The US-headquartered CDMO said the 5,600 m2 cell therapy manufacturing space houses multi-product segregated suites designed to support autologous and allogeneic cell therapy manufacturing through to late-stage clinical and commercial-scale supply The facility has been designed to be both EMEA and FDA compliant with Grade B and C suites to support high-throughput processes and accommodate bioreactor-scale cell therapy manufacturing as well as on-site quality control (QC) laboratories and warehousing Catalent’s Gosselies campus already includes a 6,200 m2 clinical manufacturing facility offering customers advanced clinical and commercial supply solutions the Belgian site provides process and analytical development labs more than 20 CGMP grade B and C cleanrooms qualified person (QP) services and warehousing Gosselies also offers separate plasmid DNA (pDNA) development and large-scale manufacturing facilities QC lab and multiple CGMP production suites said the CDMO’s platform enables fully integrated cell therapy services at multiple locations ProteiNext is an annual symposium that offers a platform for sharing insights on protein analysis Are you ready to elevate your pharmaceutical operations Download our exclusive whitepaper and discover how compliance with Good Distribution Practice (GDP) is essential for the safety and integrity of pharmaceuticals Catalent has added a commercial-scale plasmid DNA (pDNA) manufacturing facility to its campus in Gosselies pDNA production for clinical and commercial-phase supply US-based pharmaceutical company Catalent opened a commercial-scale plasmid DNA (pDNA) manufacturing facility at its European Center of Excellence for Cell Therapies campus in Gosselies The facility is designed for clinical and commercial manufacturing of current good manufacturing practice (CGMP) grade pDNA in batch sizes ranging from milligrams to grams It also produces a new range of off-the-shelf plasmids including the currently available adeno-associated virus (AAV) pHelper which will be made available for cell and gene companies at a later stage The new facility is located at the Brussels South Charleroi Biopark in Gosselies at a site acquired by Catalent in May 2021 The site was previously owned by Hepatic Cell Therapy Support (HCTS) a cell therapy manufacturing subsidiary of Belgium-based biotech company Promethera Biosciences process development and quality control (QC) laboratories The new 32,400ft² (3,010m²) commercial-scale pDNA facility offers large-scale manufacturing services and has more than 12,000ft² (1,100m²) of pDNA development and manufacturing space across multiple cleanrooms The facility follows the European Medicines Agency (EMA) and US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) guidelines to support customers who require high-yielding processes at 50l and 300l fermentation scales the campus includes a clinical-scale pDNA facility built on a 17,000ft² (1,600m²) area This facility has research and development (R&D) The European Center of Excellence for Cell Therapies campus covers more than 130,000ft² (12,077.3m²) worth of cell therapy facilities The centre has a 25,830ft² (2,399.7m²) clinical manufacturing facility and a 41,000ft² (3,809m²) purpose-built cGMP facility for advanced clinical and commercial supply The Gosselies campus provides comprehensive services for various stages of cell and gene therapy development including process and analytical development laboratories One of the world’s largest state-of-the-art cell therapy commercial manufacturing facilities was opened at the campus in December 2022 The facility features a 60,000ft² (5,600m²) dedicated cell therapy manufacturing space with multi-product segregated suites designed to support cell therapy (autologous and allogeneic) manufacturing for late-stage clinical and commercial-scale supply The cell therapy facilities offer four process development labs 12 agility-by-design cleanrooms for Europe and US cGMP manufacturing Plasmid DNA is the raw material for many advanced therapeutics such as mRNA and viral vector-based cell and gene therapies and vaccines Catalent’s pDNA services include TSE-BSE-free CGMP-compliant process development and optimisation and plasmid production from milligram to more than 10gm scales It also provides linearised plasmid for mRNA production QC-qualified assays for plasmid release and cell bank characterisation The company’s commercial-scale production capabilities allow it to deliver an integrated programme from the development of optimal plasmid and its manufacturing process for seamless transfer into viral vector production including fill/finish and clinical supply services and full life-cycle supply of drug products across the world The company generated around $5bn in revenue in 2022 Catalent promotes more than 1,000 partner programmes and launches more than 150 new products a year the company has flexible manufacturing platforms spread across 50 sites which are involved in supplying around 80 billion doses of 8,000 products a year Give your business an edge with our leading industry insights View all newsletters from across the GlobalData Media network It looks like nothing was found at this location plant closure in Belgium will proceed as planned with work for 2,000 employees there gradually phased out by the end of the year The company first announced the contemplated closure of the Gosselies in September Caterpillar finalized those plans in a statement issued Monday morning production of Caterpillar products on the Gosselies site will be gradually phased out with all production operations expected to end by mid-year 2017," the statement read in part "The other operations and functions on the Gosselies site are expected to be gradually phased out until the end of 2017." Caterpillar is moving forward with the plan after what the company termed an "information and consultation procedure in compliance with Belgian law." Caterpillar revealed its intentions in September to shift production of some construction equipment from Belgium to France and other locations outside Europe That plan would move production from Gosselies and elsewhere — and possibly include shifting component production to unidentified external suppliers and other Caterpillar facilities “We have to contemplate actions to reduce manufacturing capacity and take operating costs out of our business to align with lower demand," said Tom Pellette group president with responsibility for Construction Industries we will support the local leadership in order to mitigate the impact on our employees their families and the communities where we’re located." Caterpillar also has announced the contemplated closure of a production facility in Aurora pending a formal agreement with United Auto Workers Severance pay provisions for about 800 union-represented laborers there were included in a narrowly approved contract that was up for a vote on Sunday Matt Buedel can be reached at 686-3154 or mbuedel@pjstar.com About us | Advertise with us | Contact us Catalent has opened one of the largest commercial-scale cell therapy manufacturing facilities in the world The 60,000 square foot (5,600 square metre) new state-of-the-art facility houses multi-product segregated suites facilitates autologous and allogeneic cell therapy manufacturing through to late-stage clinical and commercial-scale supply The site has been designed to be EMEA and FDA compliant with Grade B and C suites to support high-throughput processes and accommodate bioreactor-scale cell therapy manufacturing in addition to on-site quality control (QC) laboratories and warehousing The Gosselies campus has process and analytical development labs over 20 Current Good Manufacturing Practice (CGMP) grade B and C cleanrooms The campus also includes separate plasmid DNA (pDNA) development and manufacturing facilities The 17,000 square foot (1,600 square metre) clinical-scale pDNA facility includes R&D is 32,400 square feet (3,010 square metres) in size Catalent has expertise in viral vector development scale-up and manufacturing for gene therapies and viral vaccines The company is a full-service partner in plasmid DNA The company has cell and gene therapy facilities in Düsseldorf Catalent acquires new biologics facility in the UK… By No comments yet All subscriptions include online membership giving you access to the journal and exclusive content Comment *document.getElementById("comment").setAttribute( "id" "afb9fbf00d253128791b4b1eec6dfc2f" );document.getElementById("a9d92917df").setAttribute( "id" Write for us | Advertise with us European Pharmaceutical Review is published by: Russell Publishing Ltd.Court LodgeHogtrough HillBrasted © Russell Publishing Limited Website development by e-Motive Media Limited Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website These cookies do not store any personal information CookieDescriptioncookielawinfo-checkbox-advertising-targetingThe cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Advertising & Targeting".cookielawinfo-checkbox-analyticsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent WordPress Plugin The cookie is used to remember the user consent for the cookies under the category "Analytics".cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessaryThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".cookielawinfo-checkbox-performanceThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent WordPress Plugin The cookie is used to remember the user consent for the cookies under the category "Performance".PHPSESSIDThis cookie is native to PHP applications The cookie is used to store and identify a users' unique session ID for the purpose of managing user session on the website The cookie is a session cookies and is deleted when all the browser windows are closed.viewed_cookie_policyThe cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies It does not store any personal data.zmember_loggedThis session cookie is served by our membership/subscription system and controls whether you are able to see content which is only available to logged in users By 2013-06-24T13:50:00+01:00 The line is worked by TEC’s existing 44-strong fleet of articulated LRVs supplied by BN and ACEC in the 1980s A 10 min interval service operates from Gosslies to the SNCB station at Charleroi Sud and back THE EUROPEAN INVESTMENT Bank is lending €75m to Belgian public transport operator SRWT to fund completion of the light metro system in Charleroi The loan agreement was signed by EIB President Philippe Maystadt SRWT Deputy Managing Director Jean-Marc Vandenbroucke and André Antoine WORK IS DUE to begin during the second quarter of 2007 on the 1 km Parc - Sud section of the TEC light metro in the Belgian city of Charleroi expected to open at the end of 2010 to complete a long-planned city centre loop WALLOON Transport Minister José Daras has unveiled a €89·4m programme to complete the light metro network in Charleroi within five years Work on this long-stalled project began in 1970 and is believed to have cost BFr22·5bn to date.The latest proposals would see a new surface alignment to complete the city-centre .. Site powered by Webvision Cloud - Topline interim dataset from GALAXIES Lung-201 with >240 patients anticipated in 2Q25- Interim datasets from GALAXIES H&N-202 and TIG-006 HNSCC with ~200 patients anticipated in 2025- Completed enrollment of second dose cohort of EOS-984 + pembrolizumab combination in ongoing Phase 1 trial- EOS-215 Phase 1 trial TRM-010 patient enrollment anticipated to begin in 2Q25- Cash balance and investment balance of $655.0 million as of December 31 2024 expected to provide runway through 2027 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- iTeos Therapeutics a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company pioneering the discovery and development of a new generation of immuno-oncology therapeutics for patients today reported financial results for the fourth quarter and full year ended December 31 “Our team’s strong focus and execution over the last twelve months lay the groundwork for a potential breakthrough year for iTeos in 2025 As we advance multiple trials evaluating belrestotug + dostarlimab in collaboration with GSK we look forward to the topline interim results from GALAXIES Lung-201 in the second quarter of 2025 as they will play a key role in shaping the next phase of our lead program’s development,” said Michel Detheux president and chief executive officer of iTeos we continue to accelerate two Phase 1 therapeutic candidates with best- or first-in-class potential that could fundamentally reshape the immuno-oncology field With $655 million in cash and runway through 2027 we are poised to take bold steps forward to progress our innovative science and deliver novel therapies to those who need these most.” Belrestotug (EOS-448/GSK4428859A): IgG1 anti-TIGIT monoclonal antibody in development for the first-line treatment of locally advanced or metastatic PDL1-selected non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and for the first-line treatment of PD-L1 positive recurrent/metastatic head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) in collaboration with GSK EOS-984: Potential first-in-class small molecule in oncology inhibiting ENT1 a dominant transporter of adenosine involved in T cell metabolism EOS-215: Potential best-in-class anti-TREM2 with a novel mechanism of action blocking monoclonal antibody targeting tumor-associated macrophages to reprogram the tumor microenvironment Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2024 Financial Results Inc.iTeos Therapeutics is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company pioneering the discovery and development of a new generation of immuno-oncology therapeutics for patients iTeos Therapeutics leverages its deep understanding of tumor immunology and immunosuppressive pathways to design novel product candidates with the potential to restore the immune response against cancer The Company’s innovative pipeline includes three clinical-stage programs targeting novel validated immunosuppressive pathways designed with optimized pharmacologic properties for improved clinical outcomes including the TIGIT/CD226 axis and the adenosine pathway iTeos Therapeutics is headquartered in Watertown About Belrestotug (EOS-448/ GSK4428859A) Belrestotug is an Fc active human immunoglobulin G1 monoclonal antibody (mAb) targeting T cell immunoglobulin and immunoreceptor tyrosine-based inhibitory motif domains (TIGIT) an important inhibitory receptor which contributes to the suppression of adaptive and innate immune responses against cancer belrestotug is designed to enhance the antitumor response through a multifaceted immune modulatory mechanism by engaging with TIGIT and FcγR a key regulator of immune responses which induces cytokine release and antibody dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC) The therapeutic candidate is progressing in multiple indications in collaboration with GSK About EOS-984EOS-984 is a potential first-in-class small molecule targeting equilibrative nucleoside transporter 1 (ENT1) designed to inhibit the immunosuppressive activity of adenosine and restore immune cell proliferation The therapeutic candidate has the potential to fully reverse the profound immunosuppressive action of adenosine on T and B cells and is in Phase 1 development About EOS-215EOS-215 is a potential best-in-class monoclonal antibody which antagonizes triggering receptor expressed on myeloid cells 2 (TREM2) The antibody is designed to block ligand binding and switch off the multiple tumor growth and survival promoting activities of tumor resident macrophages EOS-215 has been shown preclinically to have a profound impact on macrophage function promoting multiple anti-tumor mechanisms including T cell activation The therapeutic candidate’s multiple mechanisms of action have been shown to translate to activity in highly immune resistant models and has completed IND-enabling studies The Company encourages investors and potential investors to consult our website regularly for important information about iTeos Forward-Looking StatementsThis press release contains forward-looking statements Any statements that are not solely statements of historical fact are forward-looking statements Words such as “believe,” “anticipate,” “plan,” “expect,” “will,” “may,” “intend,” “prepare,” “look,” “potential,” “possible” and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements These forward-looking statements include statements relating to the potential benefits of our product candidates; the potential of our phase 1 product candidates to be best- or first-in-class and to fundamentally reshape the immuno-oncology field; the potential for iTeos to have a breakthrough year in 2025; iTeos being poised to take bold steps forward to progress its innovative science and deliver novel therapies to those who need these most; our plans and expected milestones including having topline interim data from GALAXIES Lung-201 in 2Q25 that includes safety with pembrolizumab monotherapy ORR for 30 patients and PFS data from initial 124 patients treated our expectation to submit data from GALAXIES Lung-201 for presentation at a scientific congress in 2H 2025 having interim data from GALAXIES H&N-202 in 2025 that include safety and ORR from a total of >150 patients having topline data from the first portion of TIG-006 study in cohorts 2C & 2D in 2025 that include safety our expectation to start enrolling patients in TRM-010 in 2Q25; and our expectation that our cash balance and investment balance will provide runway through 2027 These forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties Actual results could materially differ from those stated or implied by these forward-looking statements as a result of such risks and uncertainties Known risk factors include the following: the expected benefits and opportunities related to the agreement between iTeos and GSK may not be realized or may take longer to realize due to a variety of reasons including any inability of the parties to perform their commitments and obligations under the agreement challenges and uncertainties inherent in product research and development and manufacturing limitations; success in preclinical testing and early clinical trials does not ensure that later clinical trials will be successful including meeting its expected or planned regulatory milestones and timelines and bringing its product candidates to market some of which may be outside of iTeos’ control including possible limitations of company financial and other resources manufacturing limitations that may not be anticipated or resolved for in a timely manner negative developments in the field of immuno-oncology such as adverse events or disappointing results including in connection with competitor therapies court or agency decisions such as decisions by the United States Patent and Trademark Office with respect to patents that cover our product candidates; and those risks identified under the heading “Risk Factors” in iTeos’ Annual Report on Form 10-K for the period ended December 30 2024 filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) as well as other SEC filings made by the Company which you are encouraged to review Statements regarding the Company’s cash runway do not indicate when or if the Company may access the capital markets Any of the foregoing risks could materially and adversely affect iTeos’ business results of operations and the trading price of iTeos’ common stock We caution investors not to place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements contained in this press release iTeos does not undertake any obligation to publicly update its forward-looking statements other than as required by law We take no responsibility for the accuracy of the translation 2016Caterpillar announced this morning that it will close its Belgian headquarters at Gosselies The announcement was made at an extraordinary works council meeting called at 8:30 am on Friday 2 September – already called Black Friday by locals 1,331 jobs were lost in another cost cutting exercise A number of IndustriALL Global Union affiliates are active in the Caterpillar network and are currently meeting to determine a response: Algemeen Belgisch Vakverbond ABVV-Metaal and Centrale Nationale des Employés-CNE Fédération des Métallurgistes FGTB Hainaut-Namur and SETCA-BBTK - Syndicat des Employés In a press release, Caterpillar announced that production will shift to Grenoble, France, and to other sites outside Europe. A plant in Northern Ireland will also close The company claims that the move is necessary due to a failure to meet targets and poor market conditions Caterpillar made the decision to reduce headcount to boost profit and plans to cut 10,000 jobs worldwide by 2018 The company has already cut 30,000 jobs since 2012 IndustriALL director for mechanical engineering and materials industries “This is part of the ongoing deindustrialization of Belgium and shows that Caterpillar cares only about return on investment and not the sacrifices made by its loyal workforce “This is a profitable plant that will shut because the company has found a way to cut costs further there has been no proper consultation with the works council This is why it is necessary to install genuine social dialogue “We will stand with our colleagues and give them all the support and solidarity they need at this difficult time” IndustriALL Global Union’s affiliates represent over 50 million workers in 140 countries in the mining We take up the fight for better working conditions and trade union rights around the world © Copyright 2018 - IndustriALL - We care about your personal information and data. Take a look at our Privacy Policy Trump Shuts Down China Shipping Loophole, Sending Prices Soaring… Caterpillar Inc. has announced it is contemplating closing its production facility in Gosselies and shifting production to other manufacturing facilities The announcement starts an information and consultation process which could result in the closure of the Gosselies site and a collective lay-off This announcement is in connection with the global restructuring and cost savings plan announced in September 2015 The Gosselies plant primarily manufactures construction equipment Caterpillar is contemplating to allocate the volumes that are produced at the Gosselies facility to the manufacturing facility in Grenoble and to other manufacturing facilities outside Europe It is also contemplated to allocate component production to external suppliers and other Caterpillar facilities and to consolidate support functions to other sites it would result in the lay-off of about 2,000 employees and in the closure of the Gosselies site “We have to contemplate actions to reduce manufacturing capacity and take operating costs out of our business to align with lower demand,” said Tom Pellette group president with responsibility for construction industries their families and the communities where we’re located.” During the upcoming information and consultation process, Caterpillar says it is committed to comply with the applicable laws and to engage in a constructive dialogue with the employee representatives in order to minimize the social impact With 2015 sales and revenues of $47 billion Caterpillar is the world’s leading manufacturer of construction and mining equipment industrial gas turbines and diesel-electric locomotives The company principally operates through its three product segments—construction industries and energy and transportation—and also provides financing and related services through its financial products segment Download the FREE Global Trade Magazine APP Please enable JS and disable any ad blocker vice president of Walloon government and minister of economy president of Chinese company Thunder Power Holdings which will begin its production line in Gosselies Chinese company Thunder Power Holdings and Belgian investment fund SOGEPA concluded a deal on Friday to manufacture a new electric city car called Chloe in Belgium 19 (Xinhua) -- After months of negotiation Thunder Power Electric Vehicles (TPEV) -- a technology innovator and manufacturer of electric vehicles -- chose the region of Wallonia in Belgium as part of an economic development strategy aimed at launching its range-extended electric vehicles in the European market The new electric car Chloe -- which will begin its production line in Gosselies in the Walloon region of Belgium -- was unveiled for the first time ever on Friday This small city car combines a list of impressive specifications and technological features like an extended driving range of 350 km increased power and better energy efficiency than others cars in the same market segment mentioned in an exclusive interview with Xinhua that it is vital for Wallonia to attract investors from Asia Belgium "must continue to invest and be open to emerging countries" have some of the world's leading industries which are at the forefront of technological innovation especially in the pharmaceutical sector research and innovation," the official said China completes deep-sea research mission in Mariana Trench China's harvest scenery on World Food Day Autumn scenery in China's Guangxi Various wild birds seen across China Paddy rice harvested in north China's Hebei Brown-eared pheasants pictured in north China's Shanxi Main body of Chinese part of 1st cross-river railway bridge connecting with Russia completed Model aircrafts with turbojet engines compete in air in China's Shandong The report marks 42 consecutive months of declining sales for Caterpillar Illinois-based manufacturer appears to be decelerating For the three-month period ending February sales fell 21 percent compared to a year ago but declines have been less steep since then Every month the company releases dealer's three-month rolling sales compared with the same period of the prior year known for its iconic yellow earth-moving equipment said global machine sales were down 12 percent in May 12 percent in April and 13 percent in March "The pace of Caterpillar's overall decline has been remarkably steady with low double digit declines for over 2 years now," Jefferies' analyst Stephan Volkmann wrote in a research note the company's machinery sales have declined since the peak in 2012 due to the global slowdown in both mining and construction full year global sales were down almost $20 billion from nearly $65.9 billion in 2012 Caterpillar will report 2016 second-quarter results on July 26 and analysts on average expect earnings per share to be 97 cents on $10 billion in revenue The company posted revenues of $12.3 billion in the second quarter of 2015 the company's outlook for full year 2016 earnings per share is at $3.70 with $40 billion to $42 billion in revenues "In most industrial markets we are running along the bottom at this point," Lustgarten said "But the problem is we are not seeing anything that suggests improvement." As the outlook from the first quarter reflects Caterpillar is expecting a fourth down year of sales and revenues (Reporting By Meredith Davis; Editing by Bernard Orr) Marc VDS Racing Team unveil 2013 livery in Gosselies Gosselies Belgium – 5 March 2013: The Moto2 and Moto3 bikes that will be campaigned by Scott Redding were unveiled last night during an official launch at the Marc VDS Racing Team’s headquarters in Gosselies Redding is keen to get his fourth season with the Marc VDS Racing Team underway after two successful preseason tests in Valencia and Jerez For Kallio this will be his third season with the team making the rider line up one of the longest serving in the cutthroat Moto2 class who will make his Grand Prix debut at Jerez this season was consistent in the dry at the preseason tests at Valencia and Jerez but it was his pace in the wet that impressed The 15-year-old Belgian will test again at Le Mans next week before re-joining his Marc VDS teammates at Jerez for the final preseason test of 2013 Michael Bartholemy: Team Principal “Our season started with the first test in Valencia but the launch was the first time we’ve shown the bikes in their 2013 livery because it’s one of the few times in the season that we get to present the team at home in Belgium With Scott we go into the season as one of the favourites to fight for the championship but I think Mika may also surprise a few people this year Livio has already impressed during testing but we need to remember that this is his debut season and he’s facing a steep learning curve There is no pressure on him for results in his first year so I hope he will take advantage of this to gain experience ready for a proper assault on the championship in 2014.” Marc van der Straten: President Marc VDS Racing Team “A hectic race program for both our car and bike teams means that we rarely see both together in the workshop which is why the team launch is so important for us We have a lot of support at home in Belgium particularly from the area close to our headquarters in Gosselies so it’s good to present both teams here ahead of the new season under the direction of Michael Bartholemy I fully expect Scott and Mika to be at the front fighting for race wins and the championship 2013 will also be a season of firsts for us It’s the first year for the team in Moto3 and it’s the first time we will have a Belgian rider on our bike but I have every confidence that he will bank the experience this year the more I am convinced that he will be the guy to put Belgium back on the Grand Prix map.” | © document.write(new Date().getFullYear()), Roadracing World Publishing, Inc. 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In recent years, the Peoria, Illinois-based company has called the 178 independently owned businesses that distribute its earth-moving products worldwide everything from "a critical competitive differentiator" to "the foundation" of its success. Now the world's largest maker of construction and mining equipment is adopting a cooler tone with those dealers, asking them: "What have you done for us lately?" Caterpillar believes its distributors are missing out on somewhere between $9 billion and $18 billion in easy-to-capture revenue each year because they are falling down in at least three ways. They are not tapping into the wealth of real-time customer data now at their fingertips; they are not communicating with each other; and they are not providing customers across the globe with a consistent experience when it comes to everything from e-commerce to parts and services pricing. So Caterpillar, which is in a hunt for new revenue because of weakness in key markets, is giving dealers until the end of the year to come up with a three-year plan to capture those lost sales. Distributors who fail to meet their targets could have their dealership agreements terminated, though top executives insist a cull of dealers probably won't be needed. "That would be the last resort, the last outcome and certainly not desirable," says Chief Executive Officer Doug Oberhelman. Like its rivals, Caterpillar has integrated all kinds of diagnostic technology into its machines that throws off a torrent of real-time information about the health of the products. The data helps owners track their equipment, optimize its utilization and manage fuel and maintenance costs. Better exploited by the dealers, the information could immediately increase part and service sales to existing customers, Caterpillar says. Dealers could anticipate problems, schedule preventive and predictive maintenance and help customers manage their equipment fleets more efficiently. The company says its best dealers already do that pretty decently and have, in the words of Stu Levenick, the group president in charge of dealer relations, "an awareness of about 90 percent of their parts demand by customer, have it very well segmented and understand where 90 percent of the opportunity exists." Many more dealers are missing out. "The average dealer, or lower-performing dealer, he only knows 40 percent of his opportunity," Levenick says. "And we demonstrated that if we just take the best practices of the first group and apply it to the other group, they automatically get a 6 to 8 percent aftermarket share improvement ... just by doing something obvious. But they haven't done it because we haven't directed them to do it or helped them to do it." Caterpillar is the latest company to see big dollars in so-called Big Data. There are, by its reckoning, more than 3.5 million pieces of Caterpillar equipment in the field, many of them fitted with sensors that send out continual status updates about important mechanical systems and operator performance. Caterpillar believes dealers could be billing for billions of dollars more each year if they did a better job of thinking of those machines as smart digital devices, constantly pinging them with sales and service opportunities - not just dumb pieces of iron. The push, code-named Across the Table, was unveiled last month at a private meeting of distributors and made public earlier this month at an analyst meeting in Las Vegas. Company executives say dealers are missing out on additional billions in sales by not coordinating better with one another and not offering consistent e-commerce solutions to customers who, in many cases, work with more than one Caterpillar dealer across the globe. "Customer expectations have changed," says Levenick, who is in charge of the initiative. "If they work with multiple dealers, they want to have a common experience wherever they go." Oberhelman says cooperation and communication among Caterpillar dealers often is "disjointed," especially when it comes to locating parts and serving customers. He cites the example of Australia, where the four dealers that have carved up the country - and Caterpillar itself, which sells a handful of specialized products directly to customers - operate dozens of supply depots whose order and inventory systems aren't meshed. "I don't know how many individual parts warehouses there must be among four dealers and ours," Oberhelman says. "But it's probably over 100. And we don't really today … have those talk to each other. You need a part in Perth. Our warehouse in Melbourne may not have it, but it may not communicate with all the other places in Australia before we have to go overseas to get it." A big chunk of any incremental revenue the dealers pick up with the push would flow to Caterpillar, says Levenick. "It can't go to them without going to us." Caterpillar is also challenging dealers to do a better job of navigating the sea change that's taken place in the construction machine market, where sales of equipment to rental companies now outnumber sales to contractors. That creates problems because the independent dealer model, which Caterpillar embraced shortly after its founding in the 1920s, "was never designed originally to handle the financial loads or the operational capabilities of running a rental organization," Levenick says. "If you look at a CAT dealer, they're not structured in a way that United Rentals is." Jason Marx, a director in the heavy-equipment practice of AlixPartners, an industry consulting group, says the rental business requires "a huge amount of working capital" and can divert money away from other parts of a dealer's business that might require some funding for growth. Oberhelman acknowledges the strain the switch to rental is putting on the company and its dealer network. "It moves the financial pressure from the customer to the dealer and ultimately up to us," he says. "And we just have to figure out how to deal with that." The push is not without risk. Caterpillar has long touted its independent dealers, whose 162,000 workers more than double its global headcount, as a key competitive advantage, especially in recent years as lower-priced Asian rivals with less robust dealer support networks rose up to challenge its supremacy in the construction equipment market. Messing with that could sour the special relationship that Caterpillar says has been critical to its success in remaining the world's No. 1 maker of construction and mining equipment. But the company is in a scramble for additional revenue. After peaking at $65.9 billion in 2012, sales plunged nearly 16 percent in 2013 as capital investment by the global mining industry tanked. The company has warned that sales could slip another 5 percent in 2014 in part because of the slow-motion recovery of the global construction market. Analysts say that hasn't completely derailed Caterpillar's goal of reaching $100 billion in annual revenues by 2020, but it has made the target a little harder to reach. Hence the focus on dealer performance, which Caterpillar says is a way to significantly lift sales even if construction and mining fundamentals don't improve dramatically anytime soon. Caterpillar is focused on nine or 10 dealer metrics, most of which it refuses to discuss with analysts or the media. That has made it difficult for investors to assess the likelihood the move will deliver the promised results. Ann Duignan, an analyst at JP Morgan, is among those who say they have more questions than answers about the dealer effort and remain dubious about the effect it will have on the company's top and bottom lines. "It's hard to assess accurately because they didn't give us enough detail," Duignan says. But in conversations about the program with Reuters, top executives have made it clear that dealers need to significantly increase the performance of their parts and service departments and to boost their share of the global parts and service market. A key gauge here is something Caterpillar calls "the absorption rate," which measures how long a dealership could keep its doors open if it never sold another piece of equipment and had to survive on the profits booked from servicing existing machines in its territory. If a dealer's gross profit from those parts and service sales can cover its total overhead and interest expenses for a year, the dealer is said to have a 100 percent absorption rate. For years, 100 percent was considered good enough. No more. Dealers' new absorption-rate goals will be different, but they have all been given until 2018 to improve performance. Leveraging the insights the embedded technology affords them is one way to get there. Even the best dealers in the network are being assigned new goals that Jim Parker, the owner of Carter Machinery, a Caterpillar dealership in Salem, Virginia, says "won't be a lay-up." Tapping into the technology already deployed on Caterpillar's machines could make their task a little easier. For years now, Caterpillar has been installing all kinds of cameras, sensors and satellite-based positioning control and guidance systems on its machines to help customers increase their productivity and efficiency and eliminate workplace accidents. Those electronic gadgets and the remote monitoring they make possible have created a huge opportunity for dealers to move beyond the equipment and parts and services sales and into the potentially much-more lucrative fleet-management business. Dealers already offer a tiered fleet-management program, which is marketed as CAT Equipment Management Solutions (EMS). Indeed a highlight of Caterpillar's exhibit at the recent ConExpo trade show in Las Vegas was a demonstration of how the system works for customers and dealers. Caterpillar wants dealers to move more customers into higher-levels of EMS, where dealers take over monitoring of the equipment and - at the highest level - actually take over the management of customers' fleets. The company has tried to increase dealer buy-in to the plan by asking 20 of its top-performing distributors - including Parker in Virginia - to help design its carrots and sticks. So far, Levenick says there has been little resistance to the basic goals. But Parker says talk of raising performance measures has prompted some nervousness among dealers. "We have a common set of metrics. You know what they are, and you know they're weighted. And that's how Caterpillar is going to judge every dealer. It's very, very black and white. It's about market share," he says. "But I know some dealers - because they're friends of mine - are saying, ‘I got some work to do.'" (Reporting by James B. 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