How Caterpillar Got its Name

Holt and Best are considered to be the founders of Caterpillar and the company’s first ever product line featured a combination of their machines. In 1890, Holt invented a steam tractor that allowed farmers to work more hours than they would have been able to with horses. Best, the other Co-founder of Caterpillar, at that time had been creating products with a focus on early gasoline technology. Even though they were competitors in the beginning, their collaboration later on led to the success of Caterpillar and the invention of the track type tractors that we see today. Caterpillar is a name that everyone in the construction industry knows, however, not a lot of people are aware of where it originated. 

How The Use of Tracks Led to The Machine Getting Its Name

Although Holt’s steam tractor was a success, farmers were still struggling while working on soft soil. So, in 1904, in order to help Caterpillar farmers deal with working on soft soil, Benjamin Holt, opted to change the rear wheels from the old steam tractor and replace them with tracks. This eventually led to the machine getting the name “Caterpillar”. Are you wondering, how did that happen? You see, while running a fuel test with the machine in 1905 a company photographer noticed how the machine looked while working and exclaimed that it crawled like a big Caterpillar. And that is how the name ‘Caterpillar’ emerged along with the track type tractors that have now become a worldwide phenomenon. 

MY Equipment

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Contact MY Equipment today for more information about used caterpillar machines.