11: Caterpillar

Caterpillar is one of the most recognisable brands in the world.

In at number 11 is one of the most recognisable brands in the world of construction and beyond.

Caterpillar has built its reputation on some of the toughest pieces of kit in the market and then capitalised on this reputation when its name crept into the popular consciousness, via a branded a clothes line.

Represented locally by well known names such as Al Bahar and Zahid Tractor, the equipment’s yellow and black markings are a distinctive and oft-copied signature seen on many sites around the Gulf.

The company’s equipment has held a host of records, usually of the ‘world’s biggest’ variety, particularly in the area of mining and earthmoving equipment. Size isn’t everything though and despite being one of the world’s largest machinery and engine manufacturers, the company was hard hit by the economic downturn and the recession in the US economy.

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At the beginning of last year it announced significant redundancies in the US and elsewhere. It’s eagerly-awaited first quarter results for 2010 are due on April 26 and could influence the fortunes of others in the same line of business, including Japanese competitors.