Case 1:17-cv-00770-JDW Document 370 Filed 04/12/24 Page 1 of 4 PageID #: 34381
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`THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
`FOR DISTRICT OF DELAWARE
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`C.A. No. 17-770-JDW
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`JURY TRIAL
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`))))))))))))
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`WIRTGEN AMERICA, INC.,
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`Plaintiff
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`v.
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`CATERPILLAR INC.,
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`Defendant
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`DECLARATION OF ERIC ENGELMANN IN SUPPORT OF CATERPILLAR INC.’S
`OPENING BRIEF RE ESTOPPEL DEFENSES
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`I, Eric Engelmann, declare as follows:
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`1.
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`I am an Engineering Manager at Caterpillar Inc. (“Caterpillar”) where I have been
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`employed since 1997. As part of my duties at Caterpillar, I have had responsibility for
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`supporting Caterpillar’s cold planer business since 2010. I became the Engineering Manager for
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`Caterpillar’s cold planer product family in 2013. I have personal knowledge regarding the
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`development history and design of Caterpillar’s cold planer machines, including the PM-565,
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`PM-465, PM-565B, PM-201, the PM-600 series (which includes the PM-620 and PM-622), and
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`the PM-800 series machines. I am familiar with the facts and circumstances set forth herein and,
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`if called as a witness, I could and would testify competently thereto.
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`I.
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`CATERPILLAR’S LEGACY COLD PLANER MACHINES
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`2.
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`Caterpillar launched several cold planer machines in the 1990s and early 2000s.
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`In 1992, Caterpillar released the PM-565. This was followed in 1997 by the release of the PM-
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`465 and the PM-565B, which was an updated version of the PM-565. The PM-565B later
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`evolved into the PM-201 with an engine emissions update that went into production in 2005.
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`Caterpillar: Confidential Green
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`Case 1:17-cv-00770-JDW Document 370 Filed 04/12/24 Page 2 of 4 PageID #: 34382
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`3.
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`Each of these machines incorporated certain similar design concepts. For
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`example, each of the PM-565, PM-465, and PM-201 machines had four height adjustable legs.
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`In these machines, Caterpillar designed the front legs to be independently adjustable so that the
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`machine operator could adjust the depth and slope of the milling drum. In contrast, the two rear
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`legs were hydraulically linked in a “floating axle” configuration to provide suspension and
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`stability when traveling over uneven ground. By linking these two legs hydraulically, they
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`would raise and lower together in unison. See Ex. 2 at 065409 (PM565); see also Ex. 3 at
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`048412 (PM465: “There is a single raise solenoid and a single lower solenoid for simultaneously
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`controlling both rear legs.”).1
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`4.
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`Another example of a shared design concept on those machines was a divided
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`drivetrain to reduce engine vibrations. In each of the PM-565, PM-465, and PM-201 machines,
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`the drivetrain components were divided into two subgroups with each subgroup separated by an
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`articulated coupling (i.e., a U-joint). The subgroup containing the engine was mounted on the
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`machine frame via rubber elastic isolators. The other subgroup of drivetrain components
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`attached via a rigid mount. Thus, as early as the 1990s, Caterpillar was utilizing a divided
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`drivetrain concept in its cold planer machines to isolate the engine and reduce vibrations.
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`II.
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`CATERPILLAR’S PM-6XX AND PM-8XX MACHINES
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`5.
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`In 2010, Caterpillar began developing its PM-6XX series machines, which would
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`ultimately include both the PM-620 and PM-622 machines. Caterpillar launched these machines
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`commercially in 2016. Similarly, Caterpillar launched its PM-8XX series machines in August
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`2017.
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`1 All exhibit cites are to the Declaration of Naoya Son in support of Caterpillar’s Opening Brief
`on Estoppel Defenses. I reviewed these exhibits and have personal knowledge as to their contents.
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`Caterpillar: Confidential Green
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`Case 1:17-cv-00770-JDW Document 370 Filed 04/12/24 Page 3 of 4 PageID #: 34383
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`6.
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`The development of the PM-6XX and PM-8XX series machines consumed
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`approximately 130,000 engineering hours and cost Caterpillar more than $30M. Over 75% of
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`this cost resulted from research and development activities to design, build, and test these new
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`products before introducing them to the market.
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`7.
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`As part of the development of the PM-6XX and PM-8XX machines, prototype
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`and pilot machines were produced for design verification and field validation testing. The first
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`prototype PM-6XX machine shipped from Italy to the U.S. in 2014. In 2015, two PM-6XX pilot
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`machines were produced and were placed with customers in the US and Europe for field testing.
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`Similarly, for the PM-8XX program, two prototype machines were built and shipped to the US in
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`2016. Five additional PM-8XX pilot machines were built and shipped to the field for customer
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`validation testing in the first half of 2017.
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`8.
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`In the PM-6XX and PM-8XX machines, Caterpillar continued to use a number of
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`design features from its legacy machines. For example, like its earlier machines, the PM-6XX
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`and PM-8XX machines continue to divide the drivetrain components into two subgroups.
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`Caterpillar also continued to use its earlier design of hydraulically linking the rear two legs of the
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`machine so that they raise and lower in unison. Also, the ride control feature in the PM-6XX and
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`PM-8XX machines utilized the hydraulic design of the PM-201 but modified to include
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`additional valves. The valves were added to enhance suspension when the machines were being
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`maneuvered around job sites between cutting operations (i.e. not milling).
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`Caterpillar: Confidential Green
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`I declare under penalty ofperjury under the laws ofthe United States that the foregoing is
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`true and correct to the best of my knowledge andbelief after reasonable investigation. Executed
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`this 12th day of April 2024 in Delano, MN.
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`ie
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`Case 1:17-cv-00770-JDW Document 370 Filed 04/12/24 Page 4 of 4 PageID #: 34384
`Case 1:17-cv-00770-JDW Document 370 Filed 04/12/24 Page 4 of 4 PagelD #: 34384
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