When Cannon re-built its business last year to focus on global product lines rather than geographic markets, its goal was to construct a company that could better serve large multi-national customers. So it seems only fitting that one of the first big successes since then comes from a customer known for its expertise in building and construction. Caterpillar is a $20 billion company, and the world's fastest-growing manufacturer of light, compact construction equipment. "Three years ago, my sales and product management people asked me what my highest priority was for our Interface Controls business and I told them, 'Winning Caterpillar.' Within one year, they did it!" says Willi Semmelroggen, general manager of Interface Controls and vice president of Switch Products. This year, Cannon will do $2.5 million in sales with Caterpillar -- primarily in interface control products -- but with its newfound ability to respond to Caterpillar's needs around the globe, the potential is there to grow this into a $25-million-a-year account. "Caterpillar could easily become one of our top two or three accounts," says Rick Haueter, WW Director of Operations, Interface Controls. "And that in turn would help position us as a leader in our served market." The optimism is well-founded. From a single product line in the design phase just two years ago, Cannon will be entering production on four different projects for Caterpillar this year, with an additional eight in design, including joysticks, handles and armrests that control the motion of various parts of the machine. These parts are designed for the rugged environment of construction equipment and tested to Caterpillar's rigorous quality standards. Impressed with Cannon's performance, Caterpillar made the company a preferred supplier for joysticks and is in discussion about additional products -- such as switches, connectors and cable harnesses -- for its machines. "Part of our unique offering is our ability to produce the parts where Caterpillar needs them to be produced," says Pete Leuty, Cannon's program manager for the Caterpillar account. A majority of Caterpillar's nine current projects are being manufactured in Matamoros, Mexico, but Cannon's European facilities will be utilized as well. The thought process to produce and serve out of Asia has also commenced. Design, marketing, sales and project management are all global efforts, with cooperation between Cannon personnel in the U.S., Germany and Japan. Cannon realizes that customer intimacy is more than just a geographic issue. Cannon engineers operate Caterpillar machines and base their product designs on lessons learned during their test-drives. Robert Kitten has been assigned as the global account manager for Caterpillar. Joint project reviews are held at Cannon and Caterpillar sites, and senior managers from both companies sit on a joint steering committee. "When Caterpillar is working to meet their customers' needs, we will be a key partner to them," says Haueter.			Brenda Reichelderfer, president of Electronic Components, tours the Matamoros facility, which will manufacture many of the Caterpillar products.