en.Wedoany.com Reported - Caterpillar Inc. has opened an engineering design center in Rapid City, South Dakota, USA, where engineers can complete design, testing, and optimization work without building physical machines. The facility, spanning 17,000 square feet (1,579.35 square meters), serves as a hub supporting Caterpillar's global teams in project development across machines, engines, electrification, and autonomy.

The in-house team utilizes extended reality (XR) and digital prototyping technologies for cross-continental collaboration, enabling earlier detection of design issues and accelerated project timelines, thereby reducing the need for costly physical prototypes. The facility currently employs approximately 100 people, with numbers still growing, and team members include professionals in engineering, animation, design, and data visualization.

Caterpillar stated that the Rapid City team plays a critical role within the global organization, developing tools and technologies to help teams across the company design faster, make better decisions, and deliver solutions to customers more efficiently. This investment also builds on a long-term partnership with the South Dakota School of Mines & Technology, helping to strengthen the company's talent pipeline and innovation pipeline.