History of Caterpillar skid steers

If I asked a question: what is the most popular construction equipment company in the world, Caterpillar would surely be among your answers. Apart from being one of the most recognizable skid steer manufacturers, Caterpillar is also the largest construction-equipment producer in the world. The skid steers with the characteristic CAT symbol are one of the most purchased construction equipment of all time. But how did the company start to operate? Let’s take a look at a short history of Caterpillar skid steer.

The development of the first agricultural equipment

The story of Caterpillar began as early as 1890, when Holt Manufacturing Company in California was producing heavy (even 450 kg in weight!) steam tractors. Benjamin Holt, the founder of Holt Manufacturing Company, struggled with the fact that heavy tractors were sinking into the earth. His ongoing development projects, such as increasing the size of the wheels, made the caterpillar tractor company even less successful as the tractors became too complex, difficult to maintain, therefore, very expensive.

Other inventors of the world were a lot more successful than Holt, and in 1904, in England, Richard Hornsby & Sons developed a steel plate-tracked vehicle and patented the idea that seemed to work perfectly. Unfortunately, the market in the United Kingdom was limited, and in 1911 Hornsby decided to sell the patent to Benjamin Holt. He named the tractor ‘Caterpillar‘ after it was noticed that the tractor movement is the spitting image of the animal crawling. The new soon-to-become Caterpillar tractor turned out to be a great success and a great-great-grandfather to Caterpillar machines.

Holt Manufacturing Company becomes Holt Caterpillar Company

In 1909, Benjamin Holt’s nephew, Pliny Holt, met a dealer, Murray Baker, in Illinois, who advised him of an empty factory that would be perfect for their business. It used to manufacture farm equipment and steam traction engines, but the company owning it went bankrupt. Benjamin Holt asked his nephew to purchase it, and in the same year, 12 employees started to produce Caterpillar equipment. Technically, they could not be named the Caterpillar machinery until the Caterpillar name was trademarked in 1910.

Within two years after retooling the plant, the company became a prosperous business, employing more than 600 workers. Caterpillar products were not distributed only within the United States but also to Argentina, Canada, and Mexico. Holt Manufacturing Company became Holt Caterpillar Company, and Peoria, Illinois stayed the headquarters of the Caterpillar tractor company until 2017, when it was moved to Deerfield, Illinois.

Caterpillar tractor company as part of the World War I

Not many know that Benjamin Holt track-type tractors took an active part in World War I. It was before the United States even entered the War when 1200 track-type Caterpillar tractors were shipped to England, France, and Russia. The governments decided that the Caterpillar machines would be put to better use on the battlefield. Indeed, CAT machines turned out to work very well as… gun tractors. They were used for several years to haul medium guns.

In addition, CAT machines were the inspiration for the development of the British tank. Even though the best tractor company was not subsequently given the task of building the first tank, the track-laying tractor was named ‘one of the most important military vehicles of all time‘.

Postwar crisis

CAT machines’ success during War resulted in their construction being prepared for military efforts. However, once the War ended, the need for heavy-duty equipment was no longer the case. Farmers needed light tractors, and all Caterpillar machines returned after War were simply too heavy. Also, the finances after the War were not good, so the Caterpillar tractor company had to get into debt to build brand-new, light machines.

What made matters worse, the competitors did not sleep during the War. C. L. Best Gas Tractor Company received financial support from the government and produced light equipment for farmers throughout wartime. Ultimately, both Best Company and Caterpillar Inc were negatively impacted by the change in the economy in postwar times.

The new directors and the new company

After the death of Benjamin Holt in 1920, the time came to appoint a successor. Thomas A. Baxter took charge of Caterpillar Inc. He focused on the agricultural market and withdrew old heavy equipment from production. In addition, Baxter saw potential in the manufacturing of road construction equipment that was supported by the US$1 billion federal highway building program introduced by the American government.

The competition was fierce. Between 1907 and 1918, millions of dollars were spent on lawsuits and legal fees because the Best company and Caterpillar Inc. were fighting each other over trademark and patent issues. The period of unease finally ended when in 1925, C. L. Best and Holt Caterpillar merged, forming the new company Caterpillar Tractor Co. Also, in 1925 Clarence Leo Best became the next CEO and occupied that position until 1951.

Thanks to the merger, both companies could consolidate their product lines and grow stronger, becoming the leader in industrial equipment manufacturing. The first year, sales reached US$13 million; by 1929, the company sold US$52.8 million worth of Caterpillar machines.

Despite the Great Depression of the 1930s, Caterpillar Inc. grew stronger. The machines played a crucial role in constructing such famous sites as the Golden Gate Bridge, the Grand Coulee Dam, and the Mississippi Levee construction project. They continued to expand and offer new technologies and solutions. One of them was the first motor grader. Gasoline engines replaced diesel engines, and in 1931 the company started the production of the Caterpillar Diesel Sixty Tractor.

The Caterpillar yellow color has not always been the company’s distinctive feature. The change from grey to yellow happened in 1931 as the need for improved visibility on construction sites arose. The color choice has not been straightforward. It needed to be visible from a distance and pleasing to the eye. Thanks to the paint specialists, a specific shade of yellow color was created especially for Caterpillar company and became an exclusive identification of Caterpillar tractor company.

Some of the product lines introduced after the merger was also for a different application than construction or agriculture. Mining equipment needed to be larger and more powerful in order to make mining more economical. Caterpillar expanded the product line to meet customers’ needs and introduced wheel loaders, off-highway trucks, and hydraulic excavators.

During World War II, Caterpillar equipment helped the troops again. This time it was not so much in the battlefront but in construction battalions of the United States Navy. Caterpillar products were ideal for building airfields during the operations on the Pacific. The construction sector was thriving again after the War as efforts were made to rebuild the country. This was the case not only for the United States but for many other countries that suffered the consequences of the War. In 1950 Caterpillar Inc. turned into a multinational corporation.

Expansion and the series of acquisitions

The next step for the Caterpillar tractor company was international expansion. And it was a successful one since the achievements were countless. The machines helped to build a superhighway that facilitated transportation through the Andes Mountains in Venezuela. Also, Caterpillar sold machines that helped with the completion of event sites for the 1956 Melbourne Olympics.

CAT even supplied equipment for use in the most environmentally challenging locations in the world. The first Russian Caterpillar facility was built near St. Petersburg. Its first electrical substation was built in Leningrad Oblast after the dissolution of the Communist government. The facility was built in inclement weather conditions with temperatures below −25 °C. There was also evidence of the use of Caterpillar machines by the US military during Operation Deep Freeze III in Antarctica.

China is another Asian part where Caterpillar has their facilities. Caterpillar Suzhou has manufactured medium-wheel loaders and motor grades there since 2009.

In 1953 the Indian government purchased almost a hundred Caterpillar machines to help to develop the country’s roads. Nowadays, there are also three Caterpillar facilities in India that manufacture machines, engines, and generator sets.

Currently, Caterpillar products and components are manufactured in 110 facilities worldwide. Other major facilities include Belgium, France, Hungary, Italy, Poland, Russia, the UK, Mexico, and Brazil.

In addition to the many countries that Caterpillar Inc. expanded to and the growing sales, Caterpillar’s growth was also accelerated by the numerous acquisitions that took place over the years. The first one occurred as early as 1951 when Trackson Traxcavators (tracked loaders) and pipelayers became a CAT brand. Other significant acquisitions include:

– Mentor (1965) – the acquisition allowed the expansion of the Caterpillar forklift line;
– International Harvester Company – the solar and turbomach divisions (1981) – the company extended their offer by the industrial gas turbines;
– MWM Holding GmbH (2010) – thanks to this acquisition, Caterpillar included gas and diesel-powered generator sets in their offer.

What does the future hold?

Caterpillar continues to be called the best tractor company in the world but is now the leading manufacturer of heavy industrial equipment. But Caterpillar is not only a machine-producing company anymore. It expanded and diversified the ways of providing services to its customers by entering the business of selling financial products and insurance. What comes next? We are holding our breath in anticipation of Caterpillar company’s future endeavors. Judging by the Caterpillar skid steer history, these will indeed be great endeavors.