucyrus, and outside industry and branding experts. The conclusion was a single brand – Caterpillar – would be used for all min‐ ing products. "As we examined this issue, it became clear it would be in the best long‐term interests of our business to have a single brand for our mining customers, and that brand will be Caterpillar," Wunning said. "This decision is important to quickly bring together one team with a single face to our customers. The decision was endorsed by the Bucyrus Board of Directors, and the transition from Bucyrus products to the Caterpillar brand has begun in a quick and orderly fashion." In addition, it became clear that the capabilities of the Cat dealer network with mining customers meant that all products should be sold and serviced by Cat dealers. This is consistent with the company's long‐held distribu‐ tion strategy of strong, entrepreneurial, independent dealers. Bucyrus predominantly employed a direct model to sell and support products. "Our dealers are very excited about the Bucyrus acquisi‐ tion and are ready to move forward with the distribution business. Cat dealers have a proven track record in help‐ ing customers realize the highest productivity and low‐ est owning and operating costs, and many mining customers have told us how important the dealers are to their success," Wunning said. M A NUF A C TURER NEWS FAST FACT