Caterpillar Inc.

Mission: Caterpillar will be the leader in providing the best value in machines, engines and support services for customers dedicated to building the world's infrastructure and developing and transporting its resources. We provide the best value to customers. Brothers Charles Henry Holt and Benjamin Holt found the Stockton Wheel Company in Stockton, California. Holt produces the first commercially successful caterpillar-style tractor, or crawler, which is soon sold under the Caterpillar brand. Holt Manufacturing produces its first gas-powered crawlers; Daniel Best sells his company to Holt. Best's son, C.L. Best, forms his own tractor manufacturing company, C.L. Best Gas Tractor Company. Holt Manufacturing and C.L. Best Gas Tractor merge to form Caterpillar Tractor Company. Early 1930s:Remaining production in California is shifted to Peoria, where the company's headquarters are also reestablished. Caterpillar's Diesel Sixty tractor helps make the diesel the staple engine for heavy-duty vehicles. Caterpillar Tractor Company Ltd. was established in Great Britain as the first overseas subsidiary. Caterpillar and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. form a joint venture to produce Caterpillar-designed vehicles in Japan. A lengthy labor dispute begins with a strike at two Caterpillar plants. LucasVarity PLC's Perkins Engines unit is acquired for $1.3 billion; prolonged labor dispute ends with the signing of a new six-year contract. Source: International Directory of Company Histories , Vol.63. St. James Press, 2004.