PEORIA, Ill. (AP) — Caterpillar Inc. said Monday that its global mining business has agreed to sell part of its Bucyrus equipment distribution business in Canada to Hewitt Equipment Ltd., its authorized dealer in that region.

Financial terms were not disclosed.

"Cat dealers play a pivotal role in helping us build and maintain our world-class system of distribution and product support. This is critical to providing value and solutions for Caterpillar mining customers, and Hewitt will be helping us achieve that,” said Steve Wunning, Caterpillar group president with responsibility for Resource Industries.

"We are very enthusiastic about this agreement, under which we will provide an even broader product offering to our valued mining customers,” said Jim Hewitt, president and chief executive officer of Hewitt. “We look forward to collaborating with Caterpillar and with our customers as we work together to build on the existing Bucyrus support resources in our service territory. We are already making significant investments in facilities and in training to further strengthen that support capability. Further, as the transition takes place, we will be investing heavily in parts and component inventories to help ensure our customers attain optimal availability of their Cat and Bucyrus equipment. We also look forward to welcoming the former Bucyrus employees who will be joining the Hewitt Team.”

The deal with Hewitt is part of Caterpillar’s strategy to shift product distribution and support of former Bucyrus machinery to Caterpillar dealers across the world.

The Peoria, Ill.-based company has announced similar agreements with other dealers over the past several months.

Under the deal announced Monday, Hewitt will get the Bucyrus distribution and support business in the Canadian province of Quebec, as well as its Western Labrador and Maritimes regions.

Hewitt said the acquisition will allow it to provide its mining customers with a broader lineup of products. The deal is expected to close on Aug. 1.

Caterpillar said it continues to hold talks with other dealers that have mining activity in their territories and will continue to operate the former Bucyrus distribution business until sales have occurred in a given territory.

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