Company: Caterpillar Inc.

Founders: Benjamin Holt, Holt Manufacturing Co. (later Caterpillar Tractor Co.), Illinois Clarence Leo Best, C. L. Best Tractor Co., California

Industry: Construction

History:

The story of Caterpillar started with the inefficiency that steam tractors have been providing to local farmers in California. Although these tractors have been plowing the fields of California for more than a decade, Daniel Best and Benjamin Holt looked into the potential that these tractors still had. The main problem that steam tractors were facing then was their tendency to get stuck in damp earth. It was then that Holt had a brilliant idea that would be the birth of the modern tractor: the incorporation of steel planks and wheels.

Holt started out his business in the early 20th century but it was when he merged his company with Daniel Best’s son, C. L. Best, that Caterpillar Tractor Co. was born; the name Caterpillar came from the fact that the tracks that the machines’ wheels produce resemble that of a caterpillar’s trails.

The Company has had its share of difficulties in its eight decades of existence. It suffered its first full-year loss during the Great Depression and another one in 1982, during which it almost became bankrupt. The success, though, outweighs the setbacks that the company has suffered during its existence. Expanding overseas, the company furthermore strengthened its customer-base. Its expansions and acquisitions include UK firm Sabre Engines Ltd., French firm Eurenov and Chinese construction equipment manufacturer SEM.

Caterpillar Inc. has remained one of the world’s most successful companies enjoying continuous growth most especially after the Second World War. This is due to the massive rebuilding campaigns that Europe and Japan needed. In 2008, the company ranked 50th in Fortune Magazine’s Fortune 500 Companies. The company has also moved toward a more sustainable production, being more environment-friendly in its operations.

Presently, a Board of Directors headed by James W. Owens runs Caterpillar Inc.

The company currently employs almost a hundred thousand employees, most of which are from overseas, all ruled by the Company’s Code of Worldwide Business Conduct.

Leadership:

James W. Owens, Chairman of the Board and CEO
Board of Directors comprised of 14 Members