Caterpillar Inc. has signed a letter of intent to acquire the Timberking track feller buncher intellectual property from Canadian forest products equipment manufacturer Risley Manufacturing, Ltd. The acquisition of Risley Manufacturing’s track feller buncher (TFB) line adds several new models to the Caterpillar product line. Both companies expect growth opportunities from the global marketing of the TFB products.

Risley products already use a high degree of Caterpillar components purchased through Caterpillar Industrial Products Inc. (CIPI) and the Risley product line has been marketed though Caterpillar dealers.

The new track feller buncher product line will be initially marketed as "Timberking by Caterpillar" and distributed through selected Caterpillar dealers. Both the Risley and Caterpillar organizations will provide support to these dealers to ensure a seamless integration of this product line into the Caterpillar family of products. The Risley Grande Prairie facility will continue to build track feller buncher products until additional assembly capacity can be made available to accommodate the increased sales volumes.

Headquartered in Northern Alberta, Risley will continue to market and develop a line of innovative forestry work tools, including processing and de-limbing systems, as well as niche products serving other industries.