Bauma Report: Caterpillar Meets Tier 4 Interim Standards with the 336E Excavator

Gribbins Here. The day is winding down and it looks like we’re about to pack up shop and call the second day a success. But before I turn Stavros, our CE photographer and IT guy, loose in Munich, here’s the last exciting update from today’s Bauma.

The new Caterpillar 336E excavator might seem too large for those of us who work on cramped jobsites, but there’s an important reason to pay good attention to this excavator that works outside the bounds of Compact Equipment — it’s the first Caterpillar machine to meet Environment Protection Agency (EPA) Tier 4 Interim emissions standards and European Stage IIIB.

In addition to meeting Stage IIIB/Tier 4 Interim emissions requirements, the 336E also meets all applicable sound-level and safety regulations, including the International Standards Organization (ISO) requirements for visibility.

Caterpillar’s Tier 4 Interim engine technology includes state-of-the-art integrated system design built upon the success of the company’s ACERT technology. Additional technologies, including powertrain innovation and after-treatment devices, will be specifically tailored and applied to products to provide maximum value to customers while meeting the stringent emission requirements mandated by law.

“While the details have not yet been finalized, price actions associated with recovering the costs of Tier 4 Interim/Stage IIIB for our machines in the 130-560 kilowatt power range may increase prices by as much as 12 percent over our Tier 4 Interim introduction time frame,” Caterpillar Group President Stu Levenick stated in a recent press release. “We anticipate the first increase, starting January 1, 2011, to be about one third of the 12 percent increase. Pricing for commercial engine applications, such as electric power, industrial and petroleum, will vary depending on product and power range. We plan to initiate broad-based emissions related price actions also starting January 1, 2011, for all products, including those utilizing transitional provisions.”

While these changes don’t immediately effect the compact sector, this is just a taste of change coming down the pike.