Caterpillar Inc. (stock symbol CAT) is an American ''Fortune'' 500 corporation and the world's largest construction-equipment manufacturer. In 2018, Caterpillar was ranked number 65 on the ''Fortune'' 500 list and number 238 on the Global ''Fortune'' 500 list. Caterpillar stock is a component of the

Dow Jones Industrial Average The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA), Dow Jones, or simply the Dow (), is a stock market index of 30 prominent companies listed on stock exchanges in the United States. The DJIA is one of the oldest and most commonly followed equity inde ...

. Caterpillar Inc. traces its origins to the 1925 merger of the

Holt Manufacturing Company The Holt Manufacturing Company began with the 1883 founding of Stockton Wheel Service in Stockton, California, United States. Benjamin Holt, later credited with patenting the first workable crawler ("caterpillar") tractor design, incorporated ...

and the C. L. Best Tractor Company, creating a new entity, California-based Caterpillar Tractor Company. In 1986, the company reorganized itself as a Delaware corporation under the current name, Caterpillar Inc. It announced in January 2017 that over the course of that year, it would relocate its headquarters from Peoria, Illinois, to

Deerfield, Illinois Deerfield is a north shore suburb of Chicago in Lake County, Illinois, United States, with a small portion extending into Cook County, Illinois. The population was 19,196 at the 2020 census. Deerfield is home to the headquarters of Walgreens Bo ...

, scrapping plans from 2015 of building an $800 million new headquarters complex in downtown Peoria. Its headquarters are located in Irving, Texas, since 2022. The company also licenses and markets a line of clothing and workwear boots under its Cat / Caterpillar name. Additionally, the company licenses the

Cat phone Cat Phone is a range of toughened and strengthened mobile phones, including rugged smartphones designed, developed, manufactured, and sold by Bullitt Mobile Ltd, part of the British telecommunications and consumer electronics technology company ...

brand of toughened mobile phones and

rugged smartphone A rugged smartphone is a specific type of toughened smartphone which is designed to be completely sealed within a durable housing to protect it against damage from, among other things, water, shock, dust, and vibration.livery and the "CAT" logo.

History

15-08-historischesRaupenfahrzeug IMG 1446

Origins

The company traces its roots to the

steam tractor :''This article refers to the steam-powered agricultural tractor; for other types of steam tractor, see: Traction engine'' A steam tractor is a vehicle powered by a steam engine which is used for pulling. In North America, the term ''steam ...

machines manufactured by the

in 1890. The steam tractors of the 1890s and early 1900s were extremely heavy, sometimes weighing per

horsepower Horsepower (hp) is a unit of measurement of power, or the rate at which work is done, usually in reference to the output of engines or motors. There are many different standards and types of horsepower. Two common definitions used today are t ...

, and often sank into the earth of the San Joaquin Valley Delta farmland surrounding Stockton, California.

Benjamin Holt Benjamin Leroy Holt (January 1, 1849 – December 5, 1920) was an American businessman and inventor who patented and manufactured the first practical crawler-type tread tractor. The continuous-type track is used for heavy agricultural and engi ...

attempted to fix the problem by increasing the size and width of the wheels up to tall and wide, producing a tractor wide, but this also made the tractors increasingly complex, expensive, and difficult to maintain. Cat45-mojave

Another solution considered was to lay a temporary plank road ahead of the steam tractor, but this was time-consuming, expensive, and interfered with earthmoving. Holt thought of wrapping the planks around the wheels. He replaced the wheels on a Holt steamer, No. 77, with a set of wooden tracks bolted to chains. On Thanksgiving Day, November 24, 1904, he successfully tested the updated machine plowing the soggy delta land of Roberts Island. Contemporaneously,

Richard Hornsby & Sons Richard Hornsby & Sons was an engine and machinery manufacturer in Grantham, Lincolnshire, England from 1828 until 1918. The company was a pioneer in the manufacture of the oil engine developed by Herbert Akroyd Stuart, which was marketed un ...

in Grantham, Lincolnshire, England, developed a steel plate-tracked vehicle, which it patented in 1904. This tractor steered by differential braking of the tracks, and did not require the forward tiller steering wheel for steering, making it the first to do so. Several tractors were made and sold to operate in the

Yukon Yukon (; ; formerly called Yukon Territory and also referred to as the Yukon) is the smallest and westernmost of Canada's three territories. It also is the second-least populated province or territory in Canada, with a population of 43,964 as ...

, one example of which was in operation until 1927, and remnants of it still exist. Hornsby found a limited market for their tractor, so they sold their patent to Holt in 1911, the same year Holt trademarked "Caterpillar". Company photographer Charles Clements was reported to have observed that the tractor crawled like a caterpillar, and Holt seized on the metaphor. "Caterpillar it is. That's the name for it!" Some sources, though, attribute this name to British soldiers who had witnessed trials of the Hornsby tractor in July 1907. Two years later, Holt sold his first steam-powered tractor crawlers for US$5,500, about US$128,000 today. Each side featured a track frame measured high by wide and were long. The tracks were by redwood slats. Holt received the first

patent A patent is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the legal right to exclude others from making, using, or selling an invention for a limited period of time in exchange for publishing an enabling disclosure of the invention."A ...

for a practical continuous track for use with a tractor on December 7, 1907, for his improved "Traction Engine" ("improvement in vehicles, and especially of the traction engine class; and included endless traveling platform supports upon which the engine is carried").

Initial establishment in Peoria (1910) and headquarters move to Deerfield (2017), then to Irving, Texas (2022)

On February 2, 1910, Holt opened up a plant in

East Peoria East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sunrise, Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rockf ...

, led by his nephew Pliny Holt. There, Pliny met farm implement dealer

Murray Baker Murray Baker (born 21 April 1946) is a New Zealand thoroughbred racehorse trainer and former New Zealand cricketer. Cricket Baker played in one List A and seventeen first-class matches for Central Districts and Northern Districts from 1966 to ...

, who knew of an empty factory that had been recently built to manufacture farm implements and steam

traction engine A traction engine is a steam engine, steam-powered tractor used to move heavy loads on roads, plough ground or to provide power at a chosen location. The name derives from the Latin ''tractus'', meaning 'drawn', since the prime function of any t ...

s. Baker, who later became the first executive vice president of what became Caterpillar Tractor Company, wrote to Holt headquarters in Stockton and described the plant of the bankrupt Colean Manufacturing Co. of East Peoria. On October 25, 1909, Pliny Holt purchased the factory, and immediately began operations with 12 employees. Holt incorporated it as the Holt Caterpillar Company, although he did not trademark the name Caterpillar until August 2, 1910. The addition of a plant in the Midwest, despite the hefty capital needed to retool the plant, proved so profitable that only two years later, the company employed 625 people and was exporting tractors to Argentina, Canada, and Mexico. Tractors were built in both Stockton and East Peoria. On January 31, 2017, the company announced plans to move their headquarters from Peoria to

, by the end of 2017. The new location at 500 Lake Cook Road is the former site of a

Fiatallis Fiatallis (1983 to early 2000s, Fiat-Allis 1974 to 1982), was a brand of heavy equipment (also called construction equipment, earthmoving equipment, or engineering vehicles), such as loaders, bulldozers, backhoes, scrapers, and graders. It b ...

plant that manufactured wheel loaders for many years. On June 14, 2022, the company announced plans to move its global headquarters from Deerfield, Illinois, to Irving, Texas, beginning later in the year, citing "the best strategic interest of the company."

Use in World War I

The first

tank A tank is an armoured fighting vehicle intended as a primary offensive weapon in front-line ground combat. Tank designs are a balance of heavy firepower, strong armour, and good battlefield mobility provided by tracks and a powerful engi ...

s used in WWI were manufactured by William Foster & Co., also in Lincolnshire, England, and were introduced to the battlefield in 1916. That company had collaborated with Hornsby in the development of the vehicles demonstrated to the British military in 1907, providing the paraffin (kerosene) engines. Holt's track-type tractors played a support role in World War I. Even before the U.S. formally entered WWI, Holt had shipped 1,200 tractors to England, France, and Russia for agricultural purposes. These governments, however, sent the tractors directly to the battlefront, where the military put them to work hauling artillery and supplies. When

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

broke out, the British War Office ordered a Holt tractor and put it through trials at

Aldershot Aldershot () is a town in Hampshire, England. It lies on heathland in the extreme northeast corner of the county, southwest of London. The area is administered by Rushmoor Borough Council. The town has a population of 37,131, while the Alder ...

. The War Office was suitably impressed and chose it as a

gun tractor A gun is a ranged weapon designed to use a shooting tube (gun barrel) to launch projectiles. The projectiles are typically solid, but can also be pressurized liquid (e.g. in water guns/cannons, spray guns for painting or pressure washing, pr ...

. Over the next four years, the Holt tractor became a major

artillery tractor An artillery tractor, also referred to as a gun tractor, is a specialized heavy-duty form of tractor unit used to tow artillery pieces of varying weights and calibres. It may be wheeled, tracked, or half-tracked. Traction There are two ...

, mainly used to haul medium guns such as the 6-inch howitzer, the

60-pounder The Ordnance BL 60-pounder was a British 5 inch (127 mm) heavy field gun designed in 1903–05 to provide a new capability that had been partially met by the interim QF 4.7 inch Gun. It was designed for both horse draft and mechanical ...

, and later the 9.2-inch howitzer. Holt tractors were also the inspiration for the development of the British

, which profoundly altered ground warfare tactics. Major

Ernest Swinton Major-General Sir Ernest Dunlop Swinton, (21 October 1868 – 15 January 1951) was a British Army officer who played a part in the development and adoption of the tank during the First World War. He was also a war correspondent and author of sev ...

, sent to France as an army war correspondent, very soon saw the potential of a track-laying tractor. Although the British later chose an English firm to build its first tanks, the Holt tractor became "one of the most important military vehicles of all time." Serpentine vtm cat d2 gnangarra

Postwar challenges

Holt tractors had become well known during

. Military contracts formed the major part of the company's production. When the war ended, Holt's planned expansion to meet the military's needs was abruptly terminated. The heavy-duty tractors needed by the military were unsuitable for farmers. The company's situation worsened when artillery tractors were returned from Europe, depressing prices for new equipment and Holt's unsold inventory of military tractors. The company struggled with the transition from wartime boom to peacetime bust. To keep the company afloat, they borrowed heavily. C. L. Best Gas Tractor Company, formed by Clarence Leo Best in 1910, and Holt's primary competitor, had during the war received government support, enabling it to supply farmers with the smaller agricultural tractors they needed. As a result, Best had gained a considerable market advantage over Holt by war's end. Best also assumed considerable debt to allow it to continue expansion, especially production of its new Best Model 60 "Tracklayer". Both companies were adversely impacted by the transition from a wartime to a peacetime economy, which contributed to a nationwide depression, further inhibiting sales. On December 5, 1920, 71-year-old Benjamin Holt died after a month-long illness.

Caterpillar company formed (1925)

The banks and bankers who held the company's large debt forced the Holt board of directors to accept their candidate, Thomas A. Baxter, to succeed Benjamin Holt. Baxter initially cut the large tractors from the company's product line and introduced smaller models focused on the agricultural market. When the

Federal Aid Highway Act of 1921 The Federal Aid Highway Act of 1921, also called the Phipps Act (, ), sponsored by Sen. Lawrence C. Phipps (R) of Colorado, defined the Federal Aid Road program to develop an immense national highway system. The plan was crafted by the head of th ...

funded a US$1 billion federal highway building program, Baxter began refocusing the company towards building road-construction equipment. Both companies also faced fierce competition from the

Fordson Fordson was a brand name of tractors and trucks. It was used on a range of mass-produced general-purpose tractors manufactured by Henry Ford & Son Inc from 1917 to 1920, by Ford Motor Company (U.S.) and Ford Motor Company Ltd (U.K.) from 1920 to ...

company. Between 1907 and 1918, Best and Holt had spent about US$1.5 million in legal fees fighting each other in a number of

contractual A contract is a legally enforceable agreement between two or more parties that creates, defines, and governs mutual rights and obligations between them. A contract typically involves the transfer of goods, services, money, or a promise to t ...

trademark A trademark (also written trade mark or trade-mark) is a type of intellectual property consisting of a recognizable sign, design, or expression that identifies products or services from a particular source and distinguishes them from othe ...

, and patent infringement lawsuits. Harry H. Fair of the bond brokerage house of Pierce, Fair & Company of San Francisco had helped to finance C. L. Best's debt and Holt shareholders approached him about their company's financial difficulty. Fair recommended that the two companies should merge. In April and May 1925, the financially stronger C. L. Best merged with the market leader Holt Caterpillar to form the Caterpillar Tractor Co. The new company was headquartered in San Leandro until 1930, when under the terms of the merger, it was moved to Peoria. Baxter had been removed as CEO earlier in 1925, and Clarence Leo Best assumed the title of CEO, and remained in that role until October 1951. The Caterpillar company consolidated its product lines, offering only five track-type tractors: the 2 Ton, 5 Ton, and 10 Ton from the Holt Manufacturing Company's old product line and the and from the C. L. Best Tractor Co.'s former product line. The 10 Ton and 5 Ton models were discontinued in 1926. In 1928, the 2 Ton was discontinued. Sales the first year were US$13 million. By 1929, sales climbed to US$52.8 million, and Caterpillar continued to grow throughout the Great Depression of the 1930s. Caterpillar adopted the

diesel engine The diesel engine, named after Rudolf Diesel, is an internal combustion engine in which ignition of the fuel is caused by the elevated temperature of the air in the cylinder due to mechanical compression; thus, the diesel engine is a so-ca ...

to replace gasoline engines. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, Caterpillar products found fame with the Seabees, construction battalions of the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

, which built

airfields An aerodrome (Commonwealth English) or airdrome (American English) is a location from which aircraft flight operations take place, regardless of whether they involve air cargo, passengers, or neither, and regardless of whether it is for publi ...

and other facilities in the Pacific Theater of Operations. Caterpillar ranked 44th among United States corporations in the value of wartime military production contracts. During the postwar construction boom, the company grew at a rapid pace, and launched its first venture outside the U.S. in 1950, marking the beginning of Caterpillar's development into a

multinational corporation A multinational company (MNC), also referred to as a multinational enterprise (MNE), a transnational enterprise (TNE), a transnational corporation (TNC), an international corporation or a stateless corporation with subtle but contrasting senses, i ...

. In 2018, Caterpillar was in the process of restructuring, closing a demonstration center in Panama and an engine-manufacturing facility in Illinois.

Expansion in developing markets

Caterpillar built its first Russian facility in the town of

Tosno Tosno (russian: То́сно) is a town and the administrative center of Tosnensky District in Leningrad Oblast, Russia, located on the Tosna River, southeast of the center of St. Petersburg. Population: History The village of Tosno was fi ...

, located near

St. Petersburg, Russia Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

. It was completed in 16 months, occupied in November 1999, and began fabricating machine components in 2000. It had the first electrical substation built in the

Leningrad Oblast Leningrad Oblast ( rus, Ленинградская область, Leningradskaya oblast’, lʲɪnʲɪnˈgratskəjə ˈobləsʲtʲ, , ) is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast). It was established on 1 August 1927, although it was not until 194 ...

since the Communist government was dissolved on December 26, 1991. The facility was built under harsh winter conditions, where the temperature was below −25 °C. The facility construction was managed by the

Lemminkäinen Group Lemminkäinen Group was a Finnish company that operated in the construction industry. Its business areas were building construction and infrastructure construction. The company operated in Finland, Scandinavia, Baltic countries and Russia. Lem ...

in Helsinki, Finland. The $125M Caterpillar Suzhou,

People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

facility, manufactures medium-wheel loaders and motor graders, primarily for the Asian market. The first machine was scheduled for production in March 2009. URS Ausino, in San Francisco, California, manages facility construction. Caterpillar has manufactured in

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

since 1960. In 2010 the company announced plans to further expand production of backhoe and small wheel loaders with a new factory. Caterpillar has been manufacturing machines, engines, and generator sets in India, as well. Caterpillar has three facilities in India, which are in Tamil Nadu (Thiruvallur and Hosur) and Maharastra (Aurangabad).

Acquisitions

In addition to increasing sales of its core products, much of Caterpillar's growth has been through acquisitions, including:

Divestitures

Caterpillar occasionally divests assets that do not align with its core competencies.

Business lines

Through fiscal year 2010, Caterpillar divided its products, services, and technologies into three principal lines of business: machinery, engines, and financial products for sale to private and governmental entities. Starting in 2011, Caterpillar reports its financials using five business segments: construction industries, resource industries, power systems, financial products, and all other segments.

Machinery

Hydraulicke demolicni nuzky na podvozku CAT 330

Caterpillar has a list of some 400 products for purchase through its dealer network. Caterpillar's line of machines range from tracked tractors to

hydraulic excavator Excavators are heavy construction equipment consisting of a boom, dipper (or stick), bucket and cab on a rotating platform known as the "house". The house sits atop an undercarriage with tracks or wheels. They are a natural progression fro ...

s, backhoe loaders, motor graders, off-highway trucks,

wheel loaders A loader is a heavy equipment machine used in construction to move or load materials such as soil, rock, sand, demolition debris, etc. into or onto another type of machinery (such as a dump truck, conveyor belt, feed-hopper, or railroad ca ...

, agricultural

tractor A tractor is an engineering vehicle specifically designed to deliver a high tractive effort (or torque) at slow speeds, for the purposes of hauling a trailer or machinery such as that used in agriculture, mining or construction. Most commo ...

s, and locomotives. Caterpillar machinery is used in the construction, road-building, mining,

forestry Forestry is the science and craft of creating, managing, planting, using, conserving and repairing forests, woodlands, and associated resources for human and environmental benefits. Forestry is practiced in plantations and natural stands. ...

, energy, transportation, and material-handling industries. Caterpillar D350D

Caterpillar is the world's largest manufacturer of wheel loaders. The small size wheel loaders (SWL) are designed and manufactured at facilities in

Clayton, North Carolina Clayton is a town in Johnston County, North Carolina, United States, and is considered a satellite town of Raleigh. As of 2010, Clayton's population was 16,116, up from 6,973 at the 2000 census. By 2019 the town's estimated population was 24,887. ...

. The medium size (MWL) and large size (LWL) are designed at their Aurora, Illinois facility. Medium wheel loaders are manufactured at: Aurora, Illinois;

Sagamihara, Kanagawa is a city in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. , the city has an estimated population of 723,470, with 334,812 households, and a population density of 1,220 persons per km2. The total area of the city is . Sagamihara is the third-most-populous city ...

, Japan;

Piracicaba Piracicaba ( or ) is a city located in the Brazilian state of São Paulo. The population is 407,252 (2020) in an area of 1378.07 km². It is at an elevation of 547 m above sea level. Name The place name comes from a word in the Tupi langua ...

São Paulo, Brazil SAO or Sao may refer to: Places * Sao civilisation, in Middle Africa from 6th century BC to 16th century AD * Sao, a town in Boussé Department, Burkina Faso * Saco Transportation Center (station code SAO), a train station in Saco, Maine, U.S. ...

;

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

; and the

. Large wheel loaders are manufactured exclusively in the United States on three separate assembly lines at Aurora, Illinois.

On-road trucks

Caterpillar began selling a line of on-road

truck A truck or lorry is a motor vehicle designed to transport cargo, carry specialized payloads, or perform other utilitarian work. Trucks vary greatly in size, power, and configuration, but the vast majority feature body-on-frame constructi ...

s in 2011, the Cat CT660, a Class 8 vocational truck. As of March 2016, Caterpillar has ceased production of on-highway vocational trucks stating that “Remaining a viable competitor in this market would require significant additional investment to develop and launch a complete portfolio of trucks, and upon an updated review, we determined there was not a sufficient market opportunity to justify the investment,” said Ramin Younessi, vice president with responsibility for Caterpillar's Industrial Power Systems Division. “We have not yet started truck production in Victoria, and this decision allows us to exit this business before the transition occurs.”

Engines and gas turbines

A portion of Caterpillar's business is in the manufacturing of diesel and natural gas engines and gas turbines which, in addition to their use in the company's own vehicles, are used as the

prime mover Prime mover may refer to: Philosophy *Unmoved mover, a concept in Aristotle's writings Engineering * Prime mover (engine), motor, a machine that converts various other forms of energy (chemical, electrical, fluid pressure/flow, etc) into energy ...

s in

locomotives A locomotive or engine is a rail transport vehicle that provides the motive power for a train. If a locomotive is capable of carrying a payload, it is usually rather referred to as a multiple unit, motor coach, railcar or power car; the ...

semi truck A semi-trailer truck, also known as a semitruck, (or semi, eighteen-wheeler, big rig, tractor-trailer or, by synecdoche, a semitrailer) is the combination of a tractor unit and one or more semi-trailers to carry freight. A semi-trailer a ...

s, marine vessels, and ships, as well as providing the power source for peak-load power plants and emergency generators. Caterpillar 3116 engine was used up until 1997, when Caterpillar introduced the inline 6 cylinder 7.2 litre

Caterpillar 3126 The Caterpillar 3126 is a turbocharged 7.2L inline 6-cylinder diesel engine manufactured by Caterpillar and first introduced in 1997; it was the first electronic mid-range diesel engine that Caterpillar produced. It is the successor to the Cate ...

engine as its first electronic diesel engine for light trucks and buses. Caterpillar decreased emissions and noise the next year in the 3126B version of the engine, and improved emissions further in 2002 with the 3126E which had an improved high-pressure oil pump and improved electronics. In 2003 Caterpillar started selling a new version of this engine called the C-7 to meet increased United States emission standards that came into effect in 2004; it had the same overall design as the 3126 version, but with improved fuel injectors and electronics which included its new Advanced Combustion Emissions Reduction Technology (ACERT) system. In 2007, as

ultra-low-sulfur diesel Ultra-low-sulfur diesel (ULSD) is diesel fuel with substantially lowered sulfur content. Since 2006, almost all of the petroleum-based diesel fuel available in Europe and North America has been of a ULSD type. The move to lower sulfur content allo ...

became required in North America, Caterpillar updated the C7 to use common rail fuel injectors and improved ACERT electronics. In 1998 Caterpillar purchased Perkins Engines of Peterborough, England, a maker of small diesel and gasoline engines. Perkins engines are used in various applications. Perkins engine products are dual branded with the Perkins nameplate for both loose and OEM engines, and the CAT nameplate for captive engines within Caterpillar products. In June 2008, Caterpillar announced it would be exiting the on-highway diesel engine market in the United States before updated 2010

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is an Independent agencies of the United States government, independent executive agency of the United States federal government tasked with environmental protection matters. President Richard Nixon pro ...

(EPA)

emission standard Emission standards are the legal requirements governing air pollutants released into the atmosphere. Emission standards set quantitative limits on the permissible amount of specific air pollutants that may be released from specific sources over ...

s took effect, as costly changes to the engines, which only constituted a small percentage of Caterpillar's total engine sales, would be likely. In October 2010, Caterpillar announced it would buy German engine-manufacturer

MWM GmbH Caterpillar Energy Solutions GmbH, is a mechanical engineering company based in Mannheim, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It was known as MWM GmbH Motoren-Werke Mannheim (MWM) until November 2013. In 2009 the company was the third-largest producer ...

from 3i for $810 million.

Caterpillar Defense Products

The Caterpillar Defence Products subsidiary, headquartered in Shrewsbury, United Kingdom, provides diesel engines, automatic transmissions, and other parts for the UK's Titan armored bridge layer,

Trojan Trojan or Trojans may refer to: * Of or from the ancient city of Troy * Trojan language, the language of the historical Trojans Arts and entertainment Music * ''Les Troyens'' ('The Trojans'), an opera by Berlioz, premiered part 1863, part 189 ...

combat engineering tank,

Terrier Terrier (from Latin ''terra'', 'earth') is a type of dog originally bred to hunt vermin. A terrier is a dog of any one of many breeds or landraces of the terrier type, which are typically small, wiry, game, and fearless. Terrier breeds vary ...

combat engineering vehicle A military engineering vehicle is a vehicle built for construction work or for the transportation of combat engineers on the battlefield. These vehicles may be modified civilian equipment (such as the armoured bulldozers that many nations field ...

s, and

tank transporter A tank transporter is a combination of a heavy tractor unit and a mating full trailer or semi-trailer (typically of the "lowboy" type), used for transporting tanks and other armoured fighting vehicles. Some also function as tank recovery vehi ...

s; the

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Moldova to the east, and ...

MLI-84 The MLI-84 is a tracked Romanian infantry fighting vehicle currently in service with the Romanian Land Forces. It was derived from the chassis of the Soviet BMP-1 but possessing a lengthened hull, a 12.7×108mm DShK 1938/46 heavy machine gun mou ...

armored personnel carrier An armoured personnel carrier (APC) is a broad type of armoured military vehicle designed to transport personnel and equipment in combat zones. Since World War I, APCs have become a very common piece of military equipment around the world. Ac ...

; and the Swiss Piranha III

light armored vehicle A military armored (or armoured) car is a lightweight wheeled armored fighting vehicle, historically employed for reconnaissance, internal security, armed escort, and other subordinate battlefield tasks. With the gradual decline of mounted c ...

, which is currently being developed for use by American light armored formations; large fleets of military trucks in both the U.S. and UK; and the

CV90 The Combat Vehicle 90 (CV90; Sw. ''Stridsfordon'' 90, Strf90) is a family of Swedish tracked combat vehicles designed by Sweden's Defence Materiel Administration (''Försvarets Materielverk'', FMV), Hägglunds and Bofors during the mid-1980s to ea ...

family of infantry fighting vehicles used by the armies of Sweden, Norway, Finland, Switzerland, the Netherlands, and Denmark. This division also provides both propulsion engines and power generation systems to the naval shipbuilding industry, such as the Series 3512B turbocharged V-12 diesel engine for American

nuclear submarine A nuclear submarine is a submarine powered by a nuclear reactor, but not necessarily nuclear-armed. Nuclear submarines have considerable performance advantages over "conventional" (typically diesel-electric) submarines. Nuclear propulsion, ...

s. Caterpillar diesel engines are also used in s,

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

s, Mexican patrol boats, and

Malaysian Malaysian may refer to: * Something from or related to Malaysia, a country in Southeast Asia * Malaysian Malay, a dialect of Malay language spoken mainly in Malaysia * Malaysian people, people who are identified with the country of Malaysia regard ...

MEKO The MEKO family of warships was developed by the German company Blohm+Voss. MEKO is a registered trademark. The portmanteau stands for "''Mehrzweck-Kombination''" (English: multi-purpose-combination). It is a concept in modern naval shipbuilding ...

A-100 offshore patrol vessels. The poor network security of the Caterpillar engines put the United States' submarine force at risk for

cyberattack A cyberattack is any offensive maneuver that targets computer information systems, computer networks, infrastructures, or personal computer devices. An attacker is a person or process that attempts to access data, functions, or other restricte ...

. In a 2015 interview on cybersecurity, the United States Navy clarified that Caterpillar actually has some of the most secure control systems and will be used as a model of how the Navy will design cyber protections into its control systems. IDF-D9-Zachi-Evenor-001

The Israel Defense Forces' use of highly modified

Caterpillar D9 The Caterpillar D9 is a large track-type tractor designed and manufactured by Caterpillar Inc. It is usually sold as a bulldozer equipped with a detachable large blade and a rear ripper attachment. The D9, with 354 kW (474 hp) of gross p ...

bulldozers has led to Caterpillar being criticized by activists and some shareholders. In particular, the

IDF Caterpillar D9 The IDF Caterpillar D9 —nicknamed ''Doobi'' ( he, דובי, for teddy bear) — is a Caterpillar D9 armored bulldozer used by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). The Israeli armored CAT D9 was heavily modified by the Israel Defense Forces, Isra ...

was involved in an incident in 2003, in which the American activist Rachel Corrie was killed by a bulldozer. A lawsuit against Caterpillar by her family and families of Palestinians, who were also killed by Caterpillar equipment, was unsuccessful. A lawsuit against

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

and

Israeli Defense Ministry The Ministry of Defense ( he, מִשְׂרַד הַבִּטָּחוֹן, Misrad HaBitahon, Ministry of Security, acronym: he, משהב"ט) of the government of Israel, is the governmental department responsible for defending the State of Isra ...

was rejected by the court, ruling that her death was an accident, caused by restricted field of view from the heavily armored operators' cabin. In 2014 Presbyterian Church (USA) sold its shares in Caterpillar citing the use of Caterpillar bulldozers involved in demolition and surveillance activities in the West Bank.

Caterpillar Electronics

The Caterpillar Electronics business unit has formed Caterpillar Trimble Control Technologies LLC (CTCT), a 50:50 joint venture with

Trimble Inc Trimble Inc. is an American software, hardware, and services technology company. Trimble supports global industries in building & construction, agriculture, geospatial, natural resources and utilities, governments, transportation and others. Trim ...

. CTCT develops positioning and control products for earthmoving and paving machines in the construction and mining industries, using technologies such as GNSS, optical total stations, lasers, and sonics. The products are used in a range of applications where the operator of the machine benefits from having accurate horizontal and vertical guidance. CTCT is based in

Dayton, Ohio Dayton () is the sixth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County. A small part of the city extends into Greene County. The 2020 U.S. census estimate put the city population at 137,644, while Greater D ...

, and started its operations on April 1, 2002.

Agriculture products

Caterpillar introduced the ''Challenger'' range of agricultural

tractors A tractor is an engineering vehicle specifically designed to deliver a high tractive effort (or torque) at slow speeds, for the purposes of hauling a trailer or machinery such as that used in agriculture, mining or construction. Most common ...

as the result of several development programs over a long period of time. The program started in the 1970s and involved both D6-based units and Grader power units. A parallel program was also developing wheeled high hp tractors based on using the articulated loading shovel chassis was later merged with the crawler team. The result was the Challenger Tractor and the "Mobi-Trac" system. The Challenger has been marketed in Europe as

Claas } CLAAS is an agricultural machinery manufacturer based in Harsewinkel, Germany, in the federal state of North Rhine Westphalia. Founded in 1913 by August Claas, CLAAS is a family business and one of the market and technology leaders in harv ...

machines since 1997, with Caterpillar marketing the Claas-built Lexion combine range in the USA. Claas and Caterpillar formed a joint venture, ''Claas Omaha'', to build combine harvesters in Omaha, Nebraska, USA under the ''CAT'' brand. In 2002, Cat sold its stake to Claas, and licensed the use of ''CAT'' and the CAT yellow livery to Claas. They are marketed as ''Lexion'' combines now. Also in 2002, Caterpillar sold the ''Challenger'' tracked tractor business to AGCO and licensed the use of the Challenger and CAT names and livery to them. This ended Cat's venture into agriculture.

Financial products and brand licensing

Caterpillar provides financing and insurance to customers via its worldwide dealer network and generates income through the licensing of the Caterpillar and CAT trademarks and logos.

Brand licensing

Caterpillar sells the right to manufacture, market, and sell products bearing the Cat trademark to licensees worldwide.

Wolverine World Wide Wolverine World Wide, Inc. or Wolverine Worldwide, is a publicly traded American footwear manufacturer based in Rockford, Michigan. The shoemaker is known for its eponymous brand, Wolverine Boots and Shoes, as well as other brands, such as Hush ...

is one example, a licensee since 1994 and currently the sole company licensed to produce Cat branded footwear. Other licensees sell items including scale models of Cat products, clothing, hats, luggage, watches, flashlights, shovels, knives, fans, gloves, smartphones, and other consumer products.

Operations

Manufacturing

Caterpillar products and components are manufactured in 110 facilities worldwide. 51 plants are located in the United States and 59 overseas plants are located in Australia (until 2015),

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

, Canada, China,

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the ...

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

, Japan,

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

, the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bor ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...

, and Sweden. Caterpillar's historical manufacturing home is in Peoria, Illinois, which also has been the location of Caterpillar's world headquarters and core research and development activities. Although Caterpillar has contracted much of its local parts production and warehousing to third parties, Caterpillar still has four major plants in the Peoria area: the

Mapleton Mapleton may refer to: Places Australia * Mapleton, Queensland, a rural town and locality in the Sunshine Coast Region Canada * Mapleton, New Brunswick, a rural community in Kings County * Mapleton, Moncton, New Brunswick, a neighborhood * Maple ...

Foundry, where diesel engine blocks and other large parts are cast; the

factory, which has assembled Caterpillar tractors for over 70 years; the Mossville engine plant, built after

; and the

Morton Morton may refer to: People * Morton (surname) * Morton (given name) Fictional * Morton Koopa, Jr., a character and boss in ''Super Mario Bros. 3'' * A character in the ''Charlie and Lola'' franchise * A character in the 2008 film '' Horton H ...

parts facility. Major facilities in Europe: * Belgium:

Gosselies Gosselies ( wa, Gochliye) is a town of Wallonia and a district of the municipality of Charleroi, located in the province of Hainaut, Belgium. Located in the north of Charleroi, it was a city and a municipality of its own before the merger of the ...

(1965): Hydraulic Excavators, Medium Wheel Loaders, components (factory closed in 2016) * France:

Grenoble lat, Gratianopolis , commune status = Prefecture and commune , image = Panorama grenoble.png , image size = , caption = From upper left: Panorama of the city, Grenoble’s cable cars, place Saint- ...

and

Échirolles Échirolles (; frp, Ècherôles) is a commune in the Isère department in southeastern France. Part of the Grenoble urban unit (agglomeration),Gödöllő Gödöllő (; german: Getterle; sk, Jedľovo) is a town in Pest County, Budapest metropolitan area, Hungary, about northeast from the outskirts of Budapest. Its population is 34,396 according to the 2010 census and is growing rapidly. It can b ...

: Fabrications, Buckets * Italy:

Minerbio Minerbio ( Eastern Bolognese: or ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Bologna in the northern-central Italian region Emilia-Romagna, located about northeast of Bologna. Minerbio borders the following municipalities: Bar ...

: Paving Products,

Jesi Jesi, also spelled Iesi (), is a town and ''comune'' of the province of Ancona in Marche, Italy. It is an important industrial and artistic center in the floodplain on the left (north) bank of the Esino river before its mouth on the Adriatic ...

: Hydraulics Products * Poland: Sosnowiec and

Janów Lubelski Janów Lubelski is a town in southeastern Poland. It has 11,938 inhabitants (2006). Situated in the Lublin Voivodship (since 1999), Janów Lubelski belongs to Lesser Poland, and is located in southeastern corner of this historic Polish province. ...

: Fabrications & Sub-assemblies * Russia:

: Fabrications * UK: Leicester: Wheel Loaders, Backhoe Loaders;

Peterlee Peterlee is a town in County Durham, England. It lies between Sunderland to the north, Hartlepool to the south, the Durham Coast to the east and Durham to the west. It gained town status in 1948 under the New Towns Act 1946. The act also cre ...

: Articulated Dump Trucks;

Peterborough Peterborough () is a cathedral city in Cambridgeshire, east of England. It is the largest part of the City of Peterborough unitary authority district (which covers a larger area than Peterborough itself). It was part of Northamptonshire until ...

: Engines;

Larne Larne (, , the name of a Gaelic territory) is a town on the east coast of County Antrim, Northern Ireland, with a population of 18,755 at the 2011 Census. It is a major passenger and freight roll-on roll-off port. Larne is administered by Mid ...

and

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdom ...

: generating sets. Major facilities in Latin America: * Mexico:

Torreón Torreón () is a city and seat of Torreón Municipality in the Mexican state of Coahuila. As of 2021, the city's population was 735,340. The metropolitan population as of 2015 was 1,497,734, making it the ninth-biggest metropolitan area in ...

, Acuna, Monterrey,

Reynosa Reynosa () is a border city in the northern part of the state of Tamaulipas, in Mexico. It is also the municipal seat of Reynosa Municipality. The city is located on the southern bank of the Rio Grande in the international Reynosa–McAllen Me ...

, San Luis Potosí,

Tijuana Tijuana ( ,"Tijuana"
(US) and < ...

* Brazil: Campo Largo,

Curitiba Curitiba () is the capital and largest city in the state of Paraná in Brazil. The city's population was 1,948,626 , making it the eighth most populous city in Brazil and the largest in Brazil's South Region. The Curitiba Metropolitan area ...

, Hortolandia,

Sete Lagoas Sete Lagoas (meaning 'Seven Lagoons' in Portuguese) is a city in the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais. The municipal area is 537;km² while the population was 241,835 in 2020. Location Sete Lagoas is situated about 70 kilometres from Belo Horizo ...

Remanufacturing

Major facilities in Latin America: * Mexico:

Oradel Industrial Center Oradel Industrial Center is located in the city of Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, Mexico. It is an industrial zone funded in 2000 and located on the route that connects the East Zone of the United States with Mexico (11.99 miles away of the World Tr ...

Nuevo Laredo Nuevo Laredo () is a city in the Municipality of Nuevo Laredo in the Mexican state of Tamaulipas. The city lies on the banks of the Rio Grande, across from Laredo, United States. The 2010 census population of the city was 373,725. Nuevo Lar ...

Tamaulipas Tamaulipas (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Tamaulipas ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Tamaulipas), is a state in the northeast region of Mexico; one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the 32 Federal Entiti ...

México Mexico ( Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatem ...

(Since 1988)

Distribution

Caterpillar products are distributed to end-users in nearly 200 countries through Caterpillar's worldwide network of 220 dealers. Caterpillar's dealers are independently owned and operated businesses with exclusive geographical territories. Dealers provide sales, maintenance and repair services, rental equipment, and parts distribution.

Finning Finning is a Canadian industrial equipment dealer specializing in Caterpillar Caterpillars ( ) are the larval stage of members of the order Lepidoptera (the insect order comprising butterflies and moths). As with most common names, t ...

, a dealer based in Vancouver, Canada, is Caterpillar's largest global distributor. Gmmco Ltd is India's No. 1 Dealer for Caterpillar Machines. United Tractor & Equipment (Pvt) Limited also known as UTE is the sole authorized dealer of Caterpillar machines and heavy equipment in Sri Lanka. Most dealers use a management system called DBS for their day-to-day operations. As of the first quarter of 2006, 66% of Caterpillar's sales are made by one of the 63 dealers in the United States, with the remaining 34% sold by one of Caterpillar's 157 overseas dealers.

Management

Caterpillar has a

corporate governance Corporate governance is defined, described or delineated in diverse ways, depending on the writer's purpose. Writers focused on a disciplinary interest or context (such as accounting, finance, law, or management) often adopt narrow definitions ...

structure where the chairman of the board also acts as chief executive officer (CEO). The board of directors is fully independent and is made up of non-employee

director Director may refer to: Literature * ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine * ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker * ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty Music * Director (band), an Irish rock band * ''D ...

s selected from outside the company. Several group presidents report to the CEO, and multiple vice presidents report to each group president. The board has three committees: audit; compensation and human resources; governance and public policy. The behavior of all employees is governed by a code of worldwide business conduct, first published in 1974 and last amended in 2005, which sets the corporate standard for honesty and ethical behavior. Management employees are retested on this code annually.

Current board of directors

, the board of directors was composed as follows: * Kelly A. Ayotte * David L. Calhoun * Daniel M. Dickinson * Gerald Johnson * David W. MacLennan * Debra L. Reed-Klages *

Edward B. Rust, Jr. Edward Barry Rust Jr. (born August 3, 1950) was chairman of the board of State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company, Bloomington, Illinois. He is a former President and Chief Executive Officer of State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company ...

Susan C. Schwab Susan Carol Schwab (born March 23, 1955) is an American politician, who served under President George W. Bush as United States Trade Representative from June, 2006 to January, 2009. She is not related to Charles R. Schwab Sr., founder of the Cha ...

* Jim Umpleby—chairman and CEO * Miles D. White * Rayford Wilkins, Jr. On January 1, 2017, Jim Umpleby succeeded Douglas R. Oberhelman as CEO and Dave Calhoun became non-executive chairman. On December 12, 2018, Umpleby was named chairman of the board as well, reversing Caterpillar's previous decision to split the CEO and chairman position.

Workforce and labor relations

As of December 31, 2009, Caterpillar employed 93,813 persons of whom 50,562 are located outside the United States. Current employment figures represent a decline of 17,900 employees compared the third quarter of 2008. Due to the restructuring of business operations which began in the 1990s, there are 20,000 fewer

union Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''Un ...

jobs in the Peoria, Illinois area while employment outside the U.S. has increased. In 2020, it was reported that Caterpillar was planning to cut 700 jobs at its Northern Ireland operations.

Labor practices

Caterpillar came close to bankruptcy in the early 1980s, at one point losing almost US$1 million per day due to a sharp downturn in product demand as competition with Japanese rival Komatsu increased. (At the time, Komatsu used the internal slogan "encircle Caterpillar".) Caterpillar suffered further when the United States declared an

embargo Economic sanctions are commercial and financial penalties applied by one or more countries against a targeted self-governing state, group, or individual. Economic sanctions are not necessarily imposed because of economic circumstances—they m ...

against the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

after the Soviet invasion of

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

, causing the company to be unable to sell US$400 million worth of pipelaying machinery that had already been built. Due to the drastic drop in demand, Caterpillar initiated employee

layoffs A layoff or downsizing is the temporary suspension or permanent termination of employment of an employee or, more commonly, a group of employees (collective layoff) for business reasons, such as personnel management or downsizing (reducing the ...

, which led to strikes, primarily by the members of the

United Auto Workers The International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace, and Agricultural Implement Workers of America, better known as the United Auto Workers (UAW), is an American labor union that represents workers in the United States (including Puerto Rico) ...

, against Caterpillar facilities in

and

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

. Several news reports at the time indicated that products were piling up so high in facilities that replacement workers could barely make their way to their work stations. In 1992, the

conducted a five-month strike against Caterpillar. In response, Caterpillar threatened to replace Caterpillar's entire unionized work force. Over ten thousand UAW members struck again in 1994–1995 for 17 months, a record at that time. The strike ended with the UAW deciding to return to work without a contract despite record revenues and profits by Caterpillar. In 1994, Caterpillar offered a contract to the UAW members that would have raised the salary of top workers from $35,000 to $39,000 per year. However, the UAW was seeking the same top wage of $40,000 that was paid to workers at Deere & Company in 1994. During the strikes, Caterpillar used management employees in an attempt to maintain production. It suspended research and development work, sending thousands of engineers and other non-bargained for employees into their manufacturing and assembly facilities to replace striking or locked out union members. Rather than continuing to fight the United Auto Workers, Caterpillar chose to make itself less vulnerable to the traditional bargaining tactics of organized labor. One way was by outsourcing much of their parts production and warehouse work to outside firms. In another move, according to UAW officials and industry analysts, Caterpillar began to execute a "southern strategy". This involved opening new, smaller plants, termed "focus facilities", in right-to-work states. Caterpillar opened these new facilities in Clayton and

Sanford, North Carolina Sanford is a city in Lee County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 30,261 at the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Lee County. History Sanford was named for C.O. Sanford, a railroad civil engineer instrumental in the building ...

; Greenville, South Carolina;

Corinth, Mississippi Corinth is a city in and the county seat of Alcorn County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 14,573 at the 2010 census. Its ZIP codes are 38834 and 38835. It lies on the state line with Tennessee. History Corinth was founded i ...

; Dyersburg, Tennessee; Griffin and LaGrange, Georgia;

Seguin, Texas Seguin ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Guadalupe County, Texas, United States; as of the 2020 census, its population was 29,433. Its economy is primarily supported by a regional hospital, as well as the Schertz-Seguin Local Government C ...

; and

North Little Rock, Arkansas North Little Rock is a city in Pulaski County, Arkansas, across the Arkansas from Little Rock in the central part of the state. The population was 64,591 at the 2020 census. In 2019 the estimated population was 65,903, making it the seventh-mo ...

. In 2012, the company locked out workers at a locomotive plant in London, Ontario, Canada and demanded some accept up to a 50% cut in pay, in order to become cost-competitive with comparable Caterpillar manufacturing facilities in the United States. The move created controversy in Canada, with some complaining the plant was acquired under false pretenses. Retail store

Mark's Work Wearhouse Mark's (known as L'Équipeur in Quebec) is a Canadian clothing and footwear retailer specializing in casual and industrial wear. Beginning in 1977 as Mark's Work Wearhouse in Calgary, Alberta, it evolved from an industrial accessories deale ...

began pulling Caterpillar boots from its shelves as a result. On May 1, 2012, 780 members of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers Local Lodge 851 went on strike. An agreement was reached in August, resulting in a 6-year wage freeze. Striking workers expressed anger about the freeze given the company's record 2011 profits and CEO Oberhelman's 60% salary increase.

Coerced labor in Xinjiang

In June 2020, it was reported that a Caterpillar clothing wholesaler, Summit Resource International, participates in a Chinese government-run labor transfer scheme that uses

forced labor Forced labour, or unfree labour, is any work relation, especially in modern or early modern history, in which people are employed against their will with the threat of destitution, detention, violence including death, or other forms of ex ...

Uyghurs The Uyghurs; ; ; ; zh, s=, t=, p=Wéiwú'ěr, IPA: ( ), alternatively spelled Uighurs, Uygurs or Uigurs, are a Turkic ethnic group originating from and culturally affiliated with the general region of Central and East Asia. The Uyghur ...

internment camps Internment is the imprisonment of people, commonly in large groups, without charges or intent to file charges. The term is especially used for the confinement "of enemy citizens in wartime or of terrorism suspects". Thus, while it can simpl ...

Environmental record

Environmental stewardship

Caterpillar divisions have won Illinois Governor's Pollution Prevention Awards every year since 1997. Caterpillar was awarded the 2007 Illinois Governor's Pollution Prevention Award for three projects: The Hydraulics and Hydraulic Systems business unit in Joliet implemented a flame sprayed coating for its truck suspension system, replacing a chroming process, reducing hazardous waste by annually, and saving of water. Caterpillar's Cast Metals Organization in Mapleton worked with the American Foundry Society to help produce a rule to reduce hazardous waste in scrap metal that meet strict quality requirements, and also allow foundries to continue recycling certain types of scrap and maintain a competitive cost structure. Caterpillar's Mossville Engine Center formed a team to look at used oil reuse and recycle processes that forced MEC to send large amounts of used oil off-site for recycling, and developed an updated system for reclaiming it for reuse on-site. The resulting benefits included a usage reduction of about of oil per year. Caterpillar in 2004 participated in initiatives such as the

United States Environmental Protection Agency The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is an independent executive agency of the United States federal government tasked with environmental protection matters. President Richard Nixon proposed the establishment of EPA on July 9, 1970; it ...

's National Clean Diesel Campaign program, which encourages retrofitting fleets of older buses and trucks with newer diesel engines that meet higher emissions standards. In 2005, Caterpillar donated $12 million to

The Nature Conservancy The Nature Conservancy (TNC) is a global environmental organization headquartered in Arlington, Virginia. it works via affiliates or branches in 79 countries and territories, as well as across every state in the US. Founded in 1951, The Nat ...

in a joint effort to protect and preserve river systems in Brazil, U.S.A., and China. Caterpillar has, for many years, been a member of the

World Business Council for Sustainable Development The World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) is a CEO-led organization of over 200 international companies. The Council is also connected to 60 national and regional business councils and partner organizations. Its origins ...

based in

Geneva, Switzerland Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevra ; rm, Genevra is the second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaking part of Switzerland. Situa ...

and has been listed on the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index each year since 2001.

Clean Air Act violation

In July 1999, Caterpillar and five other

manufacturers signed a consent decree with the Justice Department and the State of California, after governmental investigations revealed violations of the Clean Air Act. The violation involves over a million diesel engines sold with

defeat device A defeat device is any motor vehicle hardware, software, or design that interferes with or disables emissions controls under real-world driving conditions, even if the vehicle passes formal emissions testing. United States Code of Federal Regula ...

s, devices that regulated emissions during pre-sale tests, but that could be disabled in favor of better performance during subsequent highway driving. Consequently, these engines "...emit up to triple the permissible level of smog-forming nitrogen oxides (NOx). In 1998 alone, these violating vehicles emitted of additional NOx – an amount equal to the emissions of 65 million cars." For this reason, Caterpillar was named the "Clean Air Villain of the Month" for August 2000 by the

Clean Air Trust Clean may refer to: * Cleaning, the process of removing unwanted substances, such as dirt, infectious agents, and other impurities, from an object or environment * Cleanliness, the state of being clean and free from dirt Arts and media Music Al ...

. The consent decree provided that $83 million be paid in civil penalties and determined new deadlines for meeting emissions standards. Caterpillar, however, was successful in lobbying for an extension of deadlines they considered too severe. Even so, in October 2002, Caterpillar – the only diesel engine company (of those that signed decrees) to fail to meet the new emissions standards deadline – was forced to pay $128 million in per-engine non-conformance penalties.

Carbon footprint

Caterpillar reported Total CO2e emissions (Direct + Indirect) for the twelve months ending 31 December 2020 at 1,521 Kt (-310 /-16.9% y-o-y).Alt URL
/ref> Caterpillar plans to reduce emissions 30% by 2030 from a 2018 base year.

Controversies

Tax deferral techniques

In March 2017, when US federal agents raided Caterpillar's headquarters in Peoria Ill., it was already evident that the company engaged in aggressive measures to control tax costs. Since April 2014, the company's tax policies have been investigated by a senate subcommittee headed by Senator Carl Levin. Those investigations uncovered significant changes in Caterpillar's offshore tax strategy, culminating in the creation of the new Swiss subsidiary Caterpillar SARL (CSARL) in

Geneva , neighboring_municipalities= Carouge, Chêne-Bougeries, Cologny, Lancy, Grand-Saconnex, Pregny-Chambésy, Vernier, Veyrier , website = https://www.geneve.ch/ Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevr ...

. In 1999, former Caterpillar executive Daniel Schlicksup accused the company of funneling profits made on replacement parts into Switzerland, even though it had no warehouses or factories there. The Internal Revenue Service found the firm liable for a billion dollars of unpaid taxes for the years 2007 to 2009. At the same time, the architect of Caterpillar's fiscal strategy

PricewaterhouseCoopers PricewaterhouseCoopers is an international professional services brand of firms, operating as partnerships under the PwC brand. It is the second-largest professional services network in the world and is considered one of the Big Four accounti ...

(PWC) came under scrutiny, because of PWC's conflict of interest in acting as Caterpillar's controller as well as being its global tax consultant. The Senate uncovered documents from PWC saying the elaborate move was simply a way to evade American taxes. "We are going to have to do some dancing" one said. Another noted, "What the heck, we will all be retired when this comes up on audit."

Israel Defense Forces sales

In 2004 the Office of the UN High Commissioner on Human Rights sent a warning letter to the company about its sales of bulldozers to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and which were used in part to destroy Palestinian farms. In 2005, four Roman Catholic orders of nuns and the pro-Palestinian group

Jewish Voice for Peace Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP; קול יהודי לשלום ''Kol Yehudi la-Shalom'') is a left-wing Jewish activist organization in the United States that supports the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions campaign against Israel. Founding, staff ...

planned to introduce a resolution at a Caterpillar shareholder meeting. The resolution asked for an investigation into whether Israel's use of the company's bulldozer to destroy Palestinian homes conformed with the company's code of business conduct. In response, StandWithUs (SWU) urged its members to buy Caterpillar stock and to write letters of support to the company. Representatives of SWU also planned to attend the shareholder meeting and speak out against the resolution. SWU and other Jewish organizations stated that Israel was being unfairly singled out.

Trademark claims

Caterpillar Inc. has sought the revocations of

registered trademark The registered trademark symbol, , is a typographic symbol that provides notice that the preceding word or symbol is a trademark or service mark that has been registered with a national trademark office. A trademark is a symbol, word, or wor ...

s in the United States incorporating the word "Cat" in markets unrelated to its machinery business, such as "Cat & Cloud" (a cafe in

Santa Cruz, California Santa Cruz ( Spanish for "Holy Cross") is the county seat and largest city of Santa Cruz County, in Northern California. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 62,956. Situated on the northern edge of Monterey Bay, Santa Cruz is a po ...

), and

Keyboard Cat Keyboard Cat is a video-based internet meme. Its original form was a video made in 1984 by Charlie Schmidt of his cat Fatso seemingly playing a musical keyboard (though manipulated by Schmidt off-camera) to a cheery tune. While Schmidt had uplo ...

. The company has faced criticism for this perceived "bullying", especially in cases where the likelihood of confusion is low.

Defective engines

In 2014, Caterpillar paid $46M to settle claims that one of its engines caused a fiery explosion on a ship owned by Bender Shipbuilding and Repair Company Inc. In 2016 Caterpillar paid $60M to settle claims that its bus engines were prone to breakdowns and fires.

Advocacy, philanthropy and awards

Caterpillar is a member of the U.S. Global Leadership Coalition, a Washington D.C.-based coalition of over 400 major companies and NGOs that advocates for increased funding of American diplomatic and development efforts abroad through the International Affairs Budget. Economic development projects in developing countries (particularly in rural, agricultural regions) serve as new markets for Caterpillar products by improving political and economic stability and raising average incomes. 2011 recipient of the

Henry C. Turner Prize for Innovation in Construction Technology The Henry C. Turner Prize for Innovation in Construction Technology is awarded annually by the National Building Museum to recognize outstanding leadership and innovation in the field of construction methods and processes, including engineering de ...

from the National Building Museum.

References

External links

*
Cat Products Official Website

Antique Caterpillar Machinery Owners Club

Antique Caterpillar Machinery Enthusiasts

Caterpillar Tractor Company Photograph Collection at Baker Library Historical Collections, Harvard Business School
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