Caterpillar Final Drives
Caterpillar Inc. is the world’s leading manufacturer of construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas engines, industrial gas turbines, and diesel-electric locomotives. It all started in 1886, Benjamin Holt built his first combine harvester under the Hold Manufacturing Company. In 1899, he built a steam-powered tractor and in 1904, he pioneered the steam-powered track-drive tractor. Caterpillar was founded by Benjamin Holt and C. L. Best when the Holt Manufacturing Company merged with CL Best Gas Traction Company in 1925.
Through the years, Caterpillar has purchased many other well-known brands including Bucyrus, ASV (which they later sold to Terex), Lovat, Blount’s forestry division, and Traxson (later known as Traxcavator). Caterpillar equipment, and the brands that belong to them, can be found primarily in mining, construction, road maintenance, forestry, and military applications.
