Diesel Progress / Diesel Progress December 2005 / Cat Buys Italian Hose and Coupling Manufacturer

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Cat Buys Italian Hose and Coupling Manufacturer

Caterpillar Inc. said it has completed the purchase of Rapisarda Industries, an Italian industrial hose manufacturer. The acquisition follows a joint venture agreement established in 1994 between the two companies. Rapisarda becomes a wholly owned subsidiary of Caterpillar, and is a move Cat said will expand its hose manufacturing capabilities worldwide. Rapisarda employs approximately 430 people at four manufacturing facilities in Italy, and one in Tunisia. The acquisition will be effective on January 1, 2006. Cat said it intends to retain the Rapisarda name.

Chris Schena, vice president of Caterpillar's Motion and Power Control Division said “Rapisarda is critical to Caterpillar machine growth and key to our non-Cat business growth objectives."

Caterpillar currently manufactures industrial hose and coupling products at five facilities in the United States, and three in the United Kingdom, Western Europe and Japan.