- Farm and Home Section, Lancaster Farming, Saturday, March 18,2000
103
Caterpillar Tractors Lead the Way for
DEKALB, 111. (February
9, 2000) - A crystal ball
may have been the only
way to foresee all that
would result when C.L.
Best Tractor Co. and Holt
Caterpillar Co. joined
forces back in 1925, and
few would have guessed
that track technology would
grow to serve so many
industries. As Caterpillar
marks its 75th anniversary
this year, the company is
celebrating its development
of track technology
throughout the years and is
particularly proud of its
agricultural heritage.
“From the early days of
steel tracks to current
rubber-belted track tech
nology, we have continued
to improve and refine our
equipment throughout the
years," says Bob Strube,
president, Caterpillar Agri
cultural Products Inc. “As
Caterpillar Inc. celebrates
its 75th anniversary, we’re
especially proud of our
roots in agriculture and our
leadership in bringing new
technology to the farm
today. We know our ex
perience is recognized by
farmers when it comes to
track machines in agri
culture.”
Tracks Debut in
Early 1900 s
As early as 1906, when the
first Holt “Caterpillar”
tractor with steel tracks was
introduced, company en
gineers recognized the
flotation benefits of the new
technology.
By the time the two
companies merged, they
had collectively pioneered
e?i
Horse Teams to Horsepower:
track tractors and the
gasoline-powered tractor
engine
“Non-adjacent fields and
increasing miles of asphalt
paved roads caused a
decline in the use of steel
track tractors over the
course of time,” Strube
notes. “Mobility between
fields became a huge issue -
farmers couldn’t drive steel
tracks down paved roads.”
Caterpillar solved that
problem with the intro
duction of the rubber-belted
Challenger(r) 65 tractor in
1986. Farmers then had the
benefits of tracks-flotation,
traction and reduced soil
compaction plus the
mobility needed to travel
between fields over any type
of road. Since then, the
Challenger tractor line has
expanded to range from the
versatile 175-PTO-horse
power Challenger 35 to the
powerful 410-gross-engine
horsepower Challenger 95E.
Machines Evolve,
Ideas Endure
“From the beginning,
Caterpillar has changed the
way people think about
farming. Our Challenger
tractor line is the result of
blending new technology
with some of Holt and
Best’s original ideas that
still make a lot of sense
today,” Strube says. “Their
original agricultural tractors
were based on a systems
approach to solving
problems and improving
operational efficiency.”
Strube lists diesel engines,
front-end suspension and
combined harvesting tech
nology as examples of those
? *
1- V v
Ms*.
enduring ideas. “Holt and
Best also were well aware of
the fundamentals of tracks
flotation and traction and
their importance in agri
cultural production,” Strube
says. “We continue to
leverage those proven ideas
with what Caterpillar has
learned as a leader in other
industries like construction.
mining, forestry and power
generation.”
Caterpillar continues to
invest in research as it sets
the pace for others
competing in the track
technology field, Strube
adds. “We are constantly
looking for ways to help
farmers lower their per-acre
costs and increase profits.
Our customers keep us in
business, and we intend to
help keep them in business.”
Cat Ag Product
Group Created
Caterpillar Inc. established
an agricultural product
group in 1990, with design
and marketing respon
sibilities for the company’s
agricultural products.
During the next five years,
the Challenger tractor line
was expanded to include
both tillage and row-crop
model track tractors.
Caterpillar also developed
the Versatile Flotation
System (VFS) trailer, a
rubber-track platform for
grain carts, spray rigs and
manure spreaders.
With the agricultural
product group’s continued
growth, the company
formed Caterpillar Agri
cultural Products Inc. as a
wholly owned subsidiary in
1996. And in July 1997,
* *
Caterpillar entered into a
joint venture with Germ
any-based Claas KGaA to
manufacture and market
Lexion(r) combines, which
offer the highest pro
duction capacity of any
combine in the world.
Today’s product lineup' , presence in the agricultural
includes seven Challenger industry, Caterpillar is the
tractor models and two .world’s largest manu
models of the a«d
all manufactured at the mining' equipment, diesel
Caterpillar facility in and natural gas engines, and
DeKalb, 111. Final industrial tuifhnes. Head
assembly of the six Lexion quartered in Peoria, 111., the
combine models takes company posted record
place in Omaha, Neb., sales and revenues in 1999
where construction is of US $19.7 billion. Learn
underway on a new more from your local dealer
Caterpillar combine manu- or visit the Caterpillar Web
factoring facility. A variety site at http://www.CAT.com.
of specialized material-
75 Years
handling products, in
cluding skid steer loaders,
backhoe loaders and
telescopic handlers, also
serve the needs of the
agricultural marketplace.
About Caterpillar Inc.
Along with its growing