PEORIA, Ill., ST. AUGUSTINE and JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Caterpillar Inc., Cat dealer Ring Power and APR Energy plc, last month signed an agreement to develop temporary power solutions globally to meet the needs of the growing international power projects market, especially in emerging markets.
The five-year agreement centers on APR working with Caterpillar, Ring Power and the Cat dealer network to originate and respond to temporary power plant opportunities. As part of the agreement, Caterpillar will supply mobile generator sets through Ring Power to APR Energy, including the new XQ2000 and XQ1475G power modules, designed specifically for the international power projects market. APR will benefit from an increased flow of temporary power plant opportunities and from clear visibility of an integrated supply line to fulfill its diesel and gas engine requirements, and Caterpillar will benefit from an increased presence, on a global basis, in the IPP market.
The alliance between Caterpillar, Ring Power and APR Energy will help create a formidable competitor to energy powerhouse Aggreko in the international market. APR received an $855 million investment from Albright Capital Management and others recently. Albright, headed by former U.S. Secretary of State Madeline Albright, partnered with a group of investors including hedge fund billionaire George Soros to acquire APR, leaving its management team in place.
“We are pleased to be working with Ring Power and APR Energy as we expand our growth in the international power projects business,” said Bill Rohner, Caterpillar vice president with responsibility for electric power. “APR's experience in temporary power solutions, Caterpillar's engineering and product expertise and Ring Power's rental experience will enable us to better serve our customers.”
The extensive Cat dealer network will allow APR to benefit from a global network of parts availability and services provided by the 188 Cat dealers and 126,700 Cat dealer employees around the world. Along with parts and services support, APR's cooperation with Caterpillar and its dealers will present new sales opportunities previously unfulfilled by either party.
“I have been doing business with Caterpillar for more than 20 years, and APR has used their power modules for its entire history,” said John Campion, CEO of APR. “With this agreement, we can work together to fulfill a far greater number of global power opportunities.”
As part of the agreement, Cat dealer Ring Power will provide application, engineering, sales and product support to APR Energy.
“Our market-leading product support and rental service capabilities enable us to deliver world-class energy solutions to our customers, and we look forward to continuing our long-standing relationship with APR Energy,” said Randy Ringhaver, president of Ring Power.
Caterpillar is a leading manufacturer of construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas engines, industrial gas turbines and diesel-electric locomotives.
Ring Power is the Central and Northeast Florida Cat dealer, headquartered in St. Augustine. No. 19 on the RER 100, Ring Power is comprised of eight divisions and has 50 years of experience in sales, rental, service and product support of Cat equipment.
Based in Jacksonville, Fla., APR is a fast-growing provider of large scale, temporary power solutions. APR designs, installs, operates and maintains turnkey power solutions, used for applications, including peak shaving, distributed generation, supplemental power, grid stability and support, emergency generation and industrial power generation.
