Full Description

Caterpillar Inc. (Caterpillar) operates in three principal lines of business: Machinery, Engines and Financial Products. Machinery deals with the design, manufacture, marketing and sales of construction, mining and forestry machinery. Engines business deals with the design, manufacture, marketing and sales of engines. Financial Products, consists primarily of Caterpillar Financial Services Corporation (Cat Financial), Caterpillar Insurance Holdings, Inc. (Cat Insurance), Caterpillar Power Ventures Corporation (Cat Power Ventures) and their respective subsidiaries. In April 2008, Satyam Computer Services Limited acquired Caterpillar’s market research and customer analytics operations. In April 2008, Caterpillar expanded its Global Mining business through the acquisition of Lovat Inc. (Lovat), a global manufacturer of tunnel boring machines used in the construction of metro, railway, road, sewer, water main, penstock, mine access, high voltage cable and telecommunications tunnels.

Machinery

Machinery includes the design, manufacture, marketing and sales of construction, mining and forestry machinery, such as track and wheel tractors, track and wheel loaders, pipelayers, motor graders, wheel tractor-scrapers, track and wheel excavators, backhoe loaders, log skidders, log loaders, off-highway trucks, articulated trucks, paving products, telehandlers, skid steer loaders and related parts. It also includes logistics services for other companies, and the design, manufacture, re-manufacture, maintenance and services of rail-related products. Caterpillar's logistics business provides integrated supply chain services for Caterpillar and over 55 other companies worldwide. Progress Rail, the Company’s wholly owned subsidiary, is a provider of a range of products and services, including remanufactured locomotive, railcar, and track products and services to the North American railroad industry.

The Company competes with Komatsu Ltd., Volvo Construction Equipment (part of the Volvo Group AB), CNH Global N.V., Hitachi Construction Machinery Co., Terex Corporation, J.C. Bamford Ltd., Doosan Infracore Co., Ltd., John Deere Construction, Deere & Co., DHL International, GmbH and United Parcel Service, Inc.

Engines

Engines business includes the design, manufacture, marketing and sales of engines for Caterpillar machinery; electric power generation systems; on-highway vehicles and locomotives; marine, petroleum, construction, industrial, agricultural and other applications, and related parts. It also includes re-manufacturing of Caterpillar engines and a variety of Caterpillar machine and engine components, and re-manufacturing services for other companies. Reciprocating engines meet power needs ranging from 10 to 21,700 horsepower (8 to over 16,000 kilowatts). Turbines range from 1,600 to 30,000 horsepower (1,200 to 22,000 kilowatts).

The Company competes with Cummins Inc., MTU Friedrichshafen and MTU Detroit Diesel (both part of Tognum Group Company), Wartsila Corp, John Deere Power Systems, Siemens AG Power Generation, GE Energy, MAN Diesel SE, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd., Volvo Penta (part of AB Volvo Group), Generac Power Systems, Inc., Kohler Co., Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Ltd., Rolls-Royce Group plc, Detroit Diesel Corp. and Mercedes-Benz (both part of Daimler AG), Navistar International Corp., AB Volvo Group, Mitsubishi Fuso Truck & Bus Corp., DAF Trucks N.V., Dongfeng Motor Corporation, Fiat PowerTrain Technologies S.p.A., MAN AG and Scania AB.

Financial Products

Cat Financial, a wholly owned finance subsidiary of Caterpillar, provides retail and wholesale financing alternatives for Caterpillar products to customers around the world. Such retail financing primarily comprises financing of Caterpillar equipment, machinery and engines. In addition, Cat Financial also provides financing for vehicles, power generation facilities and marine vessels. In addition to retail financing, Cat Financial provides wholesale financing to Caterpillar dealers and purchases short-term dealer receivables from Caterpillar. A significant portion of Cat Financial's activities is conducted in North America.

Caterpillar Insurance Company, a wholly owned subsidiary of Cat Insurance, is a United States insurance company, which is licensed to conduct property and casualty insurance business in 49 states and the District of Columbia. Caterpillar Life Insurance Company, a wholly owned subsidiary of Caterpillar, is a United States insurance company, which is licensed to conduct life and accident and health insurance business in 26 states and the District of Columbia. Caterpillar Life Insurance Company also provides stop loss insurance protection to a Missouri Voluntary Employees' Beneficiary Association (VEBA) trust used to fund medical claims of salaried retirees of Caterpillar under the VEBA. Caterpillar Insurance Co. Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of Cat Insurance, is a captive insurance company, which primarily insures affiliates. Caterpillar Product Services Corporation, a wholly owned subsidiary of Caterpillar, is a warranty company, which conducts a machine extended service contract program in Italy, France and Germany by providing machine extended warranty reimbursement protection to dealers in those countries.

Caterpillar Insurance Services Corporation, a wholly owned subsidiary of Cat Insurance, is a Tennessee insurance brokerage company licensed in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. It provides brokerage services for all property and casualty, and life and health lines of business. Cat Power Ventures, a wholly owned subsidiary of Caterpillar, primarily invested in equity and took ownership interests in power generation projects throughout the world that utilize Caterpillar power generation equipment. In some cases, these projects also utilize construction and operations, and maintenance services that are provided by other Caterpillar subsidiaries. Cat Power Ventures hold an equity interest in a project in Tunisia.

The Company competes with Wells Fargo Equipment Finance Inc., General Electric Capital Corporation, Volvo Financial Services, Komatsu Financial L.P. and John Deere Credit Corporation.