Development

Development

In 1997, Caterpillar decided to begin development of a 360 short tons (327 t) payload capacity haul truck to meet the demand from large-scale mine operators wanting to reduce operating costs at mines using 80 to 90 short tons (73 to 82 t) per pass shovels. Engineers at Caterpillar's Mining & Construction Equipment Division in Decatur, Illinois created a new design for the 797 using computer-aided design technology. This was the first time CAD tools had been used extensively to design a Caterpillar truck. Caterpillar first unveiled a completed 797 on September 29, 1998 at the Decatur, Illinois assembly plant. The first two 797's produced were transported to Caterpillar's Arizona proving grounds for testing. In the second quarter of 1999, the third and fourth 797's produced were the first to be placed in service with a customer at the Bingham Canyon Mine in Utah. Caterpillar put 18 additional 797's into service with mine operators world wide as production development units. Caterpillar began marketing the 797 in North America in 2000, with full world wide marketing following in 2001.