More on Freightliner & Ford heavy truck … Detroit Diesel & Chrysler engine deal … Cat & Claas in AG venture … Terex buys Simon … Caterpillar looks sou

As reported here last month, Freightliner, the U.S. truck unit of Germany's Daimler-Benz AG shocked industry observers with the purchase of Ford Motor Co.'s heavy-duty truck business for a reported $200 million. The acquisition will add more than $1 billion to Freightliner's $4.8 billion in 1996 sales and creates a clear leader in the U.S. heavy truck market with a combined marketshare of over 38 percent. Ford's share of the heavy truck business was about 9 percent last year, while Freightliner was the market leader with 29.4 percent.

The agreement calls for Freightliner to acquire Ford's heavy truck business, including the HN80 project launched in 1996. Ford will hang onto its medium-duty and light truck business. Freightliner said it will operate separate sales divisions and separate dealer networks for Ford and Freightliner. Ford's heavy truck parts business and product rights for the L-Series truck line and Ford Cargo trucks will now be part of Freightliner.

Detroit Diesel Corp. and Chrysler Corp. have announced an engine joint venture to develop a 1.9 L, four-cylinder diesel engine for automotive use. The engines will be used in Chrysler vehicles sold internationally. The new engine will be a turbocharged, four-stroke, direct-injection diesel. Detroit Diesel currently supplies Chrysler diesels, from its acquisition of VM Motori, for minivans and Jeep Cherokees and Grand Cherokees built in Toledo, Ohio and Austria.Caterpillar Inc., and Claas KG, Harsewinkel, Germany, have signed a letter of intent to form a joint venture to market and manufacture combine harvesters and rubber-belted agricultural tractors in North America and Europe. The agreement calls for North American and European joint venture companies to be established. The North American company will market, and eventually manufacture, several models of the Lexion line of combine harvesters recently introduced by Claas. The combines, adapted to meet market requirements will be branded as Caterpillar products in North America.

The European joint venture organization will market Caterpillar's Challenger rubber-tracked ag tractors and will eventually manufacture selected models. The tractors will be sold in Europe under the Claas name.

Terex Corp. said it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire the industrial businesses of Simon Engineering Plc's Simon Access division. The deal, worth a reported $90 million, consists of Simon-Telelect Inc., Simon Aerials Inc., Simon Aerials Ltd., Simon-Cella, S.r.l., Simon R.O., Inc., and Simon Aircraft Ground Equipment. Not included in the deal is the Simon fire fighting equipment business. The deal was expected to be finalized in April.

Announcing what appears to be an increasing shift of its manufacturing operations into the South, Caterpillar Inc., announced two new facilities in North Carolina and Kentucky. Cat said it will build a $17 million engine parts plant in Morganton, N.C. The facility will manufacture engine oil coolers and piston pins. The 153,000 sq.ft. operation will employ about 120 people and replace work being done in York, Pa., a facility scheduled to be closed. Cat also said it will build a $37 million facility in Danville, Ky., that will manufacture tractor treads. The 138,000 sq.ft. facility is expected to employ about 100 people. In recent years Cat has also opened an engine manufacturing facility near Greenville, S.C., and a fuel injection plant in Georgia. Caterpillar also said it plans to build a plant in Sumter, S.C., scheduled to open in 1998. That plant, which is expected to employ 135 people, will build pins and shafts for Cat construction and mining equipment.