Caterpillar, the world’s leading manufacturer of construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas engines and industrial gas turbines, is moving into the automotive powertrain business.

On 18 Aug, Caterpillar Remanufacturing Services (Cat Reman) announced two acquisitions:

• Williams Technologies, a remanufacturer of automatic transmissions, torque converters, and engines for automotive and medium and heavy duty truck applications; and

• Wealdstone Engineering, one of Europe’s leading engine remanufacturers of gasoline and diesel engines, based in the UK

Current Cat reman engines are rebuilt using Cat parts and new technologies.

Remanufacturing is one of the ways in which Caterpillar contributes to a sustainable environment, one that safeguards the planet for future generations. By purchasing Cat Reman products you are helping us to recycle millions of pounds of iron that would otherwise end up in landfill sites. Remanufactured products are often “greener” than when they were originally purchased as a result of engineering updates, which can improve fuel economy and reduce noise and emissions.

The interesting thing to watch will be whether Cat is simply trying to leverage its operational expertise in remanufacturing by applying it to a different market (auto), or whether it will begin to apply its fuel efficiency and emissions designs and technologies to the rebuilt automotive systems—especially on the diesel side, where Cat has been an innovator.