About
Caterpillar's name comes from its earliest product: in 1904, a California inventor named Benjamin Holt tested a steam tractor that ran on continuous tracks instead of wheels, and a photographer remarked it crawled 'like a caterpillar.' Holt's company merged with competitor C.L. Best in 1925 to form Caterpillar Tractor Co., and the yellow machines that came out of Peoria, Illinois, went on to build the modern world — dams, highways, mines, and airports on every continent. Today Caterpillar is the world's largest manufacturer of construction and mining equipment: hydraulic excavators, bulldozers, wheel loaders, off-highway trucks (including the 363-tonne 797 mining truck, one of the largest vehicles ever built), and the diesel and gas engines that power everything from generators to locomotives. Its equipment carries the distinctive yellow paint and the dealer network — one of the most extensive in the world, with service in virtually every country. With about 110,000 employees and annual revenue near US$65 billion, Caterpillar has ridden the commodity booms and weathered the busts, and is now betting on autonomy and electrification — its autonomous haul trucks have moved billions of tonnes in mines without a driver, and its electric drive systems are entering construction sites. For infrastructure builders, Caterpillar is less a supplier than a standard: the yellow machines are the industry's default specification.
Also known as: CAT
