Caterpillar–RPMGlobal acquisition: integrated mine planning insights for engineers
Reviewed by Joe Ashwell

First reported on International Mining – News
30 Second Briefing
Caterpillar has completed its acquisition of Brisbane-based RPMGlobal Holdings, adding mine planning, scheduling and operations management software to its existing mining equipment and autonomy portfolio. RPMGlobal’s data-driven platforms span the full mining value chain, from long-term pit optimisation and truck–shovel scheduling to short-interval control and maintenance planning, giving Caterpillar tighter integration between fleet hardware, telemetry and decision-support tools. For engineers, this signals deeper OEM-backed support for model-based planning, productivity analytics and site-wide digital twins across Caterpillar-equipped operations.
Technical Brief
- Acquisition closed with RPMGlobal as a wholly owned Caterpillar subsidiary headquartered in Brisbane, Australia.
- Integration brings RPMGlobal’s domain specialists in mine technology enablement into Caterpillar’s in‑house engineering and product teams.
- Combined portfolio targets end‑to‑end digital workflows, from geological models through to site operations management.
- Data architecture alignment is expected to centre on consolidating equipment telemetry, planning models and operational databases.
- Caterpillar gains direct control over RPMGlobal’s product roadmap, update cycles and interoperability with Cat hardware platforms.
- For brownfield mining sites, tighter OEM–software coupling may simplify change management and fleet upgrade planning.
- Move fits a pattern of OEMs acquiring specialist software houses to internalise digital IP and reduce integration risk.
Our Take
Within the 30 Software stories in our database, Caterpillar Inc features far less frequently than specialist vendors, so absorbing RPMGlobal positions it more squarely alongside the established mine-planning and fleet-optimisation software houses rather than just as an OEM.
Because RPMGlobal is headquartered in Brisbane, Australia, this M&A move strengthens Caterpillar’s footprint in a jurisdiction where many of the advanced haulage, scheduling and autonomous truck deployments are being trialled, which is likely to influence how quickly new tools are proven and rolled out to global fleets.
Across the 2009 tag-matched pieces on Projects and Product, most software items describe incremental feature releases; a full acquisition like this signals Caterpillar’s preference to buy rather than build core planning and simulation capability, which may pressure other OEMs to lock in their own software ecosystems through similar deals.
Prepared by collating external sources, AI-assisted tools, and Geomechanics.io’s proprietary mining database, then reviewed for technical accuracy & edited by our geotechnical team.
Related Articles
Related Industries & Products
Mining
Geotechnical software solutions for mining operations including CMRR analysis, hydrogeological testing, and data management.
CMRR-io
Streamline coal mine roof stability assessments with our cloud-based CMRR software featuring automated calculations, multi-scenario analysis, and collaborative workflows.
HYDROGEO-io
Comprehensive hydrogeological testing platform for managing, analysing, and reporting on packer tests, lugeon values, and hydraulic conductivity assessments.
GEODB-io
Centralised geotechnical data management solution for storing, accessing, and analysing all your site investigation and material testing data.


