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CAT excavator tears up train in new Bond Film - SKYFALL

Two iconic brands, James Bond and Caterpillar Inc. join together for the 23 Bond adventure, SKYFALL.

The world premiere of SKYFALL was held in London on October 23, 2012 and continues showing worldwide including Sri Lanka on subsequent dates.

Keeping with the non-stop, over the top action that Bond films are known for, SKYFALL features James Bond (secret agent, 007) played by Daniel Craig, and a Cat excavator (320D L Cat hydraulic excavator) pummeling cars, on a train that is speeding down the tracks through the Turkish countryside.

“Seeing our machine on the big screen is exciting. Seeing it featured in the worlds longest running film franchise is simply amazing,” said Diane Lantz-Rickard, Caterpillar Global Brand Marketing Manager. “Our brand has been featured in more than 20 movies dating as far back as 1927, and we worked with the Bond films previously in THE WORLD IS NOT ENOUGH, 1999. We’re proud to continue the association with such a respected and globally known brand.”

“As the sole authorised dealer for Caterpillar in Sri Lanka, we at UTE are really excited about the 320D L Cat hydraulic excavator appearing in SKYFALL as well, and will be heading out to see it when it premiers in Sri Lanka,” said Riyad Ismail, CEO of United Tractors and Equipment.

Caterpillar prides itself on designing and building equipment to meet customers’ needs. In this case, the customization involved something unique putting the cab on the opposite side of the 320D L as requested by EON Productions, the James Bond production company.

“The cab switch, required for the location of the shoot and interaction between characters, took several months of pre-planning,” said Robert Woodley, Caterpillar Communications Manager for Europe, Africa, Middle East and the CIS. “The biggest challenge involved changing the electronics and hydraulics to accommodate the cab on the other side of the machine.

Ultimately, two 320D L excavators were produced in Caterpillar’s Akashi, Japan, plant for SKYFALL. Cat dealers Finning UK and Borusan Makina were in on the action, too. Finning UK assisted the special effects (SFX) department in technical support and supply of parts for the excavators. At the site, Borusan Makina provided on-site expertise and services as well as equipment, such as generator sets, a skid steer loader and mini hydraulic excavator, for the shoot.” For more than 85 years, Caterpillar Inc. has been making sustainable progress possible and driving positive change on every continent. With 2011 sales and revenues of $60.138 billion, Caterpillar is the world’s leading manufacturer of construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas engines, industrial gas turbines and diesel-electric locomotives.

US car giants report record sales in China

Two US car makers said that their sales in China hit record highs, as Japanese brands suffered in the Chinese market due to a political dispute between the Asian giants.

General Motors' sales in China -- the world's largest auto market -- surged 14.3 percent year-on-year in October to a record for the month of 251,812 vehicles, the company said in a statement. For the first ten months of the year, GM and its ventures sold around 2.3 million vehicles in China, up 10.5 percent year-on-year, it said. GM sold more than 2.5 million vehicles in China last year.

Separately, Ford Motor said its sales in China reached a record 60,518 vehicles in October, jumping 48 percent from the same month last year, according to a statement.

Analysts say the row over disputed islands in the East China Sea, known as Diaoyu in China and Senkaku in Japan, has affected Japanese automakers operating in China and helped boost demand for other foreign brands. Toyota said Monday that it expects to sell 200,000 fewer vehicles in China in the second half of its fiscal year and take a 30 billion yen ($373 million) hit to its bottom line from slumping demand in China.

Toyota, Japan's biggest automaker, sold 900,000 vehicles in China in 2011.

Japan's Honda said last week that the firm would cut its full-year sales forecast in China to 620,000 vehicles from 750,000 units. China's nationwide auto sales slowed last year from 2010 after the government rolled back purchasing incentives and some cities imposed limits on car numbers to ease traffic congestion and cut pollution.

The nation's auto sales rose just 2.5 percent to 18.51 million units in 2011, compared with an annual increase of more than 32 percent in 2010.

AFP

India’s Tata Motors profit up 10.5%, misses forecast

India's top vehicle maker Tata Motors said its quarterly net profit rose 10.5 percent year-on-year because of a robust performance by its British brands Jaguar and Land Rover. The auto giant reported a consolidated net profit of 20.75 billion rupees ($383 million) in the second financial quarter which ended September, up from 18.77 billion rupees a year earlier. The company, part of the salt-to-steel Tata conglomerate, undershot analysts' expectations of profit of around 25 billion rupees.

Revenues for the quarter rose 20 percent to 434 billion rupees thanks to increasing demand for the British brands. Tata Motors, which also makes utility vehicles and the low-cost Nano car, relies on Jaguar and Land Rover for the bulk of its profits. It said the overall business environment remained “subdued” in India. India, which has been one of the world's fastest-growing car markets in recent years, has been suffering a slowdown in demand as some buyers defer purchases due to expensive auto loans and high fuel costs. “The outlook remains weak for passenger cars but we hope to have regular product refreshes to boost demand,” Tata Motors's chief financial officer C. Ramakrishnan told reporters.

The much-awaited diesel version of the Nano was likely to be launched only after June next year, the firm said. Net revenue for the Jaguar and Land Rover brands rose 13 percent to 3.28 billion pounds ($5.24 billion) and net profit jumped 77 percent to 305 million pounds ($487 million) from a year earlier.

AFP