In the previous two issues we talked about the chainsaw manufacturers. Now we move on to the purpose built forestry equipment manufacturers. We kick off with Caterpillar.
Caterpillar is the world’s largest maker of construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas engines, and industrial gas turbines. They are involved in three main lines of business, being machinery, engines and financial products.
The origin of Caterpillar can be traced back to 1890, when two gentlemen, Benjamin Holt and Daniel Best independently began experimenting with steam tractors for farming applications. From these experiments came a steam and gas tracked tractor. In 1915, Holt’s tracked tractors were used by the Allies in WWI. 1925 was the big moment when Holt and Besters companies merged to form the Caterpillar Tractor Company. The following are some of the milestones in the company’s history:
-
In 1931 the first Diesel Sixty tractor comes off the product line in Illinois.
-
By the 1940’s, Caterpillar is manufacturing graders, electricity generators and engines for WWII tanks.
-
In 1953 a separate business unit is established that focuses on the manufacturing of diesel engines for other equipment manufactures.
-
In 1964 Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and Caterpillar enter a joint venture, called Shin Caterpillar Mitsubishi Ltd.
-
In 1983 Caterpillar starts with financing options for its customers through the Caterpillar Financial Services Corporation.
-
From 1985, many new products were introduced, with more than 300 currently available.
-
In 1997 Caterpillar acquired UK based Perkins Engines, making them the world’s biggest diesel engine manufacturer.
It is not clear from the information available when the forestry range of equipment started. However, Caterpillars current product range for forestry includes machines for road building, harvesting and extraction, processing, loading, wood yards and reforestation. The Forest Engineering portion of this is very comprehensive and is best viewed at the Caterpillar website. Source: www.cat.com