A grader , also commonly referred to as a road grader , motor grader , or simply blade , is a form of heavy equipment with a long blade used to create a flat surface during grading . Although the earliest models were towed behind horses, and later tractors , most modern graders are self-propelled and thus technically "motor graders".
82-437: Typical graders have three axles , with the steering wheels in front, followed by the grading blade or mouldboard, then a cab and engine atop tandem rear axles. Some graders also have front-wheel drives for improved performance. Some graders have optional rear attachments, such as a ripper , scarifier , or compactor . A blade forward of the front axle may also be added. For snowplowing and some dirt grading operations,
164-401: A propeller shaft or tailshaft ) which transmits the rotational force to a drive axle at the rear of the vehicle. The drive axle may be a live axle , but modern rear-wheel drive automobiles generally use a split axle with a differential. In this case, one half-axle or half-shaft connects the differential with the left rear wheel, a second half-shaft does the same with the right rear wheel; thus
246-522: 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 , 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
328-429: A differential (kart racing). However, other go-karts have two rear drive wheels too. Some dump trucks and trailers may be configured with a lift axle (also known as an airlift axle or drop axle ), which may be mechanically raised or lowered. The axle is lowered to increase the weight capacity, or to distribute the weight of the cargo over more wheels, for example, to cross a weight-restricted bridge. When not needed,
410-406: A full-floating axle is that even if an axle shaft (used to transmit torque or power) breaks, the wheel will not come off, preventing serious accidents. Caterpillar Inc. Caterpillar Inc. , also known as Cat , is an American construction, mining and other engineering equipment manufacturer. The company is the world's largest manufacturer of construction equipment. In 2018, Caterpillar
492-473: A line of clothing and workwear boots under its Cat / Caterpillar name. Additionally, the company licensed the Cat phone brand of toughened mobile phones and rugged smartphones from 2012 to 2024. Caterpillar machinery and other company-branded products are recognizable by their trademark "Caterpillar Yellow" livery and the "CAT" logo. The company traces its roots to the steam tractor machines manufactured by
574-429: A list of some 400 products for purchase through its dealer network. Caterpillar's line of machines range from tracked tractors to hydraulic excavators , backhoe loaders , motor graders , off-highway trucks, wheel loaders , agricultural tractors , and locomotives. Caterpillar machinery is used in the construction, road-building , mining, forestry , energy, transportation, and material-handling industries. Caterpillar
656-440: A main blade extension can also be mounted. Capacities range from a blade width of 2.50 to 7.30 m (8 to 24 ft) and engines from 93–373 kW (125–500 hp ). Certain graders can operate multiple attachments, or be designed for specialized tasks like underground mining. In civil engineering "rough grading" is performed by heavy equipment such as wheel tractor-scrapers and bulldozers . Graders are used to "finish grade", with
738-431: A number of contractual , trademark , 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
820-413: A protruding hub to which the axle shaft flange is bolted. The semi-floating axle setup is commonly used on half-ton and lighter 4×4 trucks in the rear. This setup allows the axle shaft to be the means of propulsion, and also support the weight of the vehicle. The main difference between the full- and semi-floating axle setups is the number of bearings. The semi-floating axle features only one bearing, while
902-509: A range of applications where the operator of the machine benefits from having accurate horizontal and vertical guidance. CTCT is based in Dayton, Ohio , and started its operations on April 1, 2002. Caterpillar introduced the Challenger range of agricultural tractors as the result of several development programs over a long period of time. The program started in the 1970s and involved both
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#1732787203227984-458: 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 in Grantham, Lincolnshire, England, developed a steel plate-tracked vehicle, which it patented in 1904. This tractor was the first to be steered using differential braking of
1066-460: A shaft that rotates with the wheel, being either bolted or splined in fixed relation to it, is called an axle or axle shaft . However, in looser usage, an entire assembly including the surrounding axle housing (typically a casting ) is also called an axle . An even broader (somewhat figurative) sense of the word refers to every pair of parallel wheels on opposite sides of a vehicle, regardless of their mechanical connection to each other and to
1148-400: A single unit called a transaxle . The drive axle is a split axle with a differential and universal joints between the two half axles. Each half axle connects to the wheel by use of a constant velocity (CV) joint which allows the wheel assembly to move freely vertically as well as to pivot when making turns. In rear-wheel drive cars and trucks, the engine turns a driveshaft (also called
1230-843: A smaller turning radius in addition to allowing the operator to adjust the articulation angle to aid in the efficiency of moving material. Other implement functions are typically hydraulically powered and can be directly controlled by levers , or by joystick inputs or electronic switches controlling electrohydraulic servo valves . Graders are also outfitted with modern digital grade control technologies, such as those manufactured by Topcon Positioning Systems, Inc. , Trimble Navigation , Leica Geosystems , or Mikrofyn. These may combine both laser and GPS guidance to establish precise grade control and (potentially) "stateless" construction. Manufacturers such as John Deere have also begun to integrate these technologies during construction. Early graders were drawn by humans and draft animals . The Fresno Scraper
1312-453: A solid, "live-axle" suspension system, the rotating inner axle cores (or half-shafts) serve to transmit driving torque to the wheels at each end, while the rigid outer tube maintains the position of the wheels at fixed angles relative to the axle, and controls the angle of the axle and wheels assembly to the vehicle body. The solid axles (housings) in this system must also bear the weight of the vehicle plus any cargo. A non-driving axle, such as
1394-483: A track frame measured 30 inches (760 mm) high by 42 inches (1,100 mm) wide and were 9 feet (2.7 m) long. The tracks were 3 inches (76 mm) by 4 inches (100 mm) redwood slats. Holt received the first patent 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
1476-432: A tractor 46 feet (14 m) wide, but this also made the tractors increasingly complex, expensive, and difficult to maintain. 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 40 horsepower (30 kW) Holt steamer, No. 77, with
1558-427: A turn at all. Several manufacturers offer computer-controlled airlifts so that the dead axles are automatically lowered when the main axle reaches its weight limit. The dead axles can still be lifted by the press of a button if needed, for better maneuverability. Lift axles were in use in the early 1940s. Initially, the axle was lifted by a mechanical device. Soon hydraulics replaced the mechanical lift system. One of
1640-475: A wheel on the left side of the vehicle to a wheel on the right side. The axis of rotation fixed by the axle is common to both wheels. Such a design can keep the wheel positions steady under heavy stress, and can therefore support heavy loads. Straight axles are used on trains (that is, locomotives and railway wagons), for the rear axles of commercial trucks, and on heavy-duty off-road vehicles. The axle can optionally be protected and further reinforced by enclosing
1722-576: Is a machine pulled by horses used for constructing canals and ditches in sandy soil. The design of the Fresno Scraper forms the basis of most modern earthmoving scrapers, having the ability to scrape and move a quantity of soil, and also to discharge it at a controlled depth, thus quadrupling the volume which could be handled manually. The Fresno scraper was invented in 1883 by James Porteous. Working with farmers in Fresno, California, he had recognised
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#17327872032271804-500: Is a single bearing at the end of the axle housing that carries the load from the axle and that the axle rotates through. To be "semi-floating" the axle shafts must be able to "float" in the housing, bearings and seals, and not subject to axial "thrust" and/or bearing preload. Needle bearings and separate lip seals are used in semi-floating axles with axle retained in the housing at their inner ends typically with circlips which are 3¾-round hardened washers that slide into grooves machined at
1886-445: Is known as " carbon steel ". The primary differences between the two are that chrome-moly steel is significantly more resistant to bending or breaking, and is very difficult to weld with tools normally found outside a professional welding shop. An axle that is driven by the engine or prime mover is called a drive axle . Modern front-wheel drive cars typically combine the transmission (gearbox and differential) and front axle into
1968-425: Is supported. In the latter case, a bearing or bushing sits inside a central hole in the wheel to allow the wheel or gear to rotate around the axle. Sometimes, especially on bicycles, the latter type of axle is referred to as a spindle . On cars and trucks, several senses of the word axle occur in casual usage, referring to the shaft itself, its housing, or simply any transverse pair of wheels. Strictly speaking,
2050-588: 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 . 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 , Japan; Piracicaba , São Paulo, Brazil; India ; and the People's Republic of China . Large wheel loaders are manufactured exclusively in
2132-593: The 2 Ton , 5 Ton , and 10 Ton from the Holt Manufacturing Company's old product line and the Caterpillar 30 and Caterpillar 60 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
2214-692: The Great Depression of the 1930s. Caterpillar adopted the diesel engine to replace gasoline engines. During World War II , Caterpillar products found fame with the Seabees , construction battalions of the United States Navy , which built airfields 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
2296-564: The IDF Caterpillar D9 was involved in an incident in 2003, in which the American activist Rachel Corrie was killed by an Israeli soldier driving a bulldozer to demolish Gaza homes. A lawsuit against Caterpillar by her family and families of Palestinians, who were also killed by Caterpillar equipment, was unsuccessful. A lawsuit against Israel and Israeli Defense Ministry was rejected by an Israeli court, ruling that her death
2378-1134: 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 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). In addition to increasing sales of its core products, much of Caterpillar's growth has been through acquisitions, including: 2 May 2013: "We continuously evaluate our strategic portfolio to ensure alignment with our long-term strategy and have concluded
2460-521: The British War Office ordered a Holt tractor and put it through trials at Aldershot . The War Office was suitably impressed and chose it as a gun tractor . Over the next four years, the Holt tractor became a major artillery tractor , mainly used to haul medium guns such as the 6-inch howitzer , the 60-pounder , and later the 9.2-inch howitzer. Holt tractors were also the inspiration for
2542-691: 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
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2624-706: The Caterpillar engines put the United States' submarine force at risk for cyberattack . In a 2015 interview on cybersecurity, the United States Navy clarified that Caterpillar actually has some of the most secure control systems. It will be used as a model of how the Navy will design cyber protections into its control systems. The Israel Defense Forces ' use of highly modified Caterpillar D9 bulldozers has led to Caterpillar being criticized by pro-Palestinian activists and some shareholders. In particular,
2706-476: The Challenger and CAT names and livery to them. This ended Cat's venture into agriculture. Caterpillar provides financing and insurance services to customers via Cat Financial and Caterpillar Insurance Services, both of which are subsidiaries of Caterpillar, Inc. Cat Financial provides retail and wholesale financing for Caterpillar products and services, in addition to other equipment provided or facilitated by
2788-714: The D6-based units and the 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 machines since 1997, with Caterpillar marketing the Claas-built Lexion combine range in
2870-525: The Holt Manufacturing Company in 1890. The steam tractors of the 1890s and early 1900s were extremely heavy, sometimes weighing 1,000 pounds (450 kg) per horsepower , and often sank into the earth of the San Joaquin Valley Delta farmland surrounding Stockton, California . Benjamin Holt attempted to fix the problem by increasing the size and width of the wheels up to 7.5 feet (2.3 m) tall and 6 feet (1.8 m) wide, producing
2952-475: The Israeli army, among them Caterpillar. The Caterpillar Electronics business unit has formed Caterpillar Trimble Control Technologies LLC (CTCT), a 50:50 joint venture with Trimble Inc . 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
3034-679: The UK's Titan armored bridge layer , Trojan combat engineering tank , Terrier combat engineering vehicles , and tank transporters ; the Romanian MLI-84 armored personnel carrier ; and the Swiss Piranha III light armored vehicle , 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 family of infantry fighting vehicles used by
3116-552: 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
3198-532: The United States on three separate assembly lines at Aurora, Illinois. Caterpillar began selling a line of on-road trucks 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
3280-406: The absence of rocks and trees means bulldozers are not required. Axle An axle or axletree is a central shaft for a rotating wheel or gear . On wheeled vehicles, the axle may be fixed to the wheels, rotating with them, or fixed to the vehicle, with the wheels rotating around the axle. In the former case, bearings or bushings are provided at the mounting points where the axle
3362-399: The angle, tilt (or pitch), and height of their blade capable of being adjusted to a high level of precision. Graders are commonly used in the construction and maintenance of dirt and gravel roads. In constructing paved roads , they prepare a wide flat base course for the final road surface . Graders are also used to set native soil or gravel foundation pads to finish grade before
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3444-821: 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 Virginia -class nuclear submarines . Caterpillar diesel engines are also used in San Antonio -class amphibious transport docks , Spanish Álvaro de Bazán -class frigates , British River-class offshore patrol vessels , Mexican Sierra -class patrol boats, and Malaysian Kedah -class MEKO A-100 offshore patrol vessels. The poor network security of
3526-485: The automobile turns, improving traction and extending tire life. A tandem axle is a group of two or more axles situated close together. Truck designs use such a configuration to provide a greater weight capacity than a single axle. Semi-trailers usually have a tandem axle at the rear. Axles are typically made from SAE grade 41xx steel or SAE grade 10xx steel. SAE grade 41xx steel is commonly known as " chrome-molybdenum steel " (or "chrome-moly") while SAE grade 10xx steel
3608-400: The axle is lifted off the ground to save wear on the tires and axle, and to increase traction in the remaining wheels, and to decrease fuel consumption. Lifting an axle also alleviates lateral scrubbing of the additional axle in very tight turns, allowing the vehicle to turn more readily. In some situations, the removal of pressure from the additional axle is necessary for the vehicle to complete
3690-458: The axles by the function of the suspension system. This is typical of the independent suspensions found on most newer cars, and even SUVs, and on the front of many light trucks. An exception to this rule is the independent (rear) swing axle suspension, wherein the half-axles are also load-bearing suspension arms. Independent drive-trains still need differentials (or diffs), but without fixed axle-housing tubes attached. The diff may be attached to
3772-426: The bearings, housings, and only a short section of the shaft itself, that also carries all radial loads. The full-floating design is typically used in most ¾- and 1-ton light trucks, medium-duty trucks, and heavy-duty trucks. The overall assembly can carry more weight than a semi-floating or non-floating axle assembly because the hubs have two bearings riding on a fixed spindle. A full-floating axle can be identified by
3854-524: 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." The first tanks 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
3936-435: 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 Deerfield, Illinois , by the end of 2017. The new location at 500 Lake Cook Road is the former site of a Fiatallis plant that manufactured wheel loaders for many years. On June 14, 2022,
4018-458: The company's own vehicles, are used as the prime movers in locomotives , semi trucks , 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 engine as its first electronic diesel engine for light trucks and buses. Caterpillar decreased emissions and noise
4100-434: The construction of large buildings. Graders can produce canted surfaces for drainage or safety. They may be used to produce drainage ditches with shallow V-shaped cross-sections on either side of highways. Steering is performed via a steering wheel , or a joystick capable of controlling both the angle and cant of the front wheels. Many models also allow frame articulation between the front and rear axles, which allows
4182-636: The dependence of the Central San Joaquin Valley on irrigation, and the need for a more efficient means of constructing canals and ditches in the sandy soil. In perfecting the design of his machine, Porteous made several revisions on his own and also traded ideas with William Deidrick, Frank Dusy, and Abijah McCall, who invented and held patents on similar scrapers. The era of motorization by traction engines , steam tractors , motor trucks , and tractors saw such towed graders grow in size and productivity. The first self-propelled grader
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#17327872032274264-517: The development of the British tank , which profoundly altered ground warfare tactics. Major Ernest Swinton , 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." Holt tractors had become well known during World War I . Military contracts formed
4346-461: The early manufacturers was Zetterbergs, located in Östervåla, Sweden. Their brand was Zeta-lyften. The liftable tandem drive axle was invented in 1957 by the Finnish truck manufacturer Vanajan Autotehdas , a company sharing history with Sisu Auto . A full-floating axle carries the vehicle's weight on the axle casing, not the half-shafts; they serve only to transmit torque from the differential to
4428-575: The engine is carried"). On February 2, 1910, Holt opened up a plant in East Peoria , Illinois, led by his nephew Pliny Holt. There, Pliny met farm implement dealer Murray Baker , who knew of an empty factory that had been recently built to manufacture farm implements and steam traction engines . Baker, who later became the first executive vice president of what became Caterpillar Tractor Company, wrote to Holt headquarters in Stockton and described
4510-682: The first rubber-tire self-propelled grader, the Caterpillar Auto Patrol, released in 1931. In addition to their use in road construction, graders may also be used to perform roughly equivalent work. In some locales such as Northern Europe , Canada , and places in the United States , graders are often used in municipal and residential snow removal . In scrubland and grassland areas of Australia and Africa , graders are often an essential piece of equipment on ranches , large farms , and plantations to make dirt tracks where
4592-408: The front beam axle in heavy-duty trucks and some two-wheel drive light trucks and vans, will have no shaft, and serves only as a suspension and steering component. Conversely, many front-wheel drive cars have a one-piece rear beam axle. In other types of suspension systems, the axles serve only to transmit driving torque to the wheels: the position and angle of the wheel hubs is made independent from
4674-508: The full-floating assembly has bearings on both the inside and outside of the wheel hub. The other difference is axle removal. To remove the semi-floating axle, the wheel must be removed first; if such an axle breaks, the wheel is most likely to come off the vehicle. The semi-floating design is found under most ½-ton and lighter trucks, as well as in SUVs and rear-wheel-drive passenger cars, usually being smaller or less expensive models. A benefit of
4756-461: The inner end of the shafts and retained in/by recesses in the differential carrier side gears which are themselves retained by the differential pinion gear (or "spider gear") shaft. A true semi-floating axle assembly places no side loads on the axle housing tubes or axle shafts. Axles that are pressed into ball or tapered roller bearings, which are in turn retained in the axle housings with flanges, bolts, and nuts do not "float" and place axial loads on
4838-608: 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 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 company. Between 1907 and 1918, Best and Holt had spent about US$ 1.5 million in legal fees fighting each other in
4920-444: The length of the axle in a housing. In split-axle designs, the wheel on each side is attached to a separate shaft. Modern passenger cars have split-drive axles. In some designs, this allows independent suspension of the left and right wheels, and therefore a smoother ride. Even when the suspension is not independent, split axles permit the use of a differential, allowing the left and right drive wheels to be driven at different speeds as
5002-415: 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
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#17327872032275084-571: 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:
5166-736: 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 became required in North America, Caterpillar updated
5248-631: The on-highway diesel engine market in the United States before updated 2010 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) emission standards 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 from 3i for $ 810 million. The Caterpillar Defence Products subsidiary, headquartered in Shrewsbury , United Kingdom, provides diesel engines, automatic transmissions, and other parts for
5330-582: 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,
5412-519: 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 . In 2018, Caterpillar was in the process of restructuring, closing a demonstration center in Panama and an engine-manufacturing facility in Illinois. Caterpillar built its first Russian facility in
5494-502: The 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. 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
5576-624: The town of Tosno , located near St. Petersburg, Russia . 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 since the Communist government was dissolved on December 26, 1991. The facility was built under harsh winter conditions, where the temperature was below −13 °F (−25 °C). The facility construction
5658-522: The track rising and falling over the carrier rollers looked 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$ 185,000 in 2024. Each side featured
5740-502: The tracks, eliminating the forward tiller and steering wheel. Several tractors were made and sold to operate in the Yukon , 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 five years after its development. Company photographer Charles Clements, looking at the machine's upside-down image through his camera lens, commented that
5822-503: 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
5904-727: The tunneling business no longer fits that strategy," – Stu Levenick. Caterpillar Tunneling Canada Corporation (CTCC) have notified employees that it will exit the business and cease production at its facilities by mid-2014. Caterpillar occasionally divests assets that do not align with its core competencies. 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. As of 2022, Caterpillar reports its financials using four business segments: construction industries, resource industries, energy & transportation, and financial products. Caterpillar has
5986-458: The two half-axles and the differential constitute the rear axle. The front drive axle is providing the force to drive the truck. In fact, only one wheel of that axle is actually moving the truck and trailer down the road. Some simple vehicle designs, such as leisure go-karts, may have a single driven wheel where the drive axle is a split axle with only one of the two shafts driven by the engine, or else have both wheels connected to one shaft without
6068-413: The vehicle frame or body, and/or be integrated with the transmission (or gearbox) in a combined transaxle unit. The axle (half-)shafts then transmit driving torque to the wheels, usually via constant-velocity joints . Like a full floating axle system, the drive shafts in a front-wheel-drive independent suspension system do not support any vehicle weight. A straight axle is a single rigid shaft connecting
6150-456: The vehicle frame or body. Thus, transverse pairs of wheels in an independent suspension may be called an axle in some contexts. This very loose definition of "axle" is often used in assessing toll roads or vehicle taxes , and is taken as a rough proxy for the overall weight-bearing capacity of a vehicle, and its potential for causing wear or damage to roadway surfaces. Axles are an integral component of most practical wheeled vehicles. In
6232-532: 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 broke out,
6314-400: The wheels. They "float" inside an assembly that carries the vehicle's weight. Thus the only stress it must endure is torque (not lateral bending force). Full-floating axle shafts are retained by a flange bolted to the hub , while the hub and bearings are retained on the spindle by a large nut. In contrast, a semi-floating design carries the weight of the vehicle on the axle shaft itself; there
6396-531: 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 demolitions of Palestinian houses and Israeli surveillance activities in the West Bank . In August 2024, San Francisco State University announced that, as part of a deal with student activists, it would divest from four companies that supply weapons for
6478-574: Was made in 1920 by the Russell Grader Manufacturing Company, which called it the Russell Motor Hi-Way Patrol. These early graders were created by adding the grader blade as an attachment to a generalist tractor unit. After purchasing the company in 1928, Caterpillar went on to truly integrate the tractor and grader into one design—at the same time replacing crawler tracks with wheels to yield
6560-762: Was managed by the Lemminkäinen Group in Helsinki, Finland . In May 2022, production at the Tosno plant was stopped. In November 2023, an agreement was reached on the sale of Caterpillar assets to the Russian company PSK - New Solutions, founded by people from Sberbank . Experts believe that the resumption of Caterpillar production is unlikely and the plant will be repurposed. The $ 125 million Caterpillar Suzhou, People's Republic of China facility, manufactures medium-wheel loaders and motor graders, primarily for
6642-575: 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.” 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
6724-694: Was ranked number 73 on the Fortune 500 list and number 265 on the Global Fortune 500 list. Caterpillar stock is a component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average . Caterpillar Inc. traces its origins to the 1925 merger of the Holt Manufacturing Company and the C. L. Best Tractor Company, creating a new entity, California-based Caterpillar Tractor Company. In 1986, the company reorganized itself as
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