Cat Financial Acquires Assets of FCC Equipment Financing
Caterpillar Financial Services, Peoria, Ill., signed an agreement to purchase the assets and business of FCC Equipment Financing, a commercial finance company specializing in direct financing and leasing of heavy equipment in the construction industry.
“This acquisition will increase our ability to meet the financing needs of our U.S. customers through direct lending for construction and related equipment,” said James Beard, vice president of Caterpillar and president of Cat Financial.
Headquartered in Jacksonville, Fla., FCC has assets of $260 million and 38 employees. Cat Financial, which employs more than 1,100 people, reported record 2001 results, including managed assets of $16.1 billion, revenues of $1.62 billion and profit after tax of $212 million.
Bobcat Celebrates Milestone
West Fargo, N.D.-based Bobcat Co. recently celebrated the production of the 50,000th Bobcat compact excavator at its Bismark, N.D., manufacturing plant. The company began manufacturing excavators in Bismark in late 1989 and today the Bobcat brand has grown to be one of the world market share leaders in the excavator business.
Bismarck employees celebrated the milestone on Friday, Feb. 15, with a special ceremony held at the plant. North Dakota Governor John Hoeven addressed the group, as well as Chuck Hoge, Bobcat president.
Indian Company May Exit Tractor Venture with Cat
Engineering and construction firm Larsen & Toubro Ltd. may exit from its holding in Tractor Engineers, a 50/50 joint venture with Caterpillar, in an effort to focus on core business.
Larsen & Toubro recently told financial institutions and investors it is working to reduce its exposure in Tractor Engineers to redeploy resources. Tractor Engineers designs and manufactures crawler undercarriage systems for excavators, blast hole drills, bulldozers and mobile crushers. The joint venture company markets Caterpillar Industrial Products as well as the entire line of products of the U.S.-based Mission Fluid King division of National Oilwell. It also represents U.S.-based Philadelphia Mixers Corp. for its full range of agitators and mixers.
