Equipment World Digital Magazine
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/605412
EquipmentWorld.com | December 2015 61 CONSTRUCTION TECHNOLOGY NEWS by Tom Jackson Caterpillar's technology strategy: embrace the change and counsel the customer F ive years ago hardly any of Cat's heavy equipment was connected with telematics, says Paolo Fellin, vice president of construction and infra- structure industries at Caterpillar. Today, he says, the company has more than 300,000 connected machines worldwide. "Two years ago, when I visited customers and talked about technology, sometimes they would get a glazed look in their eyes," Fellin says. "Now when I visit customers, the first half hour all they want to talk about is technology." We had the chance to talk one-on-one with Fell- in and his colleague, John Carpenter, construction technology and solutions manager with Caterpil- lar, about their company's strategy in this dynamic environment and how it will affect the industry and their customers. The boom is here The boom in heavy equipment technology is reshaping the industry, changing the role of partnerships and redefining competitors. For the contractors who have the desire and the means to deploy this tech- nology, it is creating double-digit gains in productivity, cost efficiency and fuel economy. And those who resist technology may find them- selves marginalized as their tech savvy competitors continue to drive down costs and boost productivity. The industry has just emerged into the first stages of what will prove to be a decades-long revolu- tion. And this fast pace of change has OEM's, suppliers and contrac- tors scrambling to adjust to new realities, find the best value, and decide on the right technologies and the best path forward into an uncertain future. Uncertainty and questions abound for contractors, dealers and OEMs. Disruptive technology During our talks Fellin showed us two slides. The first featured logos of the heavy equipment manufac- turers Caterpillar has always competed against: Komatsu, Deere, Case and others. The second slide showed the logos of companies Cat considers future threats. There was not a single heavy equip- ment manufacturer on it. Instead, they were data, technology and service companies. Some are big – like Google – and some you've never heard of. Caterpillar is not thinking that these technology com- panies will suddenly start making bulldozers. Rather, these non-traditional com- petitors, by virtue of their unique digital capabilities, can create a lot of value for contractors. They may even alter the fundamental dynamics of the industry, and Caterpillar has no inten- tion of being left out of the process. Partnerships and acquisitions If you're keeping up with the news you know Caterpillar has entered into several technology-related The "smart boom" on Caterpillar's new 336F L XE excavator uses GPS signals to tell the bucket where to dig and exactly how deep, so there's no over digging and nobody has to jump in the trench to measure the depth.