Caterpillar Provides Technology to Substantially Reduce Emissions of School Buses and Other Diesel Equipment

  EPA Officials, Caterpillar Executives Review Low Emission Buses for Boston
                                Public Schools

    PEORIA, Ill., Jan. 31 -- Caterpillar Inc. has won a contract to supply the Boston Public
School District with technology that will reduce diesel particulate emissions
on school buses by more than 90 percent.  The agreement highlights a growing
business opportunity in North America to "retrofit" existing engines with
technology that reduces emissions and extends the life of diesel-powered
equipment such as school buses, trucks, mining and construction machines and
marine vessels.
    School buses with the Caterpillar technology were reviewed today in
Milford, Mass. by officials from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency,
EPA's New England regional office and Caterpillar group president Richard L.
Thompson.  Caterpillar supports government and industry efforts to promote
emissions reductions in diesel-powered equipment such as school buses,
municipal fleets, mining and construction equipment and marine applications.
    "As the world leader in emissions reduction technology, we are very
pleased to be a part of this important school bus program in Boston," said
Thompson, Caterpillar group president with responsibility for the company's
engine division.  "We recently formed a new group, the Caterpillar Emissions
Retrofit Solutions Team, to provide retrofit solutions for machines, trucks
and buses used in both on-and-off road applications.  Reducing the emissions
of existing diesel engines is a critical step toward meeting the clean air
goals that we all support."
    The contract with Boston Public Schools calls for Southworth-Milton, the
independent Caterpillar dealer serving the Boston area, to install Caterpillar
retrofit technology that substantially reduces emissions and improves the
efficiency of school buses.  The engines met EPA regulations when they were
manufactured, but improvements in retrofit technology can now reduce emissions
levels even further.
    The Caterpillar technology includes diesel particulate filters that are
installed on Caterpillar engines already powering the school buses.  The
filters, which require the use of ultra-low sulfur fuel, remove fine
particulate matter from the exhaust.  The low emission technology is installed
at Caterpillar dealers and the school buses are soon back in service.
    Caterpillar has reduced on-highway diesel emissions in trucks and buses by
nearly 90 percent since 1988 and will reduce those emissions another 90
percent by 2007.  With customer orders and growing interest in Caterpillar's
new ACERT (TM) technology, the company is positioned to become the largest
supplier of clean diesel engines to the North American school bus industry.
The company is already the leader in the overall on-highway truck and bus
engine industry.
    For more than 75 years, Caterpillar Inc. has been building the world's
infrastructure and, in partnership with its worldwide dealer network, is
driving positive and sustainable change on every continent.  With 2002 sales
and revenues of $20.15 billion, Caterpillar is a technology leader and the
world's leading manufacturer of construction and mining equipment, diesel and
natural gas engines and industrial gas turbines.  More information is
available at http://www.cat.com .

    This project was undertaken pursuant to an agreement with the United
States in connection with settlement of disputed claims in an enforcement
action under the Clean Air Act.