Acquisition

Caterpillar acquired Bucyrus, a company with over 9,800 employees and more than 100 facilities in 23 countries worldwide, covering North America, South America, Europe, Russia, Asia, Latin America, Africa and Australia. Cat and Bucyrus products have worked alongside each other on mine sites around the world for almost 100 years.

Useful experience

Given that the acquisition was going through the regulatory approval process when the project began, all of the initial stages of project planning were limited by the amount of available information. Any enquiries had to be channelled through a white room. Much of the work performed at this stage relied heavily on our experience and benchmarks in other projects.

Our challenge was to develop budgets, project plans and a launch strategy to address specific commercial objectives with respect to the Bucyrus dealer network, and assist in the successful execution of the approved plans. D

We helped Caterpillar develop viable plans and budgets within the information constraints imposed by the regulatory process and an ever-changing launch framework.

Despite the complexities associated with the uncertain timeframe and limited access to information, we ensured that there was brand representation at every site globally for launch and that an accurate budget and efficient project plan to totally transition Bucyrus was in place, with execution commencing immediately post launch.