Who Founded Caterpillar?

Caterpillar was created by the 1925 merger of two competing California tractor makers, one founded by Benjamin Holt and the other by C. L. Best. In the late 19th century the steam tractors used in California's San Joaquin Valley could weigh as much as 40 tons and often sank into the soft, peaty soil of the delta. In 1904 Holt removed the iron wheels from a steam tractor and fitted a continuous track of wooden planks bolted to chains. The track spread the machine's weight over a larger area, so it could cross soft ground. During a test, a company photographer remarked that the machine crawled 'like a caterpillar'. Holt trademarked the name and built up the Holt Manufacturing Company. His main rival was C. L. Best, whose C. L. Best Gas Traction Company built smaller tracked machines with gasoline engines. Holt's track design influenced the first British tanks in World War I. After the war both companies were in financial difficulty as military contracts ended and debts mounted. In 1925 their financial backers arranged a merger that formed the Caterpillar Tractor Co., combining Holt's trademark and factories with Best's gasoline engines and dealer network.

Benjamin Holt was born in 1849 in Concord.

Daniel Best was an American inventor and a central figure in the history of farm machinery. He moved west in 1859 and worked for years in mining, lumber and farming. After he lost three fingers in a sawmill accident he turned to mechanical invention. He went on to hold more than 40 patents, including portable grain cleaners and combine harvesters. Horses could not pull his large harvesters efficiently, so he began building steam traction engines. His company, Best Manufacturing, became a leading supplier to California agriculture and was later acquired by Holt Manufacturing. His son C. L. Best's company merged with Holt in 1925 to form the Caterpillar Tractor Company. (Exact birth year remains publicly undisclosed).