Innovation

How New Cat–Trimble Deal Shakes Up Grade Control

The 23-year partnership is changing how grade control is delivered.

Updated on

September 21, 2025

Grade control makes precision effortless. (Photo: Courtesy)

In an industry where collaborations rarely last a decade, the partnership between Caterpillar and Trimble has proved the exception, enduring for more than two decades.

The 50-50 joint venture, Caterpillar Trimble Control Technologies (CTCT), runs so deep that, as Chris Shephard, Trimble’s VP for Construction Solutions, puts it: ‘Divorce isn’t an option.’

The alliance, now in its 23rd year, is shifting direction. In October 2024, the companies signed a deal that reshapes how grade control technology is developed.

Instead of building and selling a single unified system, CTCT will deliver a shared “engine” – a core platform from which Caterpillar and Trimble will each design their own solutions.

The shift acknowledges the reality of a fragmented industry. “We sometimes have competing objectives that don’t always line up,” Shephard explained.

“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.”

The new model frees both companies to innovate independently.

Caterpillar can strengthen its factory-installed options, while Trimble gains flexibility to expand aftermarket offerings – still the main channel for grade control.

“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,” Shephard said.

Distribution has long been a sticking point. Trimble’s reliance on SITECH, a dealer network tied closely to Caterpillar, gave it reach but limited access to non-Cat customers.

“It was hard to reach those non-Cat customers in some regions,” Shephard admitted.

Under the new deal, Trimble can now work directly with other OEM dealers, a move that could significantly extend its market.

For Shephard, the stakes go beyond distribution. He contrasts construction with manufacturing, where conditions are controlled and predictable.

“It rains and you can’t work… If you’re in a Ford factory, you control the whole thing. It’s under a roof…” The complexity of construction sites, he argues, makes the case for digital tools even stronger.

Few innovations illustrate that better than 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… You would give your left arm for 40% productivity growth in the manufacturing space.”

The Caterpillar–Trimble partnership is not chasing headlines, but with its new approach, it may be laying the groundwork for a quieter revolution – one driven by flexibility, innovation and the steady advance of digital construction.