I had always been told that (at least the older) Cat mini ex's were built by Mitsubishi for Cat. I just found the following on Mitsubishi's Public Affairs Committee webpage dated 2002. I think the very earliest CAT mini ex's were total Mitsubishi design/components but it looks like they were doing some 50/50 partnership work shortly after that. Who knows what it is today......
""The CAT brand appeared for the first time on an important product line this February. Shin Caterpillar Mitsubishi began supplying mini hydraulic excavators to Japanese customers under that brand.
In Japan, Shin Caterpillar Mitsubishi formerly marketed mini excavators- less than six tons-under the Mitsubishi brand and larger excavators under Caterpillar's CAT brand. It now will begin selling its mini excavators under the CAT brand, too, starting with the model launched in February.
Shin Caterpillar Mitsubishi's new mini excavator also is important for another reason. It features a so-called compact radius. The cab-and-engine unit, in other words, has a diameter smaller than the width and length of the crawler unit beneath. On conventional excavators, the back end of the cab-and-engine unit projects beyond the crawler unit. That makes the excavators less nimble in tight spaces. Shin Caterpillar Mitsubishi's compact radius excavators handle work that would be next to impossible with other kinds of equipment.
"Most important," emphasizes Izuru Morita, who heads the mini excavator development program at Shin Caterpillar Mitsubishi, "is the quality of the excavators. These little units are a lot less expensive than our big machines. But we have equipped them with state-of-the-art features for maximizing safety, optimizing performance, and ensuring reliability."
Thinking Globally
Mini hydraulic excavators long were a Japanese curiosity, like bonsai gardening. Construction companies employed the little diggers in the tight spaces of Japan's cityscapes. Recently, demand for mini excavators has been surging in Europe and North America as users have recognized the economy and versatility of the smaller equipment.
Shin Caterpillar Mitsubishi, a 50:50 joint venture between Caterpillar and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, has developed and manufactured mini excavators since 1995. It has licensed mini excavator technology to a Caterpillar company for U.K. production since 1997 and also began exporting some models last year.""
