CASE - a strong heritage, a strong brand

Case Construction equipment has been working on job sites throughout the world for over 150 years. Through various acquisitions and inventions, Case machinery has become a world-leader in many construction markets around the globe.

Case Heritage Equipment
The Case heritage in design and manufacture of construction equipment spans more than 100 years. Growing from J.I. Case's innovations with steam-powered agricultural threshers in the late 1800s, Case developed steam-powered equipment that helped build early 20th century roads and streets around the world. Case moved from steam power to gasoline-powered industrial tractors used by municipalities across America. The modern era of Case equipment dates to the 1950s and the invention of the first integrated loader/backhoe made by one manufacturer.

More Innovative Solutions From Case
Case has followed that important milestone with decades of innovations and a world-class product line that includes in Europe loader/backhoes, crawler and wheeled excavators, wheel loaders, skid steers (wheeled and tracked), telescopic handlers and articulated trucks.

Because the tradition of quality never grows old at Case Construction Equipment.

Company History
Inventor Jerome Increase Case founded Case in Racine in 1842 to build threshing machines. Later, the company gained global recognition as the first builder of steam engines for agricultural use, eventually becoming the world's largest maker of steam engines.

By 1912, Case had established itself in the construction equipment industry as a manufacturer of road-building equipment, such as steam rollers and road graders. The company built its construction equipment business through several acquisitions, starting with American Tractor Corporation in 1957. By the mid-1990s, Case had expanded to become the world's leading manufacturer of light- to medium-sized construction equipment. 

Interview with Faiz Ahmad, CASE Vice President
CASE is set for rapid growth in sales in Europe, building on recent success and new model introductions. The company has a host of market leading products available this year, from the B series CX crawler excavators to the E series range of wheeled loaders and the new tracked skid steers. The company also has a new man at the helm, a man determined to build on the CASE reputation for performance, reliability and productivity. 

Faiz Ahmad joined CASE at the beginning of 2007. As vice president for Europe, Africa and the Middle East, Mr Ahmad brings a wealth of experience, from a number of industries, to the expansion and further development of the Case brand.

Born in India in 1960, Mr Ahmad moved to the UK in 1968, going on to graduate from the University of York, with a Degree in Theoretical Physics. 

He went to work initially for defence specialist Marconi, who recognised his potential and sponsored him through an MBA at the London Business School.

From there Mr Ahmad moved to the USA in 1993, working for conglomerate giant Fruit, Machine and Chemicals (FMC). Mr Ahmad then had his first taste of the construction equipment business, joining Volvo Construction Equipment where he spent seven years in various positions. 

Mr. Ahmad, what was your priority in your new role as VP of CASE?
FA. The first task was to stabilise and revitalise the CASE organisation, a process that has already begun with a new structure now in place that shows a clear way forward.

This included splitting Europe from Africa, the Middle East and the CIS area and putting a different person in charge of each territory.

Profitability was the second area of concern. We’ve put in place a dealer development structure to support the dealers and build profitability. This included quarterly reviews with all dealers and a much closer relationship between manufacturer and distributor.

The dealer has to feel that we are focussed on his business, not just pushing volume.

There is also a greater focus on CNH Capital to help dealers and clients financially.

In your point of view, which are CASE’s competitive advantages in the market?
FA. I would underline two of them: a very good and complete product range, the best range that we’ve ever had and the most committed manufacturer team and dealer network.

A network which is going to give even more support to our customers in the future.

Which short- and medium-term objectives, both in turnover and sales terms, have you targeted?
FA. I want CASE to be the clear alternative to the premium player in every sector and I wish our market share to achieve a strong and steady growth by 2010.

Is CASE going to enter the Rental business?
FA. I have no intention of following other manufacturers into the rental market. On the whole, I believe it is a big mistake to mix rental and selling.

As regards strengthening the brand, do you have any new strategy?
FA. We do not want the price to determine our strategy, but we want the attention to our customers to lead our efforts.

We have many years of experience, a tradition for excellent machinery that dates back more than 150 years and we have the best products, offering better value for money than many competitors. And thanks to our dealer network the brand is going to achieve a strong growth.

What are the strengths of your distributor network and plans for the future?
FA. Construction equipment customers need far more than just a good machine, although that is certainly a good place to start. They need to keep that machinery working, which means equipment supply, service, parts, finance and a network of dealers who can provide class leading levels of customer service wherever the customer is working.

And in pockets we’ve got very good dealer networks, in some European countries in particular our dealer network is excellent.

We have to have true and seamless integration with the dealers, common KPIs and support in training. The dealers are also moving from sales into after sales more, backed by our belief in the importance of customer support and services.

CASE CX210B won the 18 th Energy Conservation Award
In conjunction with Case’s global alliance with excavator manufacturer Sumitomo in Japan the hydraulic excavator model CX210B won the 18 th Energy Conservation Award on January 17 th 2008. This was awarded by the Agency for Natural Resources and Energy in Ministry of Economy, Trade of Japan and Industry and Energy Conservation Center, Japan.

The award is open to the public and covers energy conservation technology, equipment and systems for non-military use. The award serves to recognize technology in order to promote development and popularization of energy conservation.

Past award-winning products recognized for their forefront in technology include Toyota’s Hybrid car “PRIUS” and the Non Flon Refrigerator of Matsushita.

CASE’s energy saving technology was highly praised and led to the award which is a first for a product in the construction industry.

One of the CX210B's development concepts is high fuel efficiency from the point of view of environment protection consequently, the CX210B has achieved a 20% fuel efficiency improvement in comparison with the previous conventional model by clever integration of a new engine management system combined with new state of the art advanced hydraulic technology.

CX210B was also awarded the Good Design Award 2007-2008 on Oct. 1 st, 2007. Both awards certify that CASE’s technology and design are in the forefront of CE Industry.

The Case CX210B is sold in Japan under the Sumitomo banner as the model SH200-5 LEGEST.

Case 921E Wheel Loader Wins Excellence In Equipment Engineering Award

Diesel Progress magazine, in cooperation with powertrain component manufacturer ZF, honored Case Construction Equipment with the first Excellence in Equipment Engineering award in the wheel loader category for the 921E wheel loader.

"Winning the Excellence in Equipment Engineering award is a testament to the smart engineering that went into the 921E – and the entire Case wheel loader line," said Dave Wolf, marketing manager. Powered by a fully electronic, 11-liter Tier III-certified Cummins engine, the 921E performs at three power curves to match the demands of any application and move more material per hour.

The rugged, 5.78-cubic-yard 921E wheel loader is the machine of choice for quarry and aggregates operations or for contractors engaged in road building, commercial or residential construction, sewer, water and utility work.

The editorial board of Diesel Progress, with input from several industry suppliers, identified three final candidates in each of several different machine segments, including the wheel loader category. The Case 921E was selected as the best wheel loader by an electronic vote of more than 4,000 readers of the magazine and visitors to the Diesel Progress Web site.

Diesel Progress magazine serves the field of manufacturing, design, distribution and service of equipment powered by diesel, gasoline or alternatively fueled engines. Readers include design engineers, component specifiers and engineering and purchasing managers.

In addition to the 921E and 921E/XR, the Case E Series wheel loaders include the 521E, 521E/XT, 521E/XR, 621E, 621E/XT, 621E/XR, 721E, 721E/XT, 721E/XR, 821E, 821E/XR, and the recently introduced 1221E and 1221E/XR. Case also offers a full line of compact wheel loaders.