Caterpillar
OVERVIEW
Caterpillar is a multinational enterprise in the construction equipment industry. Their typical product line included earth movers, road building machines, mining related equipment, and large cranes. The company was found under the hands of Benjamin Holt after solving a problem faced by all California farmers. The tractors the farmers were using sank deep into the soil because of the size of the wheels and the weight of the machinery. Holt replaced the heavy steam engine with a gasoline engine, increasing the mobility and decreasing the weight, and nicknamed the tractor "Caterpillar". Caterpillar tractors were sold in 20 countries by 1915.
Holt's tractors were first used by the military. The British army modeled their armored tank after the Caterpillar and Europe used the tractor to haul artillery and supply wagons. The Holt Company merged with the Best Tractor Company in California and together formed Caterpillar in their corporate headquarters in Peoria, Illinois. In 1931, Caterpillar became the first company to put a diesel engine in a moving vehicle.
Caterpillar refocused its efforts on production of road-building, construction, logging, and pipe-laying equipment instead of combine manufacturing. By the end of 1944 Caterpillar tripled their sales volume and became the primary supplier of bulldozers to the US Army. Postwar, demand increased for their products and Caterpillars equipment was then used for major projects such as reconstructing Europe, building the US interstate highway system, and laying out the major airports in the world.
In the 1950s and 60s, Caterpillar emerged as the uncontested industry leader in the heavy construction equipment industry by differentiating itself through the production of reliable, durable and high quality equipment that offered fast after-sales-service and fast delivery of replacement parts. Caterpillar later agreed to a joint-venture with Mitsubishi in Japan.
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