PEORIA, Ill., Sept. 21, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Caterpillar
Inc. (NYSE: CAT) Chairman and CEO Doug
Oberhelman, currently taking part in the U.S.-Africa
Business Forum (USABF) in New York
City, announced that the company, its independent dealers
and the Caterpillar Foundation plan to invest more than
$1 billion in countries throughout
Africa over the next five years.
Today's news reconfirms Caterpillar's long-term commitment to the
continent and is intended to provide a major upgrade in customer
service capabilities – including enhanced parts distribution
capacity, new state-of-the-art Certified Rebuild Centers, new
dealer branch locations, the expansion of Caterpillar's Technicians
for Africa online skills
development program and millions of dollars to support programs
that lift people out of poverty.
With approximately 15,000 Caterpillar and Cat dealer employees
in Africa, Caterpillar already has
a significant footprint in this important and growing market.
Caterpillar's investment will increase that footprint, while
simultaneously boosting the infrastructure development and skills
training capabilities necessary in African countries for them to
continue their rise in global competitiveness.
"For 90 years, Caterpillar machines have helped build critical
infrastructure projects throughout Africa. Today, we bring not only construction
machinery to the continent, but also traditional and renewable
power generation solutions, diesel-electric locomotives, marine
engines and mining equipment," said Oberhelman. "With today's
announcement, we are proudly confirming our plan to make a
long-term investment to help build, develop and power communities,
and serve as an education and training partner to broaden and
strengthen local workforce talent and expertise."
Since 2010, the Caterpillar Foundation has invested
approximately $50 million to support
projects in Africa focused on
impacting those living in poverty, and specifically girls and
women, through training, policy work, entrepreneurship programs and
more. These investments are benefiting hundreds of thousands with
access to education, energy, clean water and sanitation, and
microfinance. Building on these historical investments, the
Caterpillar Foundation will commit an additional approximately
$15 million by the year 2020 to
organizations working to improve lives across Africa.
Caterpillar Tackles Workforce Issues Facing Africa
As part of UN Week, Oberhelman will participate in a skills
development discussion panel during the historic African Business
Forum with President Kenyatta of Kenya, President Mahama of Ghana and IBM Chairman and CEO Ginni Rometty. During the discussion he will
highlight Caterpillar's significant progress since the launch of
Technicians for Africa in
2015.
Technicians for Africa is a
free, online learning platform for Africans seeking to develop
important technical skills needed to pursue a career as an
equipment technician.
Before his panel, Oberhelman shared Caterpillar's excitement
over the success of the program to date and the expansion plans.
"Technicians are essential for our dealers and customers; they keep
projects on schedule and customers productive. With investment and
innovation – and through projects like Technicians for Africa – we can address the skills gap that
currently exists. In 2017, Caterpillar will expand the availability
of Technicians for Africa from
three to 15 countries, and we expect thousands of people to
benefit."
Caterpillar Group President Named to U.S. President's
Advisory Council on Doing Business in Africa (PACDBIA)
Further enhancing Caterpillar's involvement in Africa, Resource Industries Group President
Denise Johnson has been named to the
PACDBIA.
"It's an honor to be named to this Council dedicated to
improving trade and business opportunities between African
countries and the United States,"
said Johnson. "I'm looking forward to working alongside my industry
peers to share Caterpillar's decades of experience in Africa and provide counsel to the President as
we seek to bolster those relationships."
Johnson's appointment strengthens Caterpillar's voice in
providing information, analysis and recommendations on
U.S.-Africa trade and investment
priorities.
About Caterpillar
For 91 years, Caterpillar
Inc. has been making sustainable progress possible and driving
positive change on every continent. Customers turn to
Caterpillar to help them develop infrastructure, energy and natural
resource assets. With 2015 sales and revenues of $47.011 billion, Caterpillar is the world's
leading manufacturer of construction and mining equipment, diesel
and natural gas engines, industrial gas turbines and
diesel-electric locomotives. The company principally operates
through its three product segments - Construction Industries,
Resource Industries and Energy & Transportation - and also
provides financing and related services through its Financial
Products segment. For more information,
visit caterpillar.com. To connect with us on social
media, visit caterpillar.com/social-media.
About Caterpillar Foundation
Founded in 1952,
Caterpillar's philanthropic organization, the Caterpillar
Foundation has contributed more than $650
million to help make sustainable progress possible around
the world by providing program support in the areas of
environmental sustainability, access to education and basic human
needs. To learn more about the global impact of the Caterpillar
Foundation, visit www.togetherstronger.com
Forward-looking Statements
Certain statements in this
press release relate to future events and expectations and are
forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private
Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Words such as "believe,"
"estimate," "will be," "will," "would," "expect," "anticipate,"
"plan," "project," "intend," "could," "should" or other similar
words or expressions often identify forward-looking statements. All
statements other than statements of historical fact are
forward-looking statements, including, without limitation,
statements regarding our outlook, projections, forecasts or trend
descriptions. These statements do not guarantee future performance,
and we do not undertake to update our forward-looking
statements.
Caterpillar's actual results may differ materially from those
described or implied in our forward-looking statements based on a
number of factors, including, but not limited to: (i) global and
regional economic conditions and economic conditions in the
industries we serve; (ii) government monetary or fiscal policies
and infrastructure spending; (iii) commodity price changes,
component price increases, fluctuations in demand for our products
or significant shortages of component products; (iv) disruptions or
volatility in global financial markets limiting our sources of
liquidity or the liquidity of our customers, dealers and suppliers;
(v) political and economic risks, commercial instability and events
beyond our control in the countries in which we operate; (vi)
failure to maintain our credit ratings and potential resulting
increases to our cost of borrowing and adverse effects on our cost
of funds, liquidity, competitive position and access to capital
markets; (vii) our Financial Products segment's risks associated
with the financial services industry; (viii) changes in interest
rates or market liquidity conditions; (ix) an increase in
delinquencies, repossessions or net losses of Cat Financial's
customers; (x) new regulations or changes in financial services
regulations; (xi) a failure to realize, or a delay in realizing,
all of the anticipated benefits of our acquisitions, joint ventures
or divestitures; (xii) international trade policies and their
impact on demand for our products and our competitive position;
(xiii) our ability to develop, produce and market quality products
that meet our customers' needs; (xiv) the impact of the highly
competitive environment in which we operate on our sales and
pricing; (xv) failure to realize all of the anticipated benefits
from initiatives to increase our productivity, efficiency and cash
flow and to reduce costs; (xvi) additional restructuring costs or a
failure to realize anticipated savings or benefits from past or
future cost reduction actions; (xvii) inventory management
decisions and sourcing practices of our dealers and our OEM
customers; (xviii) compliance with environmental laws and
regulations; (xix) alleged or actual violations of trade or
anti-corruption laws and regulations; (xx) additional tax expense
or exposure; (xxi) currency fluctuations; (xxii) our or Cat
Financial's compliance with financial covenants; (xxiii) increased
pension plan funding obligations; (xxiv) union disputes or other
employee relations issues; (xxv) significant legal proceedings,
claims, lawsuits or government investigations; (xxvi) changes in
accounting standards; (xxvii) failure or breach of IT security;
(xxviii) adverse effects of unexpected events including natural
disasters; and (xxix) other factors described in more detail under
"Item 1A. Risk Factors" in our Form 10-K filed with the SEC on
February 16, 2016, for the year ended
December 31, 2015.
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