The Secret Sauce of Cat Reman
The Secret Sauce of Cat Reman

THE SECRET SAUCE OF CAT® REMAN | THE CAT REMAN DIFFERENCE

Want to know what makes Cat® Reman parts unlike other remanufactured products on the market? Join members of the Caterpillar team as they detail the ingredients –– the affordability, availability and sustainable processes –– that make up the secret sauce of Cat Reman.

By Cat Reman | Posted: April 1, 2022

PSST. WANT THE INSIDE SCOOP ON CAT® REMAN?

 

If you own a remanufactured Caterpillar product then you’re already in on the secret. But if you’re new to Cat® Reman, then you’re in for a pleasant surprise.

We like to give our customers a clear idea of what goes on behind the scenes. Below, you’ll get exclusive perspectives, straight from members of the Cat Reman inner circle. They’re candid about the secret sauce that keeps Cat Reman products moving off the shelves and through a circular economy lifecycle — supplying customers with affordable, available and sustainably remanufactured Cat parts.

So, what goes into the metaphorical mixture that makes Cat Reman an ideal drop-in repair solution? To some members of our leadership team, the most important ingredient is…

 

THE CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP

 

According to Danny Simon, Product Manager for Cat Reman, customers are the reason for the program’s ultimate success. “When they succeed, we succeed. It's that customer-centric approach and focus that enables us to continue to serve them and their needs.”

Needs like no downtime. With off-the-shelf parts availability thanks to convenient online ordering and over 2,300 authorized Cat locations worldwide, it’s easy to find the right repair solutions fast. Whether you’re fighting the clock with an unexpected failure or ordering a replacement product as the original part nears the end of its life, Caterpillar has answers for even the most complex maintenance situations.

Bob Paternoga, Vice President and General Manager of Cat Reman, reiterates the consumer-first sentiment. “The reason we exist is ultimately: We help our customers succeed. We help them succeed by lowering their owning and operating cost.” The Caterpillar remanufacturing process is tailored toward customers’ budgetary needs by offering parts with like new quality for up to 60 percent off the cost of new.

According to Chris Rowan, General Parts Manager at Cat dealer Thompson Machinery, this level of confidence in Cat Reman is a two-way street. “The secret sauce is quality. A hundred percent… Our customers have come to trust that. And more importantly, our parts employees have come to trust it so they can recommend it to our customers.”

To maintain that level of trust, Caterpillar remains consistent. “Caterpillar machines have always been founded on [the fact] that they were built to be rebuilt,” says Dale Nordman, Parts Manager at Cat dealer Butler Machinery. “The secret [to] the success of Cat Reman in my experience has just been the ability to reuse the part that the customer needs.”

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Customer Relationship


 

REUSE & SUSTAINABILITY

 

For many customers and members of our team, it’s the reusability of Cat parts that most stands out. Caterpillar products are designed to operate for longer lifecycles and be remanufactured for additional lives. This benefits the environment since, by their very existence, longer-lasting components mean less waste material added to landfills and less raw materials consumed than the manufacture of new parts.

As Jeff Gutzwiller, Product Manager for Cat Reman engines and engine components, puts it, “the secret sauce to Cat Reman success is: Our products are designed for multiple lives… We have state-of-the-art salvage and cleaning techniques and assembly processes… And when we get that core [i.e., used equipment part] back, we're continually, in essence, recycling that, and we're saving energy and saving raw materials by reusing that initial forging or casting or component. That saves a tremendous amount of energy and is a sustainability improver for the globe.”

A facility manager at our remanufacturing factory in West Fargo, North Dakota, seconds the notion that sustainability is a key takeaway. When customers purchase a Cat Reman part, “they can trust it works just like a new part… We save them money and we’ve done good things both on the sustainability side, on the environmental side. So, it’s a good feeling for them, it’s a good feeling for us.”

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Reuse Sustainability


 

REMANUFACTURING AND RESTORING CORE

 

There’s a lot of good feeling to go around, particularly among our global infrastructure of dealers. As an essential part of the customer/Caterpillar relationship, dealers receive core from customers. Once the core passes inspection at the dealer-level, the core is sent to our remanufacturing facilities to salvage and reclaim its inherent value. Following this process, the newly remanufactured part returns to the supply chain as a product that offers like new performance for a fraction of the cost of new.

When remanufacturing core components, we ensure Cat Reman parts match current OEM specifications and incorporate the latest engineering updates, with much of the same machinery, resources and tools as those used for the manufacture of new parts. To Dave Andres, Cat Reman Strategy Manager, it’s simple: “The secret sauce is core.” Marcus Fair, Global On-Highway Truck Engine Sales Manager, elaborates: “The secret sauce [of Cat Reman] is the ability to globally… capture core and bring it back to our processes; as well as provide salvage technology to bring our parts back to OEM specifications.”

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Remanufacturing and Restoring


 

THE UNIQUE TECHNOLOGY THAT KEEPS CAT REMAN RUNNING

 

Our investment in technology and the top talent to operate it stretches beyond salvage. It encompasses the entire Cat Reman process. Dedicated specialists and the skills they provide — from design and engineering to assembly and quality control — make the availability, affordability and sustainable processes of Cat Reman possible.

Trent Tippey, a Cat Reman Commercial Manager dedicated to construction industries, breaks down the secret sauce quite literally:

“Going from end-of-life iron to looking exactly like a brand-new piece of equipment and unable for the eye to tell the difference, that's an amazing feat… Beyond that, you know, there's the engineering, the technology, the technical capability, the vast dealer network that we have. All of these things come together, I think in a really awesome recipe that allows our customers… to have a very awesome outcome. And as we continue to think about what that means, I think it's going to continue to grow and evolve over time, just like great recipes.”

Jennifer Keffeler, Aftermarket Sales Manager for on-highway truck, puts it simply: “Cat Reman’s secret sauce is really in the knowledge of our product engineers and teams.”

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Unique Technology


 

PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER

 

With Caterpillar, it’s all about optimizing our parts — for their first life and for each lifecycle that follows. There’s new opportunity to be found in the remanufacture of essential components as well as like new performance designed to keep your operation moving.

When coupling these needs with the protection of a standard 12-month Caterpillar Parts Warranty*, customers can trust the power and potential of Cat Reman.

*Limitations may apply. For complete details about the applicable Caterpillar Limited Warranty, contact an authorized Cat dealer.

Check out the range and variety of available Cat Reman parts.

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Putting Together


 

 

 

THERE’S MORE TO CAT REMAN

Head to the Cat Reman homepage to learn more about the parts and processes behind remanufactured Cat products.

VISIT THE WEBSITE
THERE’S MORE TO CAT REMAN
THERE’S MORE TO CAT REMAN

 

 

   


NEED HELP FINDING THE RIGHT REPAIR OPTION?

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Nicole Serena

Cat Reman

 

The thought leaders and subject matter experts involved in the design, development, distribution and marketing of Caterpillar’s remanufactured, like new products.

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