Caterpillar has made its first significant corporate changes under new Chairman Jim Owens. Caterpillar's mid-April announcement of a new group president, along with new officer changes, masked a somewhat major reorganization of the reporting structure for the Peoria, Ill-based manufacturer, especially on the engine side.

The moves and organizational changes were triggered, at least in part, by the July 1 retirements of two group presidents, Richard L. Thompson and Donald M. Ings.

Thompson is the group president responsible for Caterpillar's gas turbine and reciprocating engine businesses, as well as corporate research and development activities, while Ings is vice president of Caterpillar's Building Construction Products (BCP) Division. Ings' retirement was announced in December and Thompson reaches Cat's mandatory retirement age later this year.

Thompson has run Cat's engine business since 1995. He began his Cat career in 1983 as vice president of Customer Services at Solar Turbines. All of the changes announced by Cat are effective July 1.

The new Caterpillar Group President and member of the executive office is Stuart L. Levenick. Currently Vice President of Caterpillar's Asia Pacific Division, Levenick joined Caterpillar in 1977 in sales development and according to Cat's announcement "brings a strong background in marketing and general management, as well as broad global experience in North America, Russia, Southeast Asia and Japan."

As part of these changes, the reporting relationship of the business units under the five group presidents of Caterpillar has been shuffled. On this latest org chart, each Caterpillar group president will now have responsibility for marketing, operations and service divisions.

Most significantly for the first time in memory--maybe ever--Solar Turbines Inc., San Diego, Calif., no longer falls into the same reporting structure as the diesel and gas engine business.

This was somewhat of a surprise in that late last year Caterpillar linked, for the first time, Solar with its Kid, Germany, Caterpillar Motoren medium-speed reciprocating engines for the power generation markets, under the Caterpillar Power Generation Systems group.

When questioned, a Cat spokesperson would only say: "Since purchasing Solar in 1981, Caterpillar's organizational structure has changed over time. Analyzing Solar's reporting chain over that period really wouldn't yield a good comparison. The diversification of our business plays an ever-greater role in our ongoing success."

Group President Doug Oberhelman, who had been engine division vice president in the 1990s, is now responsible for: Corporate Services; Corporate Auditing and Compliance; Legal Services; Power Systems Marketing Division; Compact Power Systems Division; and Large Power Systems Division. The latter three groups comprise Caterpillar's engine operations, except for Solar.

Reporting to Group President Gerry Shaheen will be Cat's North American Commercial Division; Global Mining Division; Mining & Construction Equipment Division; Track-Type Tractors Division; Component Products & Control Systems Division; and Technical Services Division.

The latter of Shaheen's groups, Technical Services, also changes homes in this reorganization, moving from reporting to the engine group president into what is almost exclusively an equipment group.

As a new group president, Levenick will be responsible for Asia Pacific Division Marketing; Asia Pacific Division Operations and Shin Caterpillar Mitsubishi Ltd.; Global Purchasing Division; Human Services Division; and Solar Turbines Inc.

Group President Gerard Vittecoq will have Europe, Africa & Middle East (EAME) Marketing Division; EAME Product Development & Operations Division; Whet Loaders & Excavators Division; and Building Construction Products Division reporting to him. The Articulated Trucks Division also will report to Vittecoq.

Reporting to Group President Steve Wunning will be the Latin America Division; Logistics Division; Product Support Division; Systems + Processes Division; and Financial Services Division.

These most recent changes also mean that three-fifths of the members of Caterpillar's Executive Office are new in the last 12 months, with Wunning, Levenick and Vittecoq joining Shaheen and Oberhelman.

As always, other moves accompany these top level changes. Caterpillar named Rodney C. Beeler vice president of marketing for the Asia Pacific Division based in Singapore, and Richard P. Lavin chairman of Shin Caterpillar Mitsubishi Ltd. and assuming oversight of operations for the Asia Pacific Division. Both will report to Levenick.