Caterpillar Announces Collaboration with Luck Stone to Scale Autonomous Solutions to the Aggregates Industry

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15 Dec, 2022, 08:59 ET

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IRVING, Texas, Dec. 15, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE: CAT) announced today a collaboration with Luck Stone, the nation's largest family-owned and operated producer of crushed stone, sand and gravel, to deploy Caterpillar's autonomous solution to Luck Stone's Bull Run Plant in Chantilly, Virginia. This will be Caterpillar's first autonomous deployment in the aggregates industry and will expand the company's autonomous truck fleet to include the 100-ton-class (90-tonne-class) Cat® 777.

Looking to accelerate autonomous solutions beyond mining, Caterpillar will implement its existing Cat® MineStar™ Command for Hauling system at the Bull Run quarry, on a fleet of 777G trucks. This will allow Caterpillar to gain greater insights on quarry operations in order to tailor the next generation of autonomous solutions specific to quarry and aggregate applications. This project supports the acceleration of autonomous technology for operations with fewer mobile assets to allow a step change in safety and productivity, as currently experienced at large mining operations.

"Luck Stone and Caterpillar's partnership has been grounded in shared values for many years," said Charlie Luck, President and CEO of Luck Companies. "Together we believe that safety, innovation and a commitment to people are critical, not only to propelling important projects like this, but to ensuring our focus on the future and all of the exciting possibilities technology affords our industry. Our collaboration will provide opportunities for associates to learn and grow, improve safety and result in production efficiencies. We are thrilled to partner with Caterpillar to achieve this 'first' for our industry."

"Caterpillar has a long-standing relationship with Luck Stone, and we look forward to working together to bring the demonstrated benefits of increased safety and productivity to the quarry industry. We're excited to get in the dirt and work alongside Luck Stone's innovative team, so we can learn how to scale our already proven mining solution for another industry," said Denise Johnson, Caterpillar Group President of Resource Industries.

The current autonomy solutions will be implemented in 2024. This project builds on Caterpillar's long history in autonomy and automation. Caterpillar is recognized as the industry leader with the world's largest fleet of autonomous haul trucks, now numbering more than 560 trucks. These trucks have traveled more than 187 million kilometers and autonomously moved more than 5.1 billion tonnes – most notably – all without a single zero lost-time injury.

About CaterpillarWith 2021 sales and revenues of $51.0 billion, Caterpillar Inc. is the world's leading manufacturer of construction and mining equipment, off-highway diesel and natural gas engines, industrial gas turbines and diesel-electric locomotives. For nearly 100 years, we've been helping customers build a better, more sustainable world and are committed and contributing to a reduced-carbon future. Our innovative products and services, backed by our global dealer network, provide exceptional value that helps customers succeed. Caterpillar does business on every continent, principally operating through three primary segments – Construction Industries, Resource Industries and Energy & Transportation – and providing financing and related services through our Financial Products segment. Visit us at caterpillar.com or join the conversation on our social media channels.

About Luck StoneThrough three generations of family leadership, Luck Stone has been building strong communities for 100 years. Luck Stone, a division of Luck Companies, is the nation's largest family-owned and operated producer of crushed stone, sand and gravel. A responsive and creative partner to the construction, civil engineering and environmental industries, Luck Stone provides consistent, quality aggregate materials and services that serve as the foundation of roads, bridges and buildings.

Driven by our values of Integrity, Commitment, Leadership and Creativity, we believe in providing our associates with the tools and support to perform and lead at their best so they can ignite the potential in themselves and others. Our company is a community of people, utilizing the power of values and customer inspired relationships to redefine what's possible for an industry and make a positive and enduring impact. With 29 operating locations and over 900 associates, Luck Companies is headquartered in Richmond, Virginia, where it was founded by Charles Luck Jr. in 1923. Charlie Luck IV leads the company today.

Forward-Looking StatementsCertain 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," "forecast," "target," "guide," "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 speak only as of the date they are made, 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) commodity price changes, material price increases, fluctuations in demand for our products or significant shortages of material; (iii) government monetary or fiscal policies; (iv) political and economic risks, commercial instability and events beyond our control in the countries in which we operate; (v) international trade policies and their impact on demand for our products and our competitive position, including the imposition of new tariffs or changes in existing tariff rates; (vi) our ability to develop, produce and market quality products that meet our customers' needs; (vii) the impact of the highly competitive environment in which we operate on our sales and pricing; (viii) information technology security threats and computer crime; (ix) inventory management decisions and sourcing practices of our dealers and our OEM customers; (x) a failure to realize, or a delay in realizing, all of the anticipated benefits of our acquisitions, joint ventures or divestitures; (xi) union disputes or other employee relations issues; (xii) adverse effects of unexpected events; (xiii) disruptions or volatility in global financial markets limiting our sources of liquidity or the liquidity of our customers, dealers and suppliers; (xiv) 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; (xv) our Financial Products segment's risks associated with the financial services industry; (xvi) changes in interest rates or market liquidity conditions; (xvii) an increase in delinquencies, repossessions or net losses of Cat Financial's customers; (xviii) currency fluctuations; (xix) our or Cat Financial's compliance with financial and other restrictive covenants in debt agreements; (xx) increased pension plan funding obligations; (xxi) alleged or actual violations of trade or anti-corruption laws and regulations; (xxii) additional tax expense or exposure, including the impact of U.S. tax reform; (xxiii) significant legal proceedings, claims, lawsuits or government investigations; (xxiv) new regulations or changes in financial services regulations; (xxv) compliance with environmental laws and regulations; (xxvi) the duration and geographic spread of, business disruptions caused by, and the overall global economic impact of, the COVID-19 pandemic; and (xxvii) other factors described in more detail in Caterpillar's Forms 10-Q, 10-K and other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

SOURCE Caterpillar Inc.