Maker of CAT and Motorola Defy phones cracks under financial pressure

The British company Bullitt, responsible for manufacturing rugged phones under Caterpillar (CAT) and Motorola Defy brands, failed to restructure financially and had to fold. Former employees posted on LinkedIn the company is unable to service its debt, and everyone is currently looking for new jobs.

According to WinFuture, the plans for Bullitt were to hand over the hardware division to a creditor-backed organization and to concentrate on the development of satellite communication devices.

Cat S75 hands-on at MWC 2023

The British phone manufacturer Bullitt owned the commercial rights to build and distribute rugged phones with the Cat and Motorola logos, as well as several Land Rover-branded handsets. The company revealed at MWC 2023 that it is working on its own solution for satellite connectivity, developed jointly with Mediatek.

The versatile, rugged smartphones have been an attractive offer to people who need a tough but affordable device. Typical CAT owners weren't willing to overspend on a Samsung XCover series but wanted to stay away from Chinese brands such as Ulefone, Blackview and Oukitel.

Via (in German)