Inside Trimble: How the Caterpillar relationship is shaping grade control

Shephard believes that construction has made greater progress regarding tehcnology than it is often given credit for. Image: Trimble

The relationship is so embedded into the DNA of both players that when talking about it, Chris Shephard, vice president of the Construction Solutions Group at Trimble, says with just a hint of a twinkle in his eye: “Divorce isn’t an option.”

The joint venture, formally known as CTCT, has undergone several amendments since its formation 23 years ago. The latest revision, signed in October 2024, represents what Shephard calls a major shift in how the companies approach grade control technology.

Under previous agreements, CTCT built the full grade control product that both partners bought and sold. Going forward, Trimble and Caterpillar will each take a common core ‘engine’ and build out their own tailored solutions from it.

“We sometimes have competing objectives that don’t always line up,” Shephard says. “The concept here is you guys build an engine, we’ll each buy it and we’ll each have our own development people who will create the final product.”

English-born Shephard is well placed to comment on the relationship. He has been at Trimble for 27 years so was around when CTCT was first formed and has been a board member of the joint venture for some time. He was involved in the negotiation of the last amendment.

This change, Shephard argues, enables more flexibility and innovation. It allows both companies to adapt grade control solutions for different customer types and markets – be it factory-integrated systems for OEMs or aftermarket upgrades.

The revised agreement also alters distribution. Trimble historically relied on SITECH, a network largely tied to Caterpillar dealers, for aftermarket grade control sales. But gaps in reaching non-Cat customers have led to a shift. “It was hard to reach those non-Cat customers in some regions,” admits Shephard. Trimble now plans to build direct relationships with other OEM dealers where SITECH had limited access.

On the updated agreement Shephard says, “As the world changes, the agreement has to shift with it. Otherwise, you’re stuck with outdated provisions. I think it now reflects what we see today and going forwards, versus the last iteration which was in 2014.”

Grade control adoption

Shephard has been at Trimble for 27 years. Image: Trimble

Despite some predictions that grade control would become factory-installed by default that is not how the industry has evolved. “It’s still very much an aftermarket business,” he notes. “Maybe 60-70% of all grade control is bought with a new machine purchase, but the installation happens at the dealership – not in the factory.”

The reason? The complexity of factory workflows and the customisation customers expect. “You’re customising what the customer wants. Do they want Earthworks? Do they want an upgraded seat? You do it before you go get the keys.”

He adds that, “For anybody who wants to sell grade control, you have to be at the equipment dealership when they’re buying a machine. If you are showing up to buy a Hitachi machine and I’m not there, and the Hitachi dealer doesn’t represent Trimble, you’re going to get something else. The agreement changes the terms around that.”

Shephard anticipates that a growing number of machines will be delivered as “integrated” solutions, but these won’t necessarily be factory-assembled. Instead, technology will be added at the dealership stage, just prior to delivery, as customers want to roll the cost of the technology into the machine when they’re financing the machine.

Construction’s digital adoption

Construction’s lack of technology adoption is something of a stick to beat the industry with – while there is some truth to it, this narrative conveniently overlooks the hurdles that construction has compared to other industries.

This is something that Shephard, who used to work as a management consultant before joining Trimble, knows only too well. Our conversation references an often-cited report from McKinsey on construction’s lack of technology adoption and anemic productivity growth.

“There are plenty of things in construction which are much harder to overcome than in a clean room in Jakarta making silicon chips. It’s out in the open. It rains and you can’t work. Last time I showed up at the HS2 site in England, we just sat there and had a mug of tea because it was raining.

“It’s not clean, it’s not simple. And depending on the type of construction, it’s way more complex with the number of actors in that value chain. If you’re in a Ford factory you control the whole thing. It’s under a roof. You’ve got your own people, your production plan, you control the workers, you’ve already got the material. All that stuff has to come together on a building site, whether you’re building a road or high rise; the complexity is far greater,” he says passionately.

The point he is making is that comparisons to manufacturing are unfair. He concedes that the industry could be doing more but also points out that real progress has been made with the sector’s digital adoption, and that he is optimistic about the future.

The Trimble MX60 Mobile Mapping System on display at World of Asphalt. (Image: Mitchell Keller)

“I think there’s enough money and minds aimed at the space that some of the barriers which seemed insurmountable will be broken down. You can see pockets of excellence.

“Look at grade control. You put a grade control system on an excavator or a dozer, and you’re going to get a 40% boost in productivity in any way you want to measure it. You would give your left arm for 40% productivity growth in the manufacturing space... There’s all those different elements of the value chain being attacked by different people.”

At this point in the conversation Shephard made a reference to his football (soccer) team, Nottingham Forest, which just so happens to be the football team that his interviewer also supports. After some very enjoyable football talk the conversation finally turns from the beautiful game to the potentially beautiful future of construction technology.

“You can see that it is dramatically improving, and information is the key,” Shephard states. “As you start to connect more of the assets, the people, what’s happening, bringing it together, people are smart enough to make their own decisions and improve their performance. We give them the information to improve the processes and increase the productivity and do more with less.

“I think that’s a natural human condition. And if you look at all the other industries that do this, that’s what happened. People are smart enough to make better decisions if you give them the information they need.”