The History of Caterpillar. CAT dozer, loader, dumper,

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History

It all started with two visionaries, a first-class engineering and manufacturing operation, and a commitment to quality, innovation and customer value. This is the history of Caterpillar Inc.

The story of Caterpillar Inc. originates in the late 19th century, when Daniel Best and Benjamin Holt experimented with ways to fulfill the promise that steam tractors held for farming. By 1904, these large steam-powered tractors had been plowing California fields for 14 years, and occasionally got bogged down in the soft soil, especially after heavy rains.
Once stuck in the mire, they were difficult to pull free, even with teams of horses. Their great weight typically rested on four metal wheels.

One solution employed to alleviate this problem was to lay a temporary plank road ahead of the steam tractor, but this was time-consuming, expensive, and interfered with earthmoving. Holt came up with the idea to carry the road with the vehicle. On November 24, 1904 he added wooden block-linked treads around the idlers on Holt No.77, his test tractor. The results were impressive, and the modern tractor was born. Caterpillar became famous for its Caterpillar 30 and its Caterpillar 60 tractors.

In 1909, Benjamin Holt bought the abandoned but relatively new manufacturing plant of a tractor company that had failed in East Peoria, Illinois. The location offered Holt everything he needed in a manufacturing center, and despite the hefty amount of capital needed for retooling the plant, the venture proved so profitable that by 1911 the factory employed 625 people. Around that time, Holt Manufacturing began exporting its tractors to Argentina, Mexico, and Canada, in addition to their domestic sales.
The Holt Manufacturing Company later pioneered the use of the continuous track during World War I. Their crawler tractors inspired the first military tanks, which helped end World War I.

Caterpillar formed on April 15, 1925 with the merger of Holt Manufacturing Company of Stockton, California and the C. L. Best Gas Traction Company of San Leandro, California, forming the Caterpillar Tractor Co. Sales the first year were $13 million. By 1929, sales climbed to $52.8 million, and CAT continued to grow throughout the Great Depression of the 1930s.

After the companies merged, Caterpillar went through many changes, including the adoption of the diesel engine. During World War II, Caterpillar products found fame with the Seabees, Construction Battalions of the United States Navy, who built airfields and other facilities in the Pacific Theater of Operations.
During the post-war construction boom, the company grew at a rapid pace and launched its first venture outside the US in 1950, marking the beginning of Caterpillar's development into a multinational corporation.

Caterpillar in the United Kingdom

"The UK is important for Caterpillar. The range of products and services provided by Caterpillar's businesses in the UK makes a substantial contribution to the company. We're pleased to be an integral part of the British economy and are determined to improve our market presence in the country and throughout Europe." Jim Owens. Chairman and CEO

Caterpillar is a global company with a major presence in the UK. Caterpillar has been serving customers in Europe since the early 1900s and established its first major European facility more than 50 years ago in the United Kingdom. Caterpillar's British presence has grown rapidly in recent years. Now employing more than 10,000 people, the UK represents the largest base for Caterpillar outside the United States.

Caterpillar is a high-tech, diversified manufacturer and service provider that is socially responsible and environmentally aware. It is committed to a profitable and sustainable presence in the UK for the long-term benefit of all our stakeholders, not least the communities in which Caterpillar employees live and work.

Caterpillar Defence Products

The Caterpillar Defence Products subsidiary, headquartered in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, provides diesel engines, automatic transmissions and other parts for the UK's Titan armored bridge layer, Trojan combat engineering tank, Terrier combat engineering vehicles, and tank transporters;
the Romanian MLI-84 armored personnel carrier and the Swiss Piranha III light armored vehicle, which is currently being developed for use by American light armored formations;
large fleets of military trucks in both the US and UK;
and the CV90 family of infantry fighting vehicles used by the armies of Sweden, Norway, Finland, Switzerland, the Netherlands and Denmark.

This division also provides both propulsion engines and power generation systems to the naval shipbuilding industry, such as the Series 3512B turbocharged V-12 diesel engine for American Virginia class nuclear submarines.
Caterpillar diesel engines are also used in San Antonio class amphibious transport docks, Spanish Alvaro de Bazan class frigates, British River class patrol vessels, Mexican Sierra class patrol boats, and Malaysian Kedah class MEKO A-100 offshore patrol vessels.

The History of Caterpillar

1890. Benjamin Holt and Daniel Best experimented with various forms of steam tractors for use in farming. They did so separately, with separate companies.

1904. Holt's first steam track-type tractor.

1906. Holt's first gas track-type tractor.

1915. Holt "Caterpillar®" track-type tractors are used by the Allies in World War I.

1925. The Holt Manufacturing Company and the C. L. Best Tractor Co. merge to form Caterpillar Tractor Co.

1931. The first Diesel Sixty Tractor rolled off the assembly line in East Peoria, Illinois, with a new efficient source of power for track-type tractors.

1940. The Caterpillar product line now included motor graders, blade graders, elevating graders, terracers and electrical generating sets.

1942. Caterpillar track-type tractors, motor graders, generators sets and a special engine for the M4 tank are used by the United States in its war effort.

1950. Caterpillar Tractor Co. Ltd. in Great Britain is established, the first of many overseas operations created to help manage foreign exchange shortages, tariffs, import controls and better serve customers around the world.

1953. In 1931, the company created a separate engine sales group to market diesel engines to other equipment manufacturers. This group was replaced in 1953 with a separate sales and marketing division to better serve the needs of a broad range of engine customers. Engine sales now account for approximately one-third of the company's total sales and revenues.

1963. Caterpillar and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. form one of the first joint ventures in Japan to include partial U.S. ownership. Caterpillar Mitsubishi Ltd. started production in 1965, has been renamed Shin Caterpillar Mitsubishi Ltd., and is now the No. 2 maker of construction and mining equipment in Japan.

1981-83. The worldwide recession took its toll on Caterpillar, costing the company the equivalent of $1 million a day and forcing it to dramatically reduce employment.

1983. Caterpillar Leasing Company is expanded to offer equipment financing options to its customers worldwide and is renamed Caterpillar Financial Services Corporation.

1985-present. The product line continued to diversify to meet a variety of customer needs. More than 300 products are now offered, more than double the figure in 1981.

1986. The Caterpillar Tractor Co. changes its name to Caterpillar Inc. - a more accurate reflection of the enterprise's growing diversity.

1987. A $1.8 billion plant modernization program was launched to streamline the manufacturing process.

1990. The company decentralized its structure, reorganizing into business units responsible for return on assets and customer satisfaction.

1997. The company continued to expand, acquiring the U.K.-based Perkins Engines. With the addition of Germany's MaK Motoren the previous year, Caterpillar becomes the world leader in diesel engine manufacturing.

1998. The world's largest off-highway truck - the 797 - makes its debut at the Cat Proving Ground in Arizona.

1999. Caterpillar unveils new line of compact construction equipment at CONEXPO, world's largest construction show, in response to changing customer needs for smaller, more versatile construction equipment.

2000. Caterpillar celebrates its 75th anniversary.

2001. Caterpillar is the first company to globally launch 6 Sigma and deliver first-year benefits in excess of implementation costs.

2003. Caterpillar becomes the first engine manufacturer to offer a complete line of 2004 model year clean diesel engines fully compliant and certified by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Caterpillar's breakthrough emissions control technology, known as ACERT^®, is designed to comply with EPA standards without sacrificing performance, reliability or fuel efficiency.

2005. Demonstrating a pledge to sustainable development, Caterpillar responded to a number of tragedies around the world, including the Asian Tsunami disaster, hurricanes along the U.S. Gulf Coast and earthquakes in South Asia. In the face of each of these challenges, employees, dealers and corporate leaders alike joined together to build a promise of hope and growth for all those affected by donating machinery, money and resources for relief and recovery efforts.

2006. Benjamin Holt, one of Caterpillar Inc.'s founding fathers and designer of the first track-type tractor was recognized for his ingenuity and entrepreneurial spirit with an induction into the National Inventors Hall of Fame.

2006. Caterpillar Inc. subsidiary Caterpillar Logistics Services, Inc. (Cat Logistics) opens a new parts distribution center in the Lingang Industrial Area in Shanghai.

2006. Caterpillar launched a revised and updated Worldwide Code of Conduct and Enterprise Strategy. Serving new markets and new customers in new ways, Caterpillar welcomed the opportunity to experience unchartered growth across all business ventures.

Caterpillar Electronics

The Caterpillar Electronics business unit has formed Caterpillar Trimble Control Technologies LLC.,(CTCT), a 50:50 joint venture with Trimble Navigation to develop the next generation of advanced electronic guidance and control products for earthmoving machines in the construction, mining and waste industries. Caterpillar Trimble Control Technologies LLC is based in Dayton, Ohio and started its operations on April 1, 2002.

Product Distribution

Caterpillar branded products are distributed to end-users through Caterpillar's worldwide dealer network. Caterpillar's dealers are independently owned and operated businesses with exclusive geographical territories. Dealers provide sales, maintenance and repair services, rental equipment, and parts distribution. Finning is Caterpillar's largest global distributor.