Caterpillar Marks
75h Anniversary
DEKALB, 111. - A crystal ball
my 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 com
pany is celebrating its develop
ment of track technology
throughout the years and is par
ticularly proud of its agricultur
al heritage.
“From the early days of steel
tracks to current rubber-belted
track technology, we have con
tinued to improve and refine our
equipment throughout the
years,” said Bob Strube, presi
dent, Caterpillar Agricultural
Products Inc. “As Caterpillar
Inc. celebrates its 75th anniver
sary, we’re especially proud of
our roots in agriculture and our
leadership in bringing new tech
nology to the farm today. We
know our experience is recog
nized by farmers when it comes
to track machines in agricul
ture.”
As early as 1906, when'the
first Holt “Caterpillar” tractor
with steel tracks was intro
duced, company engineers recog
nized the flotation benefits of
the new technology.
By the time the two compa
nies merged, they had collective
ly pioneered track tractors and
the gasoline-powered tractor
engine
“Non-adjacent fields and
increasing miles of a’sphalt
paved roads caused a decline m
the use of steel-track tractors
over the course of time,” Strube
said, “Mobility between fields
became a huge issue - farmers
couldn’t drive steel tracks down
paved roads.”
Caterpillar solved that prob
lem with the introduction of the
rubber-belted Challenger® 65
tractor in 1986. Farmers then
had the benefits of tracks-flota-
tion, 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-horsepower
Challenger 35 to the powerful
410-gross-engine-horsepower
Challenger 95E
“From the beginning,
Caterpillar has changed the way
people think about farming. Our
Challenger tractor line is the
result of blending new technolo
gy with some of Holt and Best’s
original ideas that still make a
Company Names Distributor
EPHRATA (Lancaster Co.) -
A M Machinery has announced the
appointment of Hamilton Equipment,
Inc., Ephrata, and Raphme, Va. as the
wholesale distributor for the Stretch-
O-Matic tubular bale wrappers
Stretch-O-Matic tubular bale
wrappers will wrap round bales m
sizes up to 5 feet 0 inches X 5 feet 6
inches. The Stretch-O-Matic is fast,
reliable, and easy to use. Stretch-O
„ . r t*.a
* *
Business * News
lot of sense today,” Strube said.
“Their original agricultural trac
tors were based on a systems
approach to solving problems
and improving operational effi
ciency.”
Strube lists diesel engines,
front-end suspension and com
bined harvesting technology as
examples of those enduring
ideas. “Holt and Best also were
well aware of the fundamentals
of tracks-flotation and trac
tion-and their importance in
agricultural production,” Strube
said. “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
said, “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.”
Caterpillar Inc. established
an agricultural product group in
1990, with design and market
ing responsibilities for the com
pany’s agricultural products.
During the next five years, the
Challenger, tractor line was
expanded to include both tillage
and row-crop model track trac
tors. 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
Agricultural Products Inc. as a
wholly owned subsidiary in
1996 And in July 1997,
Caterpillar entered into a joint
venture with Germany-based
Claas KGaA to manufacture and
market Lexion® combines,
which offer the highest produc
tion capacity of any combine in
the world.
Today’s product lineup
includes seven Challenger trac
tor models and two models of the
VFS trailer, all manufactured at
the Caterpillar facility in
DeKalb, 111, Final assembly of
the six Lexion combine models
takes place in Omaha, Neb.,
where construction is under way
on a new Caterpillar combine
manufacturing facility. A variety
of specialized material-handling
products, including skid steer
loaders, backhoe loaders, and
telescopic handlers also serve
the needs of the agricultural
marketplace.
Matic provides high quality hay at a
reasonable cost. After the ends are
sealed, Stretch-O-Matic wraps only
the circumference of the bales, saving
50 percent on silage film cost in rela
tion to single bale wrappers.
Hamilton Equipment, Inc., a
wholesale farm equipment distribu
tor, has a network of more than 800
servicing dealers in Pennsylvania,
New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland,
Virginia, and West Virginia.
Chore-Time Hog Production Systems
* •*#><■*
MILFORD, Ind. - Five individu
als have been named to the sales and
marketing team for Chore-Time Hog
Production Systems, according to
George Zimmerman, vice president
and general manager.
Chore-Time Hog Production
Systems resulted from merging the
hog equipment products manufac
tured by Chore-Time Brock (CTB,
Inc.) with products offered by Staco,
Inc. Staco was acquired by CTB in
1998.
Bryan Shive has been appointed
sales and marketing manager and is
responsible for overall marketing and
sales in the U S. and Canada. As a
part of his responsibilities, Shive will
also cover the company’s western
United States sales territory and
British Columbia in Canada. He was
recently marketing manager and
engineenng supervisor for Staco.
Peter Shannon is district sales
manager for the eastern U.S. and
Quebec, Canada. He was sales man
ager and production manager for
Staco.
Bill Shields was named district
sales manager for the company’s
south central U.S territory. He was
formerly salesman for Sibley
GOLDEN VALLEY, Minn. -
In response to customer
demands for more convenient
soybean delivery option,
Novartis Seeds, Inc. - Field
Crops is supplementing its
existing seed delivery choices
with an innovative program for
bulk seed delivery through
select dealers. Called Trußulk,
the program allows farmers to
pick up bulk soybean seed
directly from participation local
outlets.
“With the Trußulk system,
farmers can pull in to the deal
ership, quickly fill their gravity
wagon and be on their way to
the field with no unnecessary
steps to load and unload con
tainers,” said Mark Schmidt,
soybean product manager for
Novartis Seeds.
Novartis Seeds dealer Ken
Olson played a key role in devel
oping the Trußulk program at
his dealership in Turton, S D. As
part of the program, Olson built
four hopper bins with a com
bined storage capacity of 16,000
units of seed. He also installed a
truck scale and conveyor system
so farmers can load their trucks
directly on the scale. Last year,
Olson was one of 12 Novartis
Names Five To Sales Team
Bryan Shive
Novartis Seeds Introduces
Soybean Seed Delivery
Pete Shannon
Mike Conroy
Industries, a subsidiary of CTB that
manufactures heating equipment for
hog and poultry production.
D. Michael Conroy will be the
company's district sales manager for
the north central U.S. as well as
Manitoba, Alberta, and Saskatchewan
m Canada. He previously was district
sales manager for Chore-Time and
specialized in the company’s environ-
Seeds dealers who tested the
program.
“By going to the Trußulk sys
tem, I cut customer loading time
in half as compared to our 2,500-
pound poly bag convenience
Paks,” Olson said. “For my cus
tomers, who race to seed hun
dreds of acres each year within a
narrow planting window, those
precious minutes translate into
more acres in the ground every
day.”
About 80 percent of Olson’s
soybean customers opted for the
convenient bulk delivery system
last year. Other Novartis Seeds
dealers participating in the 1999
pilot program reported equally
high levels of customer use.
Based on this positive response,
60 additional Novartis Seeds
dealers invested in facility
upgrades to accommodate the
Trußulk system for 2000.
Novartis’ Schmidt is not sur
prised at the system’s growing
popularity.
“Before testing the Trußulk
system, we surveyed farmers to
gauge interest in bulk seed
delivery,” Schmidt said. “More
than 60 percent reported they
were somewhat likely or very
likely to use bulk seed. We lis-
mental systems as well as electronic
ventilation controls.
Brice Medlock has been appoint
ed district sales manager for the com
pany’s Great Lakes region as well as
m Ontario, Canada, He also will con
tinue as a district sales manager in the
Great Lakes area for Chore-Time’s
poultry production systems business
unit.
tened to our customers, and last
year initiated the industry’s first
bulk seed delivery program.
Customer response to that pilot
program was overwhelming, and
now we are working with our
dealers to bring this time-saving
delivery option to more and
more customers.”
Novartis Seeds dealers must
implement strict procedures
before they are certified to carry
the Trußulk seed in order to
ensure the bulk product retains
the company’s purity and quali
ty requirements. Dealers must
build or convert one or more
cone-bottom bins to store and
handle NK Brand soybean seed
safely, reliably and conveniently.
Also required are let-down-lad
ders and belt conveyors to mini
mize possible seed damage.
Finally, dealers and their
employees must complete
Novartis Seeds’ training on stor
age and handling bulk seed.
“Dealers who offer Trußulk
seed become an extension of our
production facilities,” Schmidt
explained. “As a result, cus
tomers can be assured that bulk
seed stored by a local dealer is
the same high quality they find
in each individually packaged
bag of NK brand seed.”
Bill Shields
Brice Medlock