49
april 2014
international
construction
INTERVIEW
Life after Tier 4 Final
Life after
Tier 4 Final
Dealer strategy
The executives alsodiscussedCaterpillar’swider strategic focus for
its dealers over the comingyears.The companyhadbeenpushing
to raise the standard of its dealerships around theworld, andMr
Rapp said the keywas having credibility.
“We had the debate back in 2010 about pushing this issue of
raising the barwith the dealer organisation, andwhatwe decided
was thatwe needed to raise our ownbar first.
“We needed to improve product quality and availability,
management of the cost structure – we just felt there was a
lot more credibility talking to the dealer organisation about
raising performance after we’d demonstrated that
capability ourselves.”
Rental equipment has also
become increasingly important
to Caterpillar’s operations – a
dynamic that Mr Rapp said
had been fuelled by recent
global economic volatility.
“As we’ve gone through
the cycles, and we’ve had
some uncertainty relative to
economic growth, it’s very
normal for our customer
base to turn to a more flexible
asset, and rental is one of them.
So our dealers have got to be in
a position to serve them. The
question is how to we
T
his year’s ConExpo-Con/Agg was dominated by launches
of Tier 4 Final machines – equipment that complies with
strict new diesel engine exhaust emission laws in North
America, and the equivalent Stage IV laws inEurope.
As the name implies, Tier 4 Final is expected to be the final
major step in the emissions reduction for manufacturers in the
near future – a journey that has taken almost two decades to
complete, withhugeR&D costs attached.
Not surprisingly, Caterpillar chairman and CEO Doug
Oberhelman and group president responsible for construction
industries and growthmarkets EdRapp, both said the company
was looking forward to life afterTier 4Final.
“We’ve had this tremendous weight on our shoulders of
emissions,”MrOberhelman said. “And this goesback to themid-
nineties –Tier 2, Tier 3, Tier 4, all the way through to the end
of 2014, whenwewill essentially be 80 to90% throughTier 4.
“This will free up tens of billions of dollars in the industry, and
certainly billions of dollars over the next five years here, to invest
inother things.”
Major focusses for the company’s future research and
development dollars will include fuel economy and
technology, according toMrOberhelman.
Technology
“I see technology as drawing a tremendous
amount of our investment in the next few years,”
he said. “How do you cross the ground in one
less pass?When a government or an owner gets
a bid, they get it digitally – how to we make
sure that goes right through to thebladeof that
machine?
“To know howmany cubic yards or metres
need to be moved, with a machine running
eight hours a day with no downtime. How
do we prevent repairs, so that we anticipate
when a failure occurs?There is a tremendous
opportunitywith that.”
With the final (for now) phase exhaust emissions laws in
place inNorth America and Europe, Caterpillar is looking
at new areas for research and development.
Helen
Wright
spoke to chairman&CEO
Doug Oberhelman
and group president
EdRapp
about what comes next.
Caterpillar
chairman and
CEO Doug
Oberhelman: “I
see technology
as drawing a
tremendous
amount of our
investment in
the next few
years.”