Caterpillar Inc. NYSE: CAT is a United States-based corporation headquartered in Peoria, Illinois. Caterpillar is, according to their corporate website , "the world's largest manufacturer of construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas engines, and industrial gas turbines."

Famous for their products featuring caterpillar tracks and a distinctive yellow paint scheme (which is a special pigment titled "Caterpillar Yellow," as featured on an episode of American Chopper), Caterpillar produces a wide range of heavy equipment, mainly engineering vehicles, including the Caterpillar D9 bulldozer.

Caterpillar is one of 30 companies whose stock is tracked in the Dow Jones Industrial Average. It is a Fortune 100 company ranked first in its industry, with more than $30 billion in assets.

The story of Caterpillar Inc. originates in the late nineteenth century, when Daniel Best and Benjamin Holt experimented with ways to fulfill the promise that steam tractors held for farming. By 1904, these large steam powered tractors had been plowing California fields for 14 years, and occasionally got bogged down in the soft California soil, especially after heavy rains. These huge tractors were difficult to pull free, even with teams of horses. Benjamin Holt had an idea-- why not carry the road with the vehicle? On November 24, 1904 he added wood block-linked treads around the idlers on Holt No.77, his test tractor. The results were impressive, and the modern tractor was born. Caterpillar became famous for its Caterpillar 30 and its Caterpillar 60 tractors.

Caterpillar formed April 15, 1925 with the merger of Holt Manufacturing Company of Stockton, California and the C. L. Best Gas Traction Company of San Leandro, California, forming the Caterpillar Tractor Co. Sales the first year were $13 million. By 1929, sales climbed to $52.8 million, and CAT continued to grow throughout the Depression of the 1930s. The Holt Manufacturing Company had earlier pioneered the use of the caterpillar track during World War I.

After the companies merged, Caterpillar went through many changes, including the adoption of the diesel engine. Caterpillar products found fame with the US Navy "Seabees" who built airfields in the Pacific War. Following World War II, the company grew at a rapid pace and launched its first venture outside the US in 1950, marking the beginning of Caterpillar's development into a multinational corporation.

Caterpillar products range from track-type tractors to hydraulic excavators, backhoe loaders, motor graders, off-highway trucks, wheel loaders, agricultural tractors, diesel and natural gas engines and gas turbines. They are used in construction, road-building, mining, forestry, energy, transportation and material-handling industries.

Caterpillar's crawler tractors inspired the first military tanks, which helped end World War I. Many of their machines helped build the Hoover Dam, tunnel under the English Channel, tumble the Berlin Wall and construct cities and neighborhoods across the United States.

Caterpillar was one of the "excellent" companies featured in the 1982 best-selling management book In Search of Excellence by business management guru Tom Peters. The company is guided by the principles of their "Worldwide Code of Conduct" document that stresses integrity in every action.

Caterpillar’s worldwide employment was 93,233 in third quarter 2006, up 9,334 from 83,899 in third quarter 2005. Of the increase, about 5,200 was a result of acquisitions, and about 1,900 hourly and 2,200 salaried and management employees were added to support higher volume and new product introductions. The increase related to acquisitions was for Progress Rail and a logistics business in Europe. According to a 2001 article in the Nashville Business Journal, 60% of Caterpillar's employees work outside the United States.

Caterpillar almost went under in the early 1980s due to massive labor union strikes and a downturn in product demand. Several news reports of the time indicated that products were piling up so high in facilities that temporary workers hired to work the lines could barely make their way to their stations.

Caterpillar suffered another long labor disagreement in the 1990s, in which the company hired what it termed "permanent replacements" for locked out union workers.

In both situations, jack rocks were placed in the home driveways of many Caterpillar executives and employees, puncturing tires of vehicles and further worsening relations between company heads and laborers.

Not long after the 1990s situation was resolved and the economy started to pick up again, Caterpillar adopted the "6 Sigma" quality management program, so as to reduce costs and inventory, and identify and correct defects in the company's processes and products.

Environment

Caterpillar has been under fire by many environmental groups. Products produced by the company include tree logging trucks, strip and under-ground mining equipment, and of course, diesel engines. In 2004, the company came out with "ACERT" diesel engines that exceed federal guidelines for emission standards.

In 2005, Caterpillar donated millions of dollars to The Nature Conservancy in a joint effort to protect and preserve river systems in Brazil, USA, and China.

In 2006, the company issued its first annual Sustainability Report, touting its remanufacturing, recycling, and environmental projects around the world. This report can be found on their website.

Caterpillar has for many years been a member of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD), based in Geneva, Switzerland. In 2005, Cat expressed a strong commitment to sustainability.