PEORIA, Ill. and SUNNYVALE, Calif., Nov. 4, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- As part of an
ongoing commitment to transform the way mines manage their
business, Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE: CAT) and Trimble (NASDAQ: TRMB)
are extending their collaboration to bring mining customers
improved operational decision-making capabilities. The
collaboration will leverage Caterpillar Global Mining's industry
expertise and combine its in-pit operational execution system,
Cat® MineStar™, with Trimble's portfolio of
technology-enabled mining information solutions. This expanded
collaboration in mining will include product integration and
development, marketing, distribution and support of
Trimble® Connected Mine™ solutions.
The companies have signed an agreement that outlines areas for
increased engagement to begin in early 2017. Caterpillar Global
Mining is anticipated to become the primary sales, marketing,
distribution and support channel for Trimble's Connected Mine
platform. In addition, Cat MineStar and Trimble's Connected Mine
platform will be integrated and collaboratively developed. The
expanded Caterpillar-Trimble collaboration will enhance both
companies' efforts to serve global customers with technologies and
services across a mine's entire operation and equipment fleet,
regardless of brand, language or location.
"Caterpillar and Trimble have enjoyed a very successful
relationship for decades and we are pleased to be working more
closely to better leverage the products and capabilities in both
companies for our mining customers," said Tom Bluth, Caterpillar vice president with
responsibility for the Surface Mining & Technology Division.
"Whether it's the mining pit supervisor or a corporate operational
analytics teams, Caterpillar Global Mining continues to go beyond
the iron by providing the technologies and expertise to help
customers improve productivity and lower their cost per
ton."
"This collaboration demonstrates our mutual commitment to
provide mine professionals with complete visibility from the mine
to the mill," said Bryn Fosburgh,
vice president at Trimble. "As a result, mine operations can
leverage accurate production, fleet and spatial data to optimize
their workflow and control costs."
Cat MineStar is a mining operational execution system purpose
built to help miners boost productivity, enhance safety and improve
equipment availability, regardless of equipment manufacturer. The
system consists of five capability sets: Fleet, Terrain,
Detect, Health & Command, which can be configured to suit the
unique needs and capabilities of any mine, both surface and
underground. Cat MineStar has been a critical part of the digital
transformation in mining since 1996 when it was first introduced.
Today it is installed at more than 200 mine sites around the world.
Utilizing improved interoperability, the Cat MineStar platform is
uniquely positioned to help customers connect data and
decision-making across the mining value chain, from the mine plan
to plant processing or from an individual machine to across an
enterprise.
Trimble Connected Mine provides an integrated and complete view
of mine data to improve and accelerate operational and strategic
decision making. Visual Intelligence is an optional module that
enables the 3D visualization of Trimble Connected Mine data. With a
proven track record of enterprise-level implementations in some of
the largest mines worldwide, Trimble is transforming the way mines
work by combining mining expertise, spatial technology, business
analytics, visualization and decision support tools to enable
mining companies to fully optimize their resources for safe,
productive and profitable mining.
Collaborating Since 1996
Caterpillar and Trimble have been collaborating in mining since
1996, when the two companies jointly developed a best-in-class
machine control and guidance product, known today in the
marketplace as Terrain. Today, Terrain is a leading guidance system
for mining, with many of the world's largest mining companies
improving their productivity through use of this technology. The
companies' first collaboration evolved into a joint venture in 2002
with the formation of Caterpillar Trimble Control Technologies
(CTCT). Today CTCT develops machine control and guidance products
for both the mining and construction industries, for any make or
model of equipment regardless of manufacturer. Trimble
positioning technologies, such as GPS and inertial navigation
systems, are also used in many of Caterpillar's semi-autonomous and
autonomous systems.
About Caterpillar
For 91 years, Caterpillar Inc. has been making sustainable
progress possible and driving positive change on every continent.
Customers turn to Caterpillar to help them develop infrastructure,
energy and natural resource assets. With 2015 sales and revenues of
$47.011 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 principally operates
through its three product segments - Construction Industries,
Resource Industries and Energy & Transportation - and also
provides financing and related services through its Financial
Products segment. For more information, visit:
caterpillar.com. To connect with us on social media, visit:
caterpillar.com/social-media.
About Trimble
Trimble is transforming the way the world works by delivering
products and services that connect the physical and digital worlds.
Core technologies in positioning, modeling, connectivity and data
analytics enable customers to improve productivity, quality, safety
and sustainability. From purpose built products to enterprise
lifecycle solutions, Trimble software, hardware and services are
transforming a broad range of industries such as mining,
agriculture, construction, geospatial and transportation and
logistics. For more information about Trimble (NASDAQ:TRMB),
visit: www.trimble.com.
GTRMB
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SOURCE Trimble