JURONG TOWNSHIP, Singapore, March 29, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- In its continuing efforts to promote the benefits of remanufacturing, Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE: [ CAT ]) this week hosted representatives from several Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) member economies at its newest Cat Reman® facility in Singapore. The tour was part of a meeting of APEC's Market Access Group where industry and government experts from all 21 APEC economies learned more about how remanufactured goods are returned from end-of-life products to same-as-new specifications.

"It's crucial that countries around the world embrace remanufacturing as a business that not only provides customers with another option when repairing, replacing or upgrading their equipment, but also as a business that provides significant economic and environmental benefits," said Greg Folley, Caterpillar vice president with responsibility for the Remanufacturing & Components Division. "Take our Singapore Reman facility as a prime example. We opened it in May 2011, as the regional source for remanufactured major components to serve Asia's mining industry. In less than a year, it has recycled more than two million pounds of end-of-life iron, using between 85 and 90 percent less energy than if those same components had been made new."

Since 2001, Caterpillar has seen significant growth in the remanufacturing business and currently has nearly 8,500 workers at 68 facilities in 16 countries. The demand for remanufactured goods is rapidly growing in the APEC region, and Caterpillar continues to call for remanufacturing trade rules to be updated to allow customers in these regions to benefit.

"We must continue to change the misconception that remanufactured parts are 'used' or 'old' parts," continued Folley. "That's why we continue to educate those like the members of APEC by showing them first-hand how our advanced processes require remanufactured products to be thoroughly tested to ensure they meet or exceed stringent safety and reliability standards. In fact, the durability, life span and performance of remanufactured products meet the same specifications as when originally manufactured."

For customers, the availability of remanufactured goods means more uptime for their products, which translates into significant production and financial benefits. In the case of Solar turbine engines, a subsidiary of Caterpillar, the use of a remanufactured unit can mean the difference between several days for an exchange with a remanufactured unit compared with up to four months to remove, transport, overhaul, and return an end-of-life unit to the customer.

Caterpillar isn't the only company incorporating remanufacturing into its business model. APEC representatives also toured the Tru-Marine Pte Ltd facility in Singapore. Tru-Marine recently started remanufacturing turbocharger components.

"Our business premise is to recover turbochargers to their original maker quality instead of the premature renewing of useful components," explains David Loke, Tru-Marine group managing director. "Constant innovation has been a key tenet at Tru-Marine that enables us to provide better value than commonplace turbocharger Maintenance Repair and Overhaul (MRO) methods. Remanufacturing aligns with our strategic progression toward sustainable technologies to reuse resources, and to reduce down time and wasted by-products. Cost savings are in turn passed on to the customers when the lifespan of such high value resources is extended."

With 35 years of extensive experience in turbocharger reclamation and industry leadership in turbocharger research and development, remanufacturing has become a natural evolution for Tru-Marine to move up the value chain. The remanufacturing processes will capitalize on the company's current turbocharger MRO core competencies, complete with proprietary test procedures to certify that remanufactured components have achieved their original maker specifications.

About Caterpillar:
For more than 85 years, Caterpillar Inc. has been making sustainable progress possible and driving positive change on every continent. With 2011 sales and revenues of $60.138 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 also is a leading services provider through Caterpillar Financial Services, Caterpillar Remanufacturing Services, Caterpillar Logistics Services and Progress Rail Services. More information is available at: [ http://www.caterpillar.com ].

About Tru-Marine:
Tru-Marine is a global small- and medium- enterprise specializing in the maintenance, repair and overhaul of turbochargers in marine, offshore, power plant and locomotive applications. Serving from seven full-facility service stations in Singapore, Shanghai, Tianjin, Guangzhou, Sharjah, Rotterdam and Houston, the company takes pride in offering high standards of service delivery that is backed by sound technical expertise and superior savings of innovative repair alternatives to the premature replacement of worn turbocharger parts. Tru-Marine is the proud recipient of the Singapore Quality Award 2009, and is certified for ISO 9001+14001 and OHSAS 18001. For more information, visit [ www.trumarine.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 economic conditions and economic conditions in the industries and markets we serve; (ii) government monetary or fiscal policies and infrastructure spending ; (iii) commodity or component price increases and/or limited availability of raw materials and component products, including steel; (iv) our and our customers', dealers' and suppliers' ability to access and manage liquidity; (v) political and economic risks and instability, including national or international conflicts and civil unrest; (vi) our and Cat Financial's ability to: maintain credit ratings, avoid material increases in borrowing costs, and access capital markets; (vii) the financial condition and credit worthiness of Cat Financial's customers; (viii) inability to realize expected benefits from acquisitions and divestitures, including the acquisition of Bucyrus International, Inc.; (ix) international trade and investment policies; (x) challenges related to Tier 4 emissions compliance; (xi) market acceptance of our products and services; (xii) changes in the competitive environment, including market share, pricing and geographic and product mix of sales; (xiii) successful implementation of capacity expansion projects, cost reduction initiatives and efficiency or productivity initiatives, including the Caterpillar Production System; (xiv) sourcing practices of our dealers or original equipment manufacturers; (xv) compliance with environmental laws and regulations; (xvi) alleged or actual violations of trade or anti-corruption laws and regulations; (xvii) additional tax expense or exposure; (xviii) currency fluctuations; (xix) our or Cat Financial's compliance with financial covenants; (xx) increased pension plan funding obligations; (xxi) union disputes or other employee relations issues; (xxii) significant legal proceedings, claims, lawsuits or investigations; (xxiii) compliance requirements imposed if carbon emissions legislation and/or regulations are adopted; (xxiv) changes in accounting standards; (xxv) failure or breach of IT security; (xxvi) adverse effects of natural disasters; and (xxvii) other factors described in more detail under "Item 1A. Risk Factors" in our Form 10-K filed with the SEC on February 21, 2012 for the year ended December 31, 2011. This filing is available on our website at [ www.caterpillar.com/secfilings ].

SOURCE Caterpillar Inc.

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APEC Forges Ahead on Remanufacturing

Caterpillar Inc.: APEC Forges Ahead on Remanufacturing

Caterpillar and Tru-Marine welcome APEC representatives to tour Singapore Reman facilities to witness the customer, business and environmental success