BEIJING, April 8, 2011 /PRNewswire-Asia/ -- Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE: CAT) and Shaanxi Fast Gear Co., Ltd. (Fast Gear) announced today they have signed an agreement to form a joint venture that will manufacture drivetrain systems and other complex components for Caterpillar machinery and produce a full line of on-highway automatic transmissions.
"This joint venture continues the Caterpillar strategy to develop partnerships with leading Chinese companies as we deploy our comprehensive business model in China. It will provide Caterpillar with competitive drivetrain components and systems as well as an Asian source for our CX28 and CX31 transmissions," said Hans Haefeli, Caterpillar vice president with responsibility for the Advanced Components and Systems Division.
Caterpillar would be a 45-percent stakeholder in the joint venture; Fast Gear, which is partially owned by Weichai Power Co., Ltd. would have 51 percent, and Shaanxi Fast Auto Drive Group Co., Ltd. would hold a 4-percent stake.
"Since the early 1990s, Caterpillar and its independent dealers have made significant investments to build on our more than 35 years of experience in China," said Kevin Thieneman, Caterpillar country manager for China. "We are committed to continued expansion of the range of products and components produced in China to increase and improve customer support."
Today, Caterpillar has nearly 8,000 employees across China.
"This joint venture with Caterpillar will propel us to the same leadership position in heavy duty on-highway automatic transmissions that has taken us many years to build in heavy duty on-highway manual transmissions," said Li Da Kai, Chairman and President of Shaanxi Fast Auto Drive Group Co., Ltd. "We are partnering with Caterpillar, a respected world leader and starting this joint venture with proven products. We are confident about the growth potential for this business."
In addition to the production of Caterpillar machine components, by partnering with Fast Gear, the joint venture will build upon the existing Cat CX series on-highway transmission product line to expand globally.
The joint venture, which is pending appropriate regulatory approvals in China, will provide CX series on-highway transmissions to both Caterpillar and Fast Gear for global distribution.
About Caterpillar:
For more than 85 years, Caterpillar Inc. has been making sustainable progress possible and driving positive change on every continent. With 2010 sales and revenues of $42.588 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.caterpillar.com .
About Fast Gear:
Fast Gear, which is partially owned by Weichai Power Co., Ltd., is the largest Heavy Duty manual transmission manufacturer and supplier in China. With total assets of over 10 billion yuan, it has five production facilities, which are located in Xi'an, Baoji and Xianyang Cities respectively. With the integration of scientific research, development, manufacture and sales, it has formed the production capacity of annually making and selling one million transmissions, 50 million sets of gears and 100,000 tons of auto forgings. The transmission products cover a full range of applications with models from 4-speeds to 20-speeds. Fast Group transmissions are widely recognized by customers at home and abroad. In 2010, Fast Group surpassed 12.6 billion yuan in both annual industrial output value and sales, the first one in the Chinese Gear Industry to earn over 10 billion of the two economic figures. Each economic index of Fast Group has ranked first in the Chinese Gear Industry for nine consecutive years, and the annual output and sales volume of Heavy Duty transmissions have leapt to first place in the world for five consecutive years. The "FAST" brand has become a well-known brand internationally.
Forward-Looking Statements
Certain statements in this press release relate to future events and expectations and are 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 Caterpillar's actual results 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 Caterpillar's actual results may differ materially from those described or implied in its forward-looking statements based on a number of factors, including, but not limited to: (i) global economic conditions and economic conditions in the industries and markets Caterpillar serves; (ii) government monetary or fiscal policies and government spending on infrastructure; (iii) commodity or component price increases and/or limited availability of raw materials and component products, including steel; (iv) Caterpillar's and its customers', dealers' and suppliers' ability to access and manage liquidity; (v) 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; (vi) 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; (vii) financial condition and credit worthiness of Cat Financial's customers; (viii) inability to realize expected benefits from acquisitions and divestitures, including the acquisition of Bucyrus International, Inc.; (ix) the possibility that the acquisition by Caterpillar of Bucyrus International, Inc. does not close for any reason, including, but not limited to, a failure to obtain required regulatory approvals; (x) international trade and investment policies, such as import quotas, capital controls or tariffs; (xi) the possibility that Caterpillar's introduction of Tier 4 emissions compliant machines and engines is not successful; (xii) market acceptance of Caterpillar's products and services; (xiii) 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; (xiv) union disputes or other employee relations issues; (xv) Caterpillar's ability to successfully implement the Caterpillar Production System or other productivity initiatives; (xvi) adverse changes in sourcing practices of our dealers or original equipment manufacturers; (xvii) compliance costs associated with environmental laws and regulations; (xviii) alleged or actual violations of trade or anti-corruption laws and regulations; (xix) additional tax expense or exposure; (xx) currency fluctuations, particularly increases and decreases in the U.S. dollar against other currencies; (xxi) failure of Caterpillar or Cat Financial to comply with financial covenants in their respective credit facilities; (xxii) increased funding obligations under our pension plans; (xxiii) significant legal proceedings, claims, lawsuits or investigations; (xxiv) imposition of operational restrictions or compliance requirements if carbon emissions legislation and/or regulations are adopted; (xxv) changes in accounting standards or adoption of new accounting standards; (xxvi) adverse effects of natural disasters; and (xxvii) 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 22, 2011 for the year ended December 31, 2010. This filing is available on our website at http://www.caterpillar.com/secfilings .
