Engine Choice

Oops.. what the #### did I just say? Surely a Detroit!

 

Last time I checked, Cummins and Detroit didn't build a full line of construction equipment......

 

And good construction equipment they have, I rent one of those Cat backhoe's one's a year to clear some brush at my place...

 

Since Cummins and Detroit only make engines, they have to really keep up on technology and make themselves stand out.

All the trucks and equipment manufacturing companies also make their own engines and chose to offer different engine choices based on company or driver preference.

If for example, if Fiat decides to make their own engines for Ram trucks because they can, Cummins gets a black eye.

If Volvo decides to only put their engines in their trucks with Volvo transmissions, Cummins gets another black eye.

So Cummins and Detroit has to build good engines, keep up with ever changing technology and emissions regulation changes or they go out of business.

Cat makes everything, they can continue to move the world in off highway construction.

 

True, but Euclid then Terex used DD engines in their equipment and the KT, as in KT Cummins engines, supposedly stood for Komatsu Tractor, and I have seen them in big Komatsu dozers.

 

And, they make the engines for that equipment. Many of which fit right in on highway trucks.

There were a lot of things going on in the industry at that time, in addition to emission requirements. Cat was toying with the thought of actually building their own truck, not just cooperating with and rebranding another manufacturers product, and went as far as dedicating a facility in Texas to do just that. After further consideration they decided to bag the whole thing as being too risky for the potential reward.

In my opinion none of this in any way reflected that they did not have the ability to produce an engine that continued to be competitive, but rather the investment required wasn't worth it any longer. OEMs at the same time were all touting their own engines as well. Cummins has managed to hang it there as an independent, but one has to wonder how long that will continue ( in the highway engine market) if the OEMs feel that the margins are too thin relative to using their own engine.

 

Euclid and Terex do not make any major component of their equipment.... they buy pieces and piece them together.. CAT makes every major piece of thers

 

There are some exceptions in recent times like using Perkins and Mitsubishi in some of their small equipment, and they don't actually make their telehandlers, but your right in the majority of their equipment.

 

Cat does rebrand a lot of their smaller stuff. Mostly material handling equipment.