Caterpillar Engines Overview

Caterpillar Inc. or CAT is the world’s largest construction-equipment manufacturer. This company designs, develops, engineers, manufactures, markets, and sells machinery, engines, financial products, and insurance.

Caterpillar Inc. has been in operation for almost 100 years and they do business on every continent. They operate through three primary industries, these being the Construction Industry, the Resource Industry and Energy & Transportation.

It should be noted that they also provide financing and related services through their own Financial Products segment.

Are Cat Diesel Engines Reliable?

Caterpillar diesel engines are well renowned for their reliability and durability throughout industry. CAT diesel engines are commonplace in many types of heavy machinery.

They have developed a strong reputation for quality engine production over many decades and continue to produce some of the most robust engines on the market.

You don’t have to look far in the industry to find that there are a good number of raving fans for the Caterpillar engine!

Do Cat Make Their Own Engines?

Many Caterpillar engines are manufactured at their plant in Texas in the U.S.A. alongside the smaller diesel engines made by their subsidiary Perkins Engines Company Limited.

Perkins Engines Company Limited, founded in Peterborough, United Kingdom, in 1932, was acquired by Caterpillar in 1998. Since the 1970s, Perkins has provided Caterpillar with diesel engines. Perkins produce both CAT and Perkins branded engines.

The two main divisions of Caterpillar that use Perkins engines are Caterpillar Diesel Generators and Caterpillar Excavators. Caterpillar is the largest consumer of Perkins engines. This acquisition made Caterpillar a predominant provider of off-highway diesel engines.

Who Makes Caterpillar Engines?

Caterpillar manufacture their own diesel engines at their 1.7 million square foot plant in Seguin, Texas. Since 2010 both CAT and Perkins engines have been produced on the same assembly line.

Perkins engines are used mainly in CATS backhoes and have manufacturing plants in the UK, US, Brazil, China, India as well as a joint venture in Japan.

Why Did CAT Stop Making Engines?

Caterpillar’s diesel engines were used in heavy-duty trucks until 2010 when the company opted to withdraw from the market rather than invest in a costly upgrade of its exhaust treatment system to comply with new and stricter federal regulations on diesel emissions.
CAT still manufactures other diesel engines through its companies owned such as the Perkins Engines Company Limited.

Does CAT Use Cummins Engines?

Caterpillar use their own engines produced under their CAT branding or by their subsidiary company Perkins Engines Company Limited, however, Caterpillar have made exceptions to this approach in regard to using specific parts.

With the world of engine industry getting smaller and the nature of engineers it’s not surprising to find that parts from rival Cummins can be found in engines on Caterpillar built machinery. In fact, certain diesel engines that were supplied by Navistar for Caterpillars vocational trucks had some Cummins sourced selective catalytic reduction equipment in them.

Who Is Caterpillar’s Biggest Competitor?

In the world of heavy machinery production there’s no question that Caterpillar is one of the leading manufacturers alongside other big companies such as John Deere, SANY, and Komatsu.

Caterpillars’ substantial financial resources allow the company to invest significantly in research and development, ensuring that Caterpillar or CAT machinery and brands will continue to be seen all around the world on construction and agricultural sites for decades to come.