Caterpillar Equipment Profile
Caterpillar heavy-duty machinery has been synonymous with earthmoving even before the company’s brand name was introduced, making it one of the front-runners in the equipment industry. In today’s competitive market, the top maker has demonstrated the quality of their machines as they’ve stood the test of time. We’re looking at how innovative thinking has created a new standard by which all heavy-duty equipment is judged and continues to evolve with our profile on this leading manufacturer.
History of Caterpillar
Caterpillar Inc. was officially founded on April 15, 1925 through the merger of Benjamin Holt’s Holt Manufacturing Company and the C.L. Best Tractor Co. However, the company’s history actually goes back another two decades.
In the late 1800s, Benjamin Holt developed machinery to assist farmers in the fields of Stockton, California, near a wheel manufacturing company he owned with his three brothers. Holt was an entrepreneurial and mechanical genius who developed a horse-drawn “Link-Belt Combined Harvester,” which used flexible belts rather than chains to transmit power from the ground wheels to the working mechanism of the combine. This greatly reduced equipment breakage and downtime.
Shortly after, Holt saw a need for a mechanical traction engine to replace horse-drawn machinery. In 1890, he built an experimental steam traction engine nicknamed “Old Betsy” that could be powered by wood, coal, or oil, and could carry 675 gallons of water to provide steam. The engine rode on huge metal wheels that could harvest large fields in one-sixth the time horse-drawn equipment could manage. It worked so well that foresters adapted his tractor to haul redwood logs out of roadless forests.
However, Holt’s giant steam tractors often sank in the soft ground soils on the farmlands of California. Holt heard about crawler-type tractors being built in England, so he went there to learn more. And while there were 100 patents for these kinds of vehicles internationally at the time, they rarely passed field tests. Nonetheless, Holt took what he learned from his trip and in 1904 he replaced the wheels of his tractors with wooden tracks bolted to chains, creating the first successful track-type tractor.
During field tests in 1905, Holt Manufacturing company photographer Charles Clemens remarked that the moving tracks make the vehicle look like a giant caterpillar. Holt liked the comparison so much that he trademarked the name in 1910.
Prior to the merger that eventually created the Caterpillar line, Holt tractors were deployed to haul heavy artillery and supply troops across rough terrain in Europe during World War I. In 1931, Caterpillar launched its first diesel tractor engine, which propelled the company to global market leadership. Following World War II, Caterpillar machines helped rebuild nations and construct major global infrastructure projects.
Plowing Forward
Today, the Cat brand—as it is now known—continues to lead the heavy-duty equipment sector with advanced mining trucks, autonomous machinery, and low-emission technologies. These machines serve industries including agriculture, defense, construction, demolition, electric power, forestry, industrial power, landscaping, marine applications, mining, oil and gas, paving, quarry and aggregates, scrap recycling, snow removal, and waste management.
Some of the most popular pieces on the market right now include:
- Caterpillar 336 Excavator—a 36-ton powerhouse that leads sales in new and used markets for heavy infrastructure due to its high fuel efficiency and hearty hydraulics.
- Caterpillar 299D3/299D3 XE Compact Track Loader—a high-capacity track loader popular for difficult and demanding grading, lifting, and multi-attachment site work.
- Caterpillar D11 Dozer—the company’s flagship dozer, essential for heavy mining and massive land-clearing projects.
- Caterpillar 797F Off-Highway Truck—a massive ultra-class rigid mining truck engineered for hauling huge payloads from continuous mining operations.
Marketplace Inventory
How We Help
Equipment Trader has a nationwide selection of new and used heavy-duty machinery for sale. So, if you have a project, we have a solution. If you’re interested in being a part of the Caterpillar legacy, use our search feature to find the Cat that works best for you. Simply select “Caterpillar” from the dropdown menu under “Select Make,” input your zip code, and let us go to work for you.
Some popular products you’ll find right now include:
- Telehandlers
- Excavators and Mini Excavators
- Dozers
- Loaders
- Forklifts
- Skid Steers (both wheeled and tracked)
- Backhoe Loaders
- Graders
- Padfoot Rollers
- Articulated Trucks
- A Variety of Attachments
If you need to move something around or need to break ground, we make it convenient to find exactly what you’re looking for.
Barrett Baker
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