View source for Caterpillar Inc.

{{Short description|American construction-equipment manufacturer}}
{{other uses|Caterpillar (disambiguation)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2013}}
{{Infobox company
| name = Caterpillar Inc.
| logo = Caterpillar logo.svg
| logo_upright = 1.2
| image = Caterpillarhq.JPG
| image_upright = 1.15
| image_caption = Former headquarters in [[Peoria, Illinois]]
| trading_name = CAT
| type = [[Public company|Public]]
| traded_as = {{ubl|{{NYSE|CAT}}|[[DJIA]] component|[[S&P 100]] component|[[S&P 500]] component}}
| industry = {{ubl|[[Heavy equipment]] |Engines |[[Financial services]]}}
| predecessor = {{ubl|C. L. Best Tractor Company|[[Holt Manufacturing Company]]}}
| successor = 
| founded = {{Start date and age|1925|04|15}} in [[California]], U.S.
| founders = {{ubl|[[C.L. Best]]|[[Benjamin Holt]]<ref>{{cite news |last= Copeland |first= Mike |date= October 27, 2022 |url= https://wacotrib.com/business/local/holt-cat-shows-off-waco-operations/article_aeac6040-5650-11ed-ae95-cf56595ab39e.html |title= Holt Cat shows off Waco operations |publisher= [[Waco Tribune-Herald]] |accessdate= February 10, 2023 |quote= William K. Holt founded the company in 1933. He was the son of Benjamin Holt, “who in 1904 developed the first successful track-type tractor which he named the 'Caterpillar,'” according to the company website. Holt Manufacturing Co. merged with a competitor in 1925 to form what is now Caterpillar Inc., the global manufacturer of construction and mining equipment that reported $51 billion in sales and revenue last year.}}</ref>}}
| defunct = 
| hq_location = [[Irving, Texas]], U.S.<ref name=CatLocations>{{cite web |url=https://www.caterpillar.com/en/company/global-footprint/americas/united-states.html |title=Caterpillar United States |date=2010-07-23 |publisher=Caterpillar |access-date=2022-02-23 | df=mdy }}</ref>
| locations = 
| area_served = Worldwide
| key_people = {{ubl| [[Jim Umpleby]] ([[chairman]]) | Joe Creed ([[Chief executive officer|CEO]])}}
| products = {{Collapsible list
  |framestyle=border:none; padding:0;
  |title=<small>Products List</small>
  |1=[[Caterpillar D11|D11 Bulldozer]]
  |2=[[Caterpillar 345C L|345C L Excavator]]
  |3=[[Caterpillar 930G|930G Wheel Loader]]
  |4=[[Caterpillar 797F|797F Haul Truck]]
  |5=[[Caterpillar C13|C13 Diesel Engine]]
  |6=[[Caterpillar C32|C32 Diesel/Gasoline Engine]]
  |7=[[Caterpillar C280|C280 Diesel/Gasoline Engine]]
}}
| services = {{Collapsible list
  |framestyle=border:none; padding:0;
  |title=<small>Services List</small>
  |1=[[Financial services|Financing]]
  |2=Insurance
  |3=[[Maintenance, repair and operations|Maintenance]]
  |4=[[Training]]
}}
| revenue = {{decrease}} {{US$|64.8 billion|link=yes}} (2024)
| operating_income = {{increase}} {{US$|13.1 billion}} (2024)
| net_income = {{increase}} {{US$|10.8 billion}} (2024)
| assets = {{increase}} {{US$|87.8 billion}} (2024)
| equity = {{decrease}} {{US$|19.5 billion}} (2024)
| num_employees = 112,900 (2024)
| parent = 
| divisions = 
| subsid = {{Collapsible list
  |framestyle=border:none; padding:0;
  |title=<small>Subsidiary List</small>
  |1=Caterpillar Financial Services
  |2=Caterpillar Insurance Holdings
  |3=Caterpillar Logistics Services
  |4=Caterpillar Marine Power Systems
  |5=FG Wilson
  |6=[[Perkins Engines]]
  |7=[[Progress Rail]]
  |8=[[Solar Turbines]]
}}
| footnotes = <ref name=about/><ref name="haddock-37">{{cite book
| last1 = Haddock
| first1 = Keith
| last2 = Orlemann
| first2 = Eric
| editor = Paul Johnson
| title = Classic Caterpillar Crawlers
| url = https://archive.org/details/classiccaterpill0000hadd
| url-access = registration
| access-date = 2010-11-06
| date = 2001-11-11
| publisher = MBI Publishing Company
| location = St. Paul, Minnesota, United States
| pages = [https://archive.org/details/classiccaterpill0000hadd/page/37 37]–38
| isbn = 978-0-7603-0917-9
}}</ref><ref name=10K-2024>{{cite web
 |url=https://www.sec.gov/ix?doc=/Archives/edgar/data/18230/000001823025000008/cat-20241231.htm
 |title=Caterpillar Inc. 2024 Annual Report (Form 10-K)
 |date=2025-02-14
 |publisher=[[U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission]]
 |df=mdy
 }}</ref>
| website = {{URL|https://www.caterpillar.com/|caterpillar.com}}
}}

'''Caterpillar Inc.''' is an American construction, mining and other engineering equipment manufacturer.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-08-15 |title=About Caterpillar |url=https://www.caterpillar.com/en/company.html |access-date=2023-08-15 |website=Caterpillar}}</ref> The company is the world's largest manufacturer of construction equipment.<ref name=about>{{cite web
 |url=http://www.cat.com/about-cat
 |title=Caterpillar – About Cat
 |year=2010
 |work=cat.com
 |publisher=Caterpillar Inc
 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100311020404/http://www.cat.com/about-cat
 |archive-date=March 11, 2010
 |access-date=2010-03-11
 |quote=We deliver products, services and technologies in three principal lines of business: Machinery, Engines and Financial Products.
 |url-status=dead
 |df=mdy
 }}</ref><ref name=10K_2009>{{cite web |url=https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/18230/000001823010000092/form10k_2009.htm |title=2009 Form 10-K |date=2010-02-19 |publisher=United States Securities and Exchange Commission |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111108162719/http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/18230/000001823010000092/form10k_2009.htm |archive-date=November 8, 2011 |access-date=2010-03-23 |quote=As of December 31, 2009, we employed 93,813 persons of whom 50,562 were located outside the United States. |url-status=dead |df=mdy }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news
 |url=https://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune500/2009/snapshots/81.html
 |title=Fortune 500 2009: Top 100 American Companies – Caterpillar – CAT
 |first=Jia Lynn
 |last=Yang
 |date=2009-05-04
 |work=FORTUNE on CNNMoney.com
 |publisher=Cable News Network, Inc
 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100309085051/http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune500/2009/snapshots/81.html
 |archive-date=March 9, 2010
 |access-date=2010-03-11
 |quote=Rank: 44
 |url-status=dead
 |df=mdy
 }}</ref>
In 2018, Caterpillar was ranked number 73 on the ''Fortune'' 500 list<ref>{{cite news |date= June 14, 2022 |url= https://www.wfaa.com/article/money/business/fortune-500-dfw-texas-companies-caterpillar-a-51-billion-construction-equipment-company-is-relocating-to-north-texas/287-f5181084-c7de-46e7-8e6c-e64845b8f679 |title= Caterpillar, a $51 billion construction equipment company, is relocating to North Texas |publisher=[[WFAA]] |accessdate= February 10, 2023 |quote=Caterpillar ranked 73rd on the Fortune 500 for 2022.}}</ref> and number 265 on the Global ''Fortune'' 500 list.<ref>{{cite news |url= https://fortune.com/company/caterpillar/global500/ |title= Global 500: Caterpillar. Rank #265 |publisher= [[Fortune (magazine)|Fortune]] |accessdate= February 10, 2023}}</ref> Caterpillar stock is a component of the [[Dow Jones Industrial Average]].<ref>{{cite web
 |url        = http://www.djaverages.com/index.cfm?view=industrial&page=components
 |archive-url = https://archive.today/20130122072213/http://www.djaverages.com/index.cfm?view=industrial&page=components
 |url-status = dead
 |archive-date = 2013-01-22
 |title      = Dow Jones Averages – Dow Jones Industrial Average – Components
 |year       = 2010
 |work       = djaverages.com
 |publisher  = Dow Jones & Company
 |access-date = 2010-03-11
 |quote      = Ticker CAT – Company Name Caterpillar Incorporated
}}</ref>

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.<ref name=lehman_deals>{{cite web
 |url=http://www.library.hbs.edu/hc/lehman/chrono.html?company=caterpillar_tractor_co
 |title=Caterpillar Tractor Co. List of Deals
 |year=2010
 |work=Lehman Brothers Collection
 |publisher=President and Fellows of Harvard College
 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100629185404/http://www.library.hbs.edu/hc/lehman/chrono.html?company=caterpillar_tractor_co
 |archive-date=June 29, 2010
 |access-date=2010-11-06
 |quote=In 1925 Holt and C.W. Best's company merged to form the Caterpillar Tractor Company.
 |url-status=dead
 |df=mdy
}}</ref> In 1986, the company reorganized itself as 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.<ref name="PStar2017">{{cite news|last1=Buedel|first1=Matt|date=January 31, 2017|title=Caterpillar moving headquarters, CEO from Peoria to Chicago|language=en|work=Peoria Journal Star|url=http://www.pjstar.com/news/20170131/caterpillar-moving-headquarters-ceo-from-peoria-to-chicago}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last1=Yerak|first1=Becky|title=Caterpillar will move headquarters to Chicago area, citing transportation access|url=http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ct-caterpillar-headquarters-chicago-0201-biz-20170131-story.html|access-date=17 July 2017|work=The Chicago Tribune|date=31 Jan 2017}}</ref> Its headquarters are located in [[Irving, Texas]], since 2022.<ref>{{cite news |last=Deaux |first=Joe |date=June 14, 2022 |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-06-14/caterpillar-is-leaving-its-hometown-midwest-roots-for-texas |title=Caterpillar Leaves Illinois After Decades to Relocate to Texas |work=[[Bloomberg News]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Bandell |first=Brian |date=October 20, 2022 |url=https://www.bizjournals.com/southflorida/news/2022/10/20/florida-lures-companies-from-high-crime-cities.html |title=Crime rates spark relocations |work=[[American City Business Journals]]}}</ref>

The company also licenses and markets a line of clothing and workwear boots under its Cat / Caterpillar name.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.catfootwear.com/US/en/contactus|title=Contact Us &#124; CAT Footwear}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Building the Brand One Step at a Time {{!}} Cat {{!}} Caterpillar|url=https://www.cat.com/en_US/articles/customer-stories/merchandise/building-the-brand-one-step-at-a-time.html|access-date=2020-10-07|website=www.cat.com|archive-date=October 9, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201009042256/https://www.cat.com/en_US/articles/customer-stories/merchandise/building-the-brand-one-step-at-a-time.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> Additionally, the company licensed the [[Cat phone]] brand of toughened mobile phones and [[rugged smartphone]]s from 2012 to 2024.<ref>{{Cite web|title=About US|url=https://www.catphones.com/en-gb/about-us/|access-date=2021-09-23|website=Cat phones United Kingdom|language=en-GB|archive-date=September 23, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210923175921/https://www.catphones.com/en-gb/about-us/|url-status=dead}}</ref> Caterpillar machinery and other company-branded products are recognizable by their trademark "Caterpillar Yellow" [[livery]] and the "CAT" logo.<ref name=tmyellow>{{cite web
 |url=http://www.cat.com/cda/layout?m=37321&x=7
 |title=Caterpillar – Legal Notices
 |year=2010
 |work=cat.com
 |publisher=Caterpillar Inc
 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100801001942/http://www.cat.com/cda/layout?m=37321&x=7
 |archive-date=August 1, 2010
 |access-date=2010-03-11
 |quote="Caterpillar Yellow,"...trade dress...are trademarks of Caterpillar...
 |url-status=dead
 }}</ref>

== History ==
{{Main|Holt Manufacturing Company}}

=== Origins ===
[[Image:BenjaminHolt.jpg|thumb|left|[[Benjamin Holt]], one of the founders of Holt Manufacturing Company]]
[[File:Holt75pk.jpg|thumb|alt=An early bulldozer-like tractor, on crawler tracks, with a leading single wheel – for steering – projecting from the front on an extension to the frame. The large internal combustion engine is in full view, with the cooling radiator prominent at the front. An overall roof is supported by thin rods, and side protection sheeting is rolled up under the edge of the roof.|The Holt 75 model gasoline-powered Caterpillar tractor used early in World War I as an artillery tractor. Later models were produced without the front "tiller wheel", {{Circa|1914}}.]]
The company traces its roots to the [[steam tractor]] machines manufactured by the Holt Manufacturing Company in 1890.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Caterpillar Inc.|title=Our History|url=https://www.caterpillar.com/en/company/history/history-timeline.html|access-date=September 23, 2021}}</ref> The steam tractors of the 1890s and early 1900s were extremely heavy, sometimes weighing {{convert|1000|lb}} per [[horsepower]], and often sank into the earth of the [[Sacramento – San Joaquin River Delta|San Joaquin Valley Delta]] farmland surrounding [[Stockton, California]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Esau |first=Cameron |title=Side Lake City: A Memoir of a Mennonite Boy Coming of Age in a Sawmill Bush Camp in the 1950s and 60s |publisher=FriesenPress |year=2020 |isbn=978-1-5255-7735-2 |location=Victoria, BC |pages=117 |language=en}}</ref> [[Benjamin Holt]] attempted to fix the problem by increasing the size and width of the wheels up to {{convert|7.5|ft}} tall and {{convert|6|ft}} wide, producing a tractor {{convert|46|ft}} 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.<ref name=":0" /> He replaced the wheels on a {{convert|40|hp}} Holt steamer, No. 77, with a set of wooden tracks bolted to chains. On Thanksgiving Day, November 24, 1904, he successfully tested the updated machine plowing the soggy [[Delta (landform)|delta land]] of [[Sacramento – San Joaquin River Delta|Roberts Island]].<ref name="laird">{{cite web|url=http://www.wastehandling.com/ME2/Audiences/dirmod.asp?sid=&nm=&type=Publishing&mod=Publications%3A%3AArticle&mid=8F3A7027421841978F18BE895F87F791&id=47C5DE563581487B9E4394B939909F9E&tier=4 |date=March 3, 2009 |title=Benjamin Holt (1849–1920): The Father of the Caterpillar tractor |first=Gwenyth Laird |last=Pernie |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120803071138/http://www.wastehandling.com/ME2/Audiences/dirmod.asp?sid=&nm=&type=Publishing&mod=Publications%3A%3AArticle&mid=8F3A7027421841978F18BE895F87F791&id=47C5DE563581487B9E4394B939909F9E&tier=4 |archive-date=August 3, 2012 |df=mdy }}</ref>

Contemporaneously, [[Richard Hornsby & Sons]] in Grantham, Lincolnshire, England, developed a steel plate-tracked vehicle, which it patented in 1904.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Barnes |first=William |title=Excavating Machinery, as Represented by Power Shovels, Drag Lines & Grabbing Cranes |publisher=E. Benn limited |year=1928 |pages=36 |language=en}}</ref> This tractor was the first to be steered using differential braking of 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.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Senior |first=Michael |title=Victory on the Western Front: The Development of the British Army 1914-1918 |publisher=Pen and Sword |year=2016 |isbn=978-1-78340-065-2 |location=Barnsley, UK |pages=86 |language=en}}</ref>

Company photographer Charles Clements, looking at the machine's upside-down image through his camera lens, commented that the track rising and falling over the carrier rollers looked like a [[caterpillar]],<ref name="about-inventors">{{cite web |url=http://inventors.about.com/od/bstartinventions/a/bulldozer.htm |title=History of Bulldozers |first=Mary |last=Bellis |publisher=About.com |access-date=2010-02-28|archive-url=https://archive.today/20121208161805/http://inventors.about.com/od/bstartinventions/a/bulldozer.htm|archive-date=8 December 2012}}</ref><ref name="acmoc2" /> and Holt seized on the [[metaphor]]. "Caterpillar it is. That's the name for it!"<ref name="laird" /> 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 a track frame measured {{convert|30|in}} high by {{convert|42|in}} wide and were {{convert|9|ft}} long. The tracks were {{convert|3|in}} by {{convert|4|in}} [[Sequoia sempervirens|redwood]] slats.<ref name="laird" />

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 the engine is carried").<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.kipnotes.com/AgriculturalMachinery.htm |title=Agricultural Machinery, Business History of Machinery Manufacturers |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121017162514/http://www.kipnotes.com/AgriculturalMachinery.htm |archive-date=October 17, 2012 |df=mdy }}</ref>

=== Headquarters locations ===
[[File:Holt East Peoria 1910 interior left.jpg|thumb|The Holt Caterpillar Co. factory in [[East Peoria, Illinois]], in 1910. Tractors were assembled in place before assembly lines were introduced. Holt bought the plant from the bankrupt Colean Manufacturing Co. in 1910.<ref name=journal28may>{{cite news|last=Gordon|first=Paul|title=Cat hits 100-year milestone|url=http://www.pjstar.com/business/x1999159909/Cat-hits-100-year-milestone|access-date=May 28, 2011|newspaper=Journal Star|date=February 15, 2010|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120402235016/http://www.pjstar.com/business/x1999159909/Cat-hits-100-year-milestone|archive-date=April 2, 2012|df=mdy-all}}</ref>]]
[[File:The Caterpillar Tractor Co. Factory, Peoria, Ill.jpg|thumb|A postcard showing the Caterpillar Tractor Co. plant in [[East Peoria|Peoria]], period 1930–1945]]

On February 2, 1910,<ref name=acmoc2>{{cite web|url=http://www.acmoc.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=14&Itemid=35&limit=1&limitstart=2 |title=Caterpillar History |access-date=2010-02-28 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110719235759/https://www.acmoc.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=14&Itemid=35&limit=1&limitstart=2 |archive-date=July 19, 2011 |df=mdy-all }}</ref> Holt opened up a plant in [[East Peoria]], Illinois, led by his nephew Pliny Holt. There, Pliny met farm implement dealer [[Murray M. Baker|Murray Baker]], who knew of an empty factory that had been recently built to manufacture farm implements and steam [[traction engine]]s. Baker, who later became the first executive vice president of what became Caterpillar Tractor Company, wrote to Holt headquarters in Stockton and described the plant of the bankrupt Colean Manufacturing Co. of East Peoria.
On October 25, 1909, Pliny Holt purchased the factory,<ref name=leffingwell/> and immediately began operations with 12 employees.<ref name="gordon">{{cite web|url=http://www.allbusiness.com/company-activities-management/company-locations/13937416-1.html |title=Cat hits 100-year milestone: Holt Caterpillar started operations in East Peoria in 1910 with 12 employees|first= Paul |last=Gordon|publisher=Journal Star|location=Peoria, Illinois|date=February 16, 2010 |access-date=2010-02-28 }}</ref> Holt incorporated it as the Holt Caterpillar Company, although he did not trademark the name Caterpillar until August 2, 1910.<ref name="acmoc2"/>

The addition of a plant in the [[Midwest]], despite the hefty [[Capital (economics)|capital]] needed to retool the plant, proved so profitable that only two years later, the company employed 625 people and was exporting tractors to Argentina, Canada, and Mexico.<ref name="idch">{{Cite book| chapter-url = http://www.enotes.com/company-histories/caterpillar-inc/roots-late-19th-century-endeavors-best-holt | chapter = Caterpillar Inc: Roots in Late 19th-Century Endeavors of Best and Holt | title = International Directory of Company Histories | volume = 63 | publisher = [[St. James Press]] | location = [[Farmington Hills, Michigan]] | year = 2004 | isbn = 1-55862-508-9 | editor = Jay P. Pederson}}</ref> Tractors were built in both Stockton and East Peoria.<ref name="orleman">{{Cite book| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=uq07avP69BgC&pg=PA8 | title = Caterpillar | first = Eric C. | last = Orleman | publisher = MBI Publishing Company | year = 2006 | pages = 8–9 | access-date = July 13, 2009 | isbn=978-0-7603-2553-7}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|title=Newly Incorporated|date=January 13, 1892 }}</ref>

On January 31, 2017, the company announced plans to move their headquarters from Peoria to [[Deerfield, Illinois]], by the end of 2017.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Marotti|first=Lauren Zumbach, Ally|date=April 20, 2017|title=Caterpillar bypasses Chicago, picks Deerfield for global headquarters|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ct-caterpillar-headquarters-deerfield-0420-biz-20170419-story.html|access-date=2020-08-21|website=Chicago Tribune}}</ref> 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, 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."<ref>{{cite press release |url=https://www.caterpillar.com/en/news/corporate-press-releases/h/Caterpillar-to-Relocate-Global-Headquarters-to-Dallas-Fort-Worth-Area.html |title=Caterpillar to Relocate Global Headquarters to Dallas-Fort Worth Area |publisher=Caterpillar Inc. |date=June 14, 2022 |access-date=July 7, 2022}}</ref>

=== Use in World War I ===
The first [[tank]]s 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 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.<ref>{{cite web|url = http://www.caterpillar.com/company/history |title=Caterpillar History | access-date=2011-02-07}}</ref> When [[World War I]] broke out, 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 [[Artillery tractor|gun tractor]].<ref name="historic">{{cite web|url=http://www.historicroadways.co.uk/s-007.htm |title=Holt Caterpillar |access-date=2010-02-27 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091204121517/http://www.historicroadways.co.uk/s-007.htm |archive-date=December 4, 2009 }}</ref> Over the next four years, the Holt tractor became a major [[artillery tractor]], mainly used to haul medium guns such as the [[6 inch 26 cwt howitzer|6-inch howitzer]], the [[BL 60 pounder gun|60-pounder]], and later the [[BL 9.2 inch Howitzer|9.2-inch]] howitzer.<ref name="freeserver">{{cite web| url=http://www.landships.freeservers.com/new_pages/holt_tractor_info.htm |title=The Holt 15-ton Tractor| access-date=2011-02-26}}</ref>

Holt tractors were also the inspiration for the development of the British [[tank]], which profoundly altered ground warfare tactics.<ref name="laird"/><ref>{{cite web|url = http://www.holtremix.com/company/history.asp |title=HOLT CAT – Texas Caterpillar Dealer Equipment Sales and Service| year=2007| access-date=2010-02-24 |url-status = usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070419135813/http://www.holtremix.com/company/history.asp |archive-date=2007-04-19}}</ref> Major [[Ernest Dunlop Swinton|Ernest Swinton]], sent to France as an army [[war correspondent]], very soon saw the potential of a track-laying tractor.<ref name=swinton>{{Cite book|title=Eyewitness |first=Ernest|last=Swinton|author-link= Ernest Dunlop Swinton|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=I02-m4nZOa8C | isbn=978-0-405-04594-3 | year=1972 | publisher=Ayer Publishing}}</ref>{{rp|116}} 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."<ref name="freeserver"/>

=== Postwar challenges ===
Holt tractors had become well known during [[World War I]]. Military contracts formed 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 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.<ref name=ohecat/><ref name=acmoc3>{{cite web|url=http://www.acmoc.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=14&Itemid=35&limit=1&limitstart=3 |title=Caterpillar History |access-date=2010-02-28 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110719235730/https://www.acmoc.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=14&Itemid=35&limit=1&limitstart=3 |archive-date=July 19, 2011 }}</ref> 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 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 of 1920–21|depression]], further inhibiting sales. On December 5, 1920, 71-year-old Benjamin Holt died after a month-long illness.<ref name=acmoc3/><ref>{{Cite news|title=Pacific Rural Press|volume=100|number=24|date=December 11, 1920 }}</ref>

=== Caterpillar company formed (1925) ===
[[File:Caterpillar-60, 1931.jpg|thumb|A 60-horsepower Caterpillar Sixty being used for road work in the [[Cibola National Forest]], New Mexico, United States in 1931]]
[[File:Serpentine vtm cat d2 gnangarra.jpg|thumb|A [[Caterpillar D2]], introduced in 1938, at the Serpentine Vintage Tractor Museum, [[Serpentine, Western Australia]]]]
The banks and bankers who held the company's large debt forced the Holt board of directors to accept their candidate, Thomas&nbsp;A.&nbsp;Baxter, to succeed Benjamin Holt. Baxter initially cut 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 (Phipps Act)|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.<ref name=leffingwell>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=a_HbnkbSVhoC&q=holt+model+120+tractor&pg=PA60 |title= Classic Farm Tractors: History of the Farm Tractor |first= Randy|last= Leffingwell| isbn=978-0-7603-0246-0 | year=1996 | publisher=Crestline Imprints}}</ref>{{rp|66}} Both companies also faced fierce competition from the [[Fordson tractor|Fordson]] company.

Between 1907 and 1918, Best and Holt had spent about US$1.5 million in legal fees fighting each other in a number of [[breach of contract|contractual]], [[trademark infringement|trademark]], and [[patent infringement]] lawsuits.<ref name=acmoc6>{{cite web|url=http://www.acmoc.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=14&Itemid=35&limit=1&limitstart=6 |title=Caterpillar History |access-date=2010-02-28 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110719235829/https://www.acmoc.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=14&Itemid=35&limit=1&limitstart=6 |archive-date=July 19, 2011 }}</ref> Harry H. Fair of the bond brokerage house of Pierce, Fair & Company of San Francisco had helped to finance C.&nbsp;L.&nbsp;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.&nbsp;L.&nbsp;Best merged with the market leader Holt Caterpillar to form the Caterpillar Tractor Co.<ref>{{cite web|url =http://www.tractordata.com/farm-tractors/tractor-brands/best/best-tractors.html |title =Best Tractor History|access-date=2010-02-24}}</ref>

The new company was headquartered in San Leandro until 1930, when under the terms of the merger, it was moved to Peoria.<ref name=gordon/> 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.<ref name=ohecat>{{cite web
| url         = http://www.ohe.cat.com/cda/layout?m=85360&x=7
| title       = Caterpillar On-Highway Engines: About Us>History>Growth
| year        = 2007
| work        = ohe.cat.com
| publisher   = Caterpillar Inc
| archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20070804223846/http://ohe.cat.com/cda/layout?m=85360&x=7
| archive-date = August 4, 2007
| access-date  = February 24, 2010
}}</ref>

The Caterpillar company consolidated its product lines, offering only five track-type tractors: the [[Holt tractor#2 Ton|2&nbsp;Ton]], [[Holt tractor#5 Ton|5&nbsp;Ton]], and [[Holt tractor#10 Ton|10&nbsp;Ton]] from the Holt Manufacturing Company's old product line and the {{nowrap|[[Caterpillar 30]]}} and {{nowrap|[[Caterpillar 60]]}} from the C.&nbsp;L.&nbsp;Best Tractor Co.'s former product line. The 10&nbsp;Ton and 5&nbsp;Ton models were discontinued in 1926. In 1928, the 2&nbsp;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 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 [[Aerodrome|airfields]] and other facilities in the [[Asiatic-Pacific Theater|Pacific Theater of Operations]]. Caterpillar ranked 44th among United States corporations in the value of wartime military production contracts.<ref>[[Whiz Kids (Department of Defense)|Peck, Merton J.]] & [[Frederic M. Scherer|Scherer, Frederic M.]] ''The Weapons Acquisition Process: An Economic Analysis'' (1962) [[Harvard Business School]] p.619</ref> During 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.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-caterpillar-restructuring-idUSKCN1GS23J|title=Caterpillar's latest restructuring move could cut 880 jobs|newspaper=Reuters|date=March 16, 2018|via=www.reuters.com}}</ref>

=== Expansion in developing markets ===
[[File:Excavator, Caterpillar Inc. 2021052202.jpg|thumb|upright|Excavator displayed at the 2021 Changsha International Construction Equipment Exhibition, in Changsha, Hunan, China]]
Caterpillar built its first Russian facility in 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.<ref>{{cite web| url = https://www.americanmachinist.com/beyond-cutting-zone/caterpillar-manufacture-highway-trucks-russia | title = Caterpillar to Manufacture Off-Highway Trucks in Russia | author = Robert Brooks | date = November 6, 2011}}</ref> 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 {{convert|-25|C|order=flip}}. The facility construction was managed by the [[Lemminkäinen Group]] in [[Helsinki, Finland]].{{Citation needed|date=July 2010}}

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.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.kommersant.ru/doc/6364926|title=Caterpillar самосваливает из России|language=ru|date=2023-11-27|website=[[Kommersant]]}}</ref>

The $125 million Caterpillar Suzhou, [[People's Republic of China]] facility, manufactures medium-wheel loaders and motor graders, primarily for the Asian market. The first machine was scheduled for production in March 2009. URS Ausino, in San Francisco, California, manages facility construction.{{Citation needed|date=July 2010}}

Caterpillar has manufactured in [[Brazil]] since 1960.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://brasil.cat.com/cda/layout?m=273363&x=7|title=Caterpillar in Brazil|access-date=September 21, 2014|archive-date=March 11, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120311001336/http://brasil.cat.com/cda/layout?m=273363&x=7|url-status=dead}}</ref> In 2010 the company announced plans to further expand production of [[backhoe]] and small wheel loaders with a new factory.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cat.com/cda/files/2259581/7/062910%20Caterpillar%20Announces%20Plans%20for%20New%20Manufacturing%20Facility%20in%20Brazil.pdf|title=Caterpillar Announces Plans for New Manufacturing Facility in Brazil|access-date=September 21, 2014}}</ref>

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 August 2025, Caterpillar expected up to $1.5B in tariff costs for 2025, while Deere has already cut profit forecasts as farm equipment sales slump and tariff pressures intensify.<ref>{{Cite news |date=August 15, 2025 |title=Caterpillar, Deere count the costs of tariffs as soft demand limits pricing power |url=https://www.reuters.com/business/caterpillar-deere-count-costs-tariffs-soft-demand-limits-pricing-power-2025-08-15/}}</ref>

=== Acquisitions ===

In addition to increasing sales of its core products, much of Caterpillar's growth has been through acquisitions, including:

<!-- Please put entries into the table chronologically by date of acquisition, most recent at the bottom -->
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|+ Sortable table
|-
! scope="col" | Company or asset acquired
! scope="col" class="unsortable" | Location
! scope="col" | Date
! scope="col" | Acquired from
! scope="col" class="unsortable" | Products
! scope="col" class="unsortable" | Notes
|-
| [[Trackson]]
| Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States
| 1951<ref>{{Cite news|date=1951-12-20|title=CATERPILLAR BUYS TRACKSON COMPANY; Tractor Concern to Operate $2,592,000 Acquisition as Wholly Owned Subsidiary|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1951/12/20/archives/caterpillar-buys-trackson-company-tractor-concern-to-operate.html|access-date=2020-08-21|issn=0362-4331}}</ref>
|
| [[Traxcavator]]s (tracked loaders) and pipelayers
| "Traxcavator" became a Cat brand
|-
| Towmotor Corporation
| Mentor, Ohio, United States
| 1965<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.catlifttruck.com/jkcm/default.aspx?pg=4828|title=Cat Lift Trucks : About Cat|access-date=September 21, 2014}}</ref>
|
| Forklifts
| In 1992 became [[Mitsubishi Caterpillar Forklifts]], a joint venture 80% owned by [[Mitsubishi Heavy Industries]]. Marketed under both the Towmotor and Caterpillar brands – the Caterpillar brand changed to Cat Lift Trucks<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://case.edu/ech/articles/t/towmotor-corp|title=TOWMOTOR CORP.|date=December 14, 2021|website=Encyclopedia of Cleveland History &#124; Case Western Reserve University}}</ref>
|-
| [[Solar Turbines|Solar Division and Turbomach Division]]
| San Diego, California, United States
| 1981<ref>{{cite web|url=http://mysolar.cat.com/cda/layout?m=10683&x=7|title=Solar Turbines: About Solar|access-date=September 21, 2014|archive-date=May 25, 2024|archive-url=https://archive.today/20240525085234/https://www.webcitation.org/5z0Ll36FU?url=http://mysolar.cat.com/cda/layout%3Fm=10683|url-status=dead}}</ref>
| [[International Harvester|International Harvester Company]]
| Industrial [[gas turbine]]s
| Became [[Solar Turbines|Solar Turbines Incorporated]], a wholly owned subsidiary of Caterpillar Inc.
|-
| Balderson, Inc.
| Wamego, Kansas, United States
| 1990<ref>[http://archives.hcea.net/?p=creators/creator&id=264 Caterpillar Tractor Company – Caterpillar, Inc. (1925-) | Historical Construction Equipment Association]. archives.hcea.net (July 17, 2013). Retrieved on 2013–07–17.</ref>
| Balderson, Inc.
| Work Tools for Construction and Mining Equipment, e.g. buckets, blades, forks
| The name of Balderson, Inc., was changed to Caterpillar Work Tools, Inc. in 1998 and remains a wholly owned subsidiary of Caterpillar Inc.
|-
| Barber-Greene Co. Inc.
| Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States
| 1991<ref>{{cite news| url=http://www.bizjournals.com/twincities/stories/1997/03/17/story1.html | first=Jennifer | last=Ehrlich | title=Caterpillar to expand Brooklyn Park plant | date=1997-03-16}}</ref>
|
| Paving products
| Renamed Caterpillar Paving Products
|-
| [[Maschinenbau Kiel|Krupp MaK Maschinenbau GmbH]]
| [[Kiel]], Germany
| 1997<ref name="Caterpillar-Inc-Dec-1996-8-K">{{cite web|url=http://edgar.secdatabase.com/1339/1823096000039/filing-main.htm |title=Caterpillar Inc, Form 8-K, Current Report, Filing Date Dec 16, 1996 |publisher=secdatabase.com |access-date =Mar 20, 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.nytimes.com/1996/07/03/business/caterpillar-acquisition.html | work=The New York Times | title=Caterpillar Acquisition | date=1996-07-03}}</ref>
| Fried. Krupp GmbH
| Marine diesel engines
| Renamed MaK Motoren GmbH, a wholly owned subsidiary of Caterpillar Inc. and will continue to use the MaK brand name.
|-
| [[Perkins Engines]]
| [[Peterborough]], United Kingdom
| 1998<ref name="Caterpillar-Inc-Dec-1997-8-K">{{cite web|url=http://edgar.secdatabase.com/2678/1823097000045/filing-main.htm |title=Caterpillar Inc, Form 8-K, Current Report, Filing Date Dec 11, 1997 |publisher=secdatabase.com |access-date =Mar 20, 2013}}</ref>
| [[LucasVarity]]
| Small diesel engines
| Produces both Cat- and Perkins-branded engines
|-
| Kato Engineering
| Mankato, Minnesota, United States
| 1998<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.secinfo.com/dhPp.65.htm|title=Caterpillar Inc – 8-K – For 2/2/99|access-date=September 21, 2014}}</ref>
| Rockwell Automation, Inc.
| Large electrical generators
|
|-
| F.G. Wilson
| Larne, Northern Ireland
| 1999<ref name="Caterpillar-Inc-Jun-1996-8-K">{{cite web|url=http://edgar.secdatabase.com/1313/1823096000013/filing-main.htm |title=Caterpillar Inc, Form 8-K, Current Report, Filing Date Jun 4, 1996 |publisher=secdatabase.com |access-date =Mar 20, 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2009/jan/08/fg-wilson-job-cuts |title=FG Wilson engineering firm cuts 250 jobs |newspaper=The Guardian |date= January 8, 2009 |author=Henry McDonald |access-date= November 12, 2014}}</ref>
| Emerson Electric Company
| Generators, produces both Cat- and Olympian-branded generators
| Asset swap, Emerson acquired Kato Engineering from Caterpillar as part of transaction.
|-
| Earthmoving Equipment Division
| Chennai, India
| 2000<ref>[http://www.allbusiness.com/manufacturing/machinery-equipment-manufacturing/8087464-1.html] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081205030801/http://www.allbusiness.com/manufacturing/machinery-equipment-manufacturing/8087464-1.html|date=December 5, 2008}}</ref>
| [[Hindustan Motors]] Ltd.
| Construction equipment
| Renamed Caterpillar India, and the service and maintenance are provided by Birla Group's GMMCO Ltd.
|-
| Caterpillar Elphinstone
| [[Burnie]], Australia
| 2000<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0FZX/is_8_66/ai_64991321 |work=Diesel Progress North American Edition |title=CNH Sells Tractor Operations … Cat Buys The Rest Of Elphinstone … Parker Buys Wynn's … Manitowoc Consolidates – Brief Article |first=Mike |last=Osenga |year=2000 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160107161102/http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0FZX/is_8_66/ai_64991321 |archive-date=January 7, 2016 }}</ref>
| [[Elphinstone Group|Elphinstone]]
| Underground mining equipment
| Acquired 50% interest in joint venture from partner Elphinstone, renamed Caterpillar Underground Mining
|-
| Sabre Engines Ltd.
| Wimborne, United Kingdom
| 2000<ref>{{cite press release|url=http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/caterpillar-completes-acquisition-of-sabre-engines-ltd-72441587.html|title=Caterpillar Completes Acquisition of Sabre|access-date=August 25, 2016}}</ref>
| Sabre Group Ltd.
| Marine diesel engines
| Renamed Caterpillar Marine Power UK, produces both Cat- and Perkins-Sabre-branded engines
|-
| [[Bitelli|Bitelli SpA]]
| [[Minerbio]], Italy
| 2000<ref>{{cite web|url=http://rermag.com/mag/equipment_caterpillar_buys_italian/|title=Caterpillar Buys Italian Road Construction Firm|access-date=September 21, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111108200824/http://rermag.com/mag/equipment_caterpillar_buys_italian/|archive-date=November 8, 2011|url-status=dead}}</ref>
|
| Asphalt pavers, cold planers, compactors and other road maintenance products
| Merged into Caterpillar Paving Products
|-
| Wealdstone Engineering Ltd.
| Rushden, United Kingdom
| 2004<ref name="Caterpillar-Inc-Feb-2005-DEF-14A">{{cite web|url=http://pdf.secdatabase.com/997/0001047469-05-004570.pdf |title=Caterpillar Inc, Form DEF 14A, Filing Date Feb 24, 2005 |publisher=secdatabase.com |access-date =Mar 20, 2013}}</ref>
|
| Remanufacturer of gasoline and diesel engines
| Organized under Caterpillar Remanufacturing Services
|-
| Williams Technologies, Inc.
| Summerville, South Carolina, United States
| 2004<ref name="Caterpillar-Inc-Feb-2005-DEF-14A" />
| Delco Remy International Inc.
| Remanufacturer of automatic transmissions, torque converters and engines
| Organized under Caterpillar Remanufacturing Services
|-
| Turbomach SA
| [[Lavertezzo|Riazzino]], Switzerland
| 2004<ref name="Caterpillar-Inc-Feb-2005-10-K">{{cite web|url=http://edgar.secdatabase.com/175/1823005000218/filing-main.htm |title=Caterpillar Inc, Form 10-K, Annual Report, Filing Date Feb 24, 2005 |publisher=secdatabase.com |access-date =Mar 20, 2013}}</ref>
| Babcock Borsig AG
| Packager of industrial gas turbines and related systems
|
|-
| [[Progress Rail]]
| [[Albertville, Alabama]], United States
| 2006<ref name="Caterpillar-Inc-May-2006-8-K">{{cite web|url=http://pdf.secdatabase.com/1533/0000018230-06-000243.pdf |title=Caterpillar Inc, Form 8-K, Current Report, Filing Date May 16, 2006 |publisher=secdatabase.com |access-date =Mar 20, 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/caterpillar-buys-privately-held-rail/story.aspx?guid={4DAD5133-2E8D-4AB5-957A-0EC7A04FB76D}|title=Caterpillar buys privately held rail services firm for $1B|access-date=September 21, 2014}}</ref>
| One Equity Partners
| Supplier of railroad and transit system products and services, owner of [[Electro-Motive Diesel]]
|
|-
| Hindustan PowerPlus Ltd.
| [[Madagondapalli|Mathagondapalli]], Tamil Nadu, India
| 2006<ref name="Caterpillar-Inc-Feb-2007-10-K">{{cite web|url=http://edgar.secdatabase.com/2676/1823007000053/filing-main.htm |title=Caterpillar Inc, Form 10-K, Annual Report, Filing Date Feb 23, 2007 |publisher=secdatabase.com |access-date =Mar 20, 2013}}</ref><ref>[http://www.indusbusinessjournal.com/ME2/Audiences/dirmod.asp?sid=&nm=&type=Publishing&mod=Publications%3A%3AArticle&mid=8F3A7027421841978F18BE895F87F791&tier=4&id=5EF6A8877FAD4AA98C813E6732B6C85A&AudID=6EF55B05AA694954939FA7B6FB605DAB Caterpillar completes acquisition of joint-venture operations in India | Articles | South Asian Connection] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090605024347/http://www.indusbusinessjournal.com/ME2/Audiences/dirmod.asp?sid=&nm=&type=Publishing&mod=Publications%3A%3AArticle&mid=8F3A7027421841978F18BE895F87F791&tier=4&id=5EF6A8877FAD4AA98C813E6732B6C85A&AudID=6EF55B05AA694954939FA7B6FB605DAB |date=June 5, 2009 }}. Indusbusinessjournal.com. Retrieved on March 17, 2011.</ref>
| Hindustan Motors
| Engine components and heavy-duty diesel engines
| Buyout of joint venture formed in 1988, renamed Caterpillar Power India Private Ltd., merged into Caterpillar India in 2008
|-
| Eurenov S.A.S.
| Chaumont, France
| 2007<ref name="Caterpillar-Inc-Feb-2008-10-K">{{cite web|url=http://pdf.secdatabase.com/1009/0000018230-08-000052.pdf |title=Caterpillar Inc, Form 10-K, Annual Report, Filing Date Feb 22, 2008 |publisher=secdatabase.com |access-date =Mar 20, 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://news.thomasnet.com/companystory/517555|title=Caterpillar Completes Acquisition of European Remanufacturing Company, Eurenov S.A|access-date=September 21, 2014|archive-date=July 30, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200730105130/https://news.thomasnet.com/companystory/517555|url-status=dead}}</ref>
|
| Automotive component remanufacturing
| Organized under Caterpillar Remanufacturing Services
|-
| Forestry Division of Blount International, Inc.
| Portland, Oregon, United States
| 2007<ref name="Caterpillar-Inc-Feb-2008-10-K" /><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.siteprepmag.com/Articles/Industry_News/BNP_GUID_9-5-2006_A_10000000000000198340|title=Caterpillar Announces Acquisition of Blount's Forestry Division and Transition of Pioneer Machinery to Six Caterpillar Dealers – Industry News – Site Prep|access-date=September 21, 2014|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120310065207/http://www.siteprepmag.com/Articles/Industry_News/BNP_GUID_9-5-2006_A_10000000000000198340|archive-date=March 10, 2012|df=mdy-all}}</ref>
| Blount International, Inc.
| Timber harvesting and processing equipment, loaders and attachments
|
|-
| Shandong Engineering Machinery (SEM)
| China
| 2008<ref name="Caterpillar-Inc-Mar-2008-8-K">{{cite web|url=http://edgar.secdatabase.com/1067/1823008000110/filing-main.htm |title=Caterpillar Inc, Form 8-K, Current Report, Filing Date Mar 12, 2008 |publisher=secdatabase.com |access-date =Mar 20, 2013}}</ref>
|
| Wheel loaders
|
|-
| Lovat Inc.
| Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| 2008<ref name="Caterpillar-Inc-Aug-2008-10-Q">{{cite web|url=http://pdf.secdatabase.com/1232/0000018230-08-000275.pdf |title=Caterpillar Inc, Form 10-Q, Quarterly Report, Filing Date Aug 1, 2008 |publisher=secdatabase.com |access-date =Mar 20, 2013}}</ref>
|
| [[Tunnel boring machine]]s
|2 April 2008: "This acquisition is Caterpillar's entry into the rapidly expanding tunnel boring machine business, and it represents an excellent strategic fit for our companies and the customers we serve around the world," – Stu Levenick, Caterpillar group president.
2 May 2013: "We continuously evaluate our strategic portfolio to ensure alignment with our long-term strategy and have concluded 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.
|-
| Shin Caterpillar Mitsubishi Ltd.
| Sagami & Akashi, Japan
| 2008<ref name="Caterpillar-Inc-Aug-2008-10-Q" /><ref>{{Cite news | url=https://www.reuters.com/article/pressRelease/idUS68184+26-Mar-2008+PRN20080326 | title=Caterpillar, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and Shin Caterpillar Mitsubishi Announce | date=2008-03-26 | work=Reuters | url-status=dead | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090905014118/http://www.reuters.com/article/pressRelease/idUS68184+26-Mar-2008+PRN20080326 | archive-date=September 5, 2009 | df=mdy-all }}</ref>
| Mitsubishi Heavy Industries
| Construction equipment
| Joint venture since 1963, after purchase of majority renamed Caterpillar Japan Ltd.
|-
| MGE Equipamentos & Serviços Ferroviários
| Diadema, São Paulo, Brazil
| 2008<ref name="Caterpillar-Inc-Feb-2009-10-K">{{cite web|url=http://pdf.secdatabase.com/2353/0000018230-09-000063.pdf |title=Caterpillar Inc, Form 10-K, Annual Report, Filing Date Feb 20, 2009 |publisher=secdatabase.com |access-date =Mar 20, 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.streetinsider.com/Mergers+and+Acquisitions/Caterpillar+%28CAT%29+Acquires+Stock+of+MGE+Equipamentos+&+Servicos/3767123.html|title=Caterpillar (CAT) Acquires Stock of MGE Equipamentos & Servicos|work=StreetInsider.com|access-date=September 21, 2014}}</ref>
|
| Railroad equipment remanufacturing
| Subsidiary of Progress Rail
|-
| Gremada Industries, Inc.
| West Fargo, North Dakota, United States
| 2008<ref name="Caterpillar-Inc-Oct-2008-10-Q">{{cite web|url=http://pdf.secdatabase.com/1332/0000018230-08-000375.pdf |title=Caterpillar Inc, Form 10-Q, Quarterly Report, Filing Date Oct 31, 2008 |publisher=secdatabase.com |access-date =Mar 20, 2013}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news | url=https://www.reuters.com/article/pressRelease/idUS133430+16-Jun-2008+PRN20080616 | title=Caterpillar to Expand Remanufacturing Business With Acquisition of Certain Gremada | date=2008-06-16 | work=Reuters | url-status=dead | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090908221856/http://www.reuters.com/article/pressRelease/idUS133430+16-Jun-2008+PRN20080616 | archive-date=September 8, 2009 | df=mdy-all }}</ref>
| Gremada Industries, Inc.
| Remanufacturing transmissions, torque converters, and final drives
| Organized under Caterpillar Remanufacturing Services
|-
| Twin City Signal Inc.
| Hudson, Wisconsin, United States
| 2008<ref>[http://www.rtands.com/newsflash/on-the-right-track-twin-city-signal.html On the right track: Twin City Signal – Railway Track and Structures] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120603105131/http://www.rtands.com/newsflash/on-the-right-track-twin-city-signal.html |date=June 3, 2012 }}. Rtands.com (August 28, 2009). Retrieved on 2011–03–17.</ref>
|
| Signaling, traffic control
| Division of Progress Rail
|-
| JCS Co., Ltd.
| Yangsan City, Kyungnam, South Korea
| 2009<ref name="Caterpillar-Inc-May-2010-10-Q">{{cite web|url=http://pdf.secdatabase.com/858/0000018230-10-000234.pdf |title=Caterpillar Inc, Form 10-Q, Quarterly Report, Filing Date May 3, 2010 |publisher=secdatabase.com |access-date =Mar 20, 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cat.com/cda/files/2007651/7/113009%20Caterpillar%20Announces%20Acquisition%20of%20JCS%20Co%20Ltd.pdf|title=Caterpillar Announces Acquisition of JCS Co., Ltd.|access-date=September 21, 2014}}</ref>
| Jinsung T.E.C. Co., Ltd.
| Seal technology
|
|-
| GE Inspection Products
| Erie, Pennsylvania, United States
| 2010<ref>[http://www.progressrail.com/news-ge-transportation.asp Progress Rail Acquires GE Transportation's Inspection Products Business – Progress Rail Services]. Progressrail.com (March 2, 2010). Retrieved on 2011–03–17.</ref>
| GE Transportation
| Rail inspection products
| Division of Progress Rail
|-
| FCM Rail Ltd.
| Fenton, Michigan, United States
| 2010<ref name="Caterpillar-Inc-Jul-2010-10-Q">{{cite web|url=http://edgar.secdatabase.com/846/110465910040750/filing-main.htm |title=Caterpillar Inc, Form 10-Q, Quarterly Report, Filing Date Jul 30, 2010 |publisher=secdatabase.com |access-date =Mar 20, 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D9FI73L00.htm |title=Caterpillar unit buys FCM Rail |work=Businessweek.com |access-date=September 21, 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160107161102/http://www.businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D9FI73L00.htm |archive-date=January 7, 2016 |df=mdy }}</ref>
|
| Rail maintenance equipment leasing
| Division of Progress Rail
|-
| Zeit Comercio e Montagem de Equipamentos Ltda
| Curitiba, Parana, Brazil
| 2010<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.progressiverailroading.com/news/article.asp?id=23263|title=Updates from Portec Rail, MGE, Eckert Seamans and ShipXpress|work=Progressive Railroading|access-date=September 21, 2014}}</ref>
|
| Automation and electrical equipment for locomotives and other industries
| Acquired by MGE, a division of Progress Rail
|-
| [[Electro-Motive Diesel]]
| [[La Grange, Illinois]], United States
| 2010<ref name="Caterpillar-Inc-Jun-2010-8-K">{{cite web|url=http://edgar.secdatabase.com/893/1823010000269/filing-main.htm |title=Caterpillar Inc, Form 8-K, Current Report, Filing Date Jun 1, 2010 |publisher=secdatabase.com |access-date =Mar 20, 2013}}</ref>
| Greenbriar Equity Group LLC, Berkshire Partners LLC, ''et al.''
| Railroad locomotives and large diesel engines
| Wholly owned subsidiary of Progress Rail
|-
| Underground Imaging Technologies, Inc. (UIT)
| Latham, New York, United States
| 2010<ref>[http://www.forconstructionpros.com/online/Acquisition-Positions-Caterpillar-to-Deliver-Subsurface-Imaging-and-Mapping-Services/1FCP16840 Acquisition Positions Caterpillar to Deliver Subsurface Imaging and Mapping Services] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110711015908/http://www.forconstructionpros.com/online/Acquisition-Positions-Caterpillar-to-Deliver-Subsurface-Imaging-and-Mapping-Services/1FCP16840 |date=July 11, 2011 }}. Forconstructionpros.com (January 12, 2011). Retrieved on 2011–03–17.</ref>
|
| Geophysical services, specializing in providing three-dimensional representations of underground utilities
| Organized under Cat Advanced Systems Division
|-
| Caterpillar Xuzhou Ltd
| Xuzhou, China
| 2010<ref>[http://www.chinaknowledge.com/Newswires/News_Detail.aspx?type=1&cat=CMP&NewsID=%2034871 China Business News: Caterpillar to buyout Caterpillar Xuzhou]. Chinaknowledge.com (June 29, 2010). Retrieved on 2011–03–17.</ref>
| [[XCMG|XCMG Group]]
| Construction equipment
| Joint venture since 1995, will become wholly owned subsidiary Caterpillar Xuzhou
|-
| CleanAIR Systems, Inc.
| Santa Fe, New Mexico, United States
| 2010<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.hawthornecat.com/readNews.htm?id=38|title=Caterpillar Emissions Solutions Expands Capabilities Through Acquisition of CleanAIR Systems|access-date=September 21, 2014|archive-date=March 10, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120310065207/http://www.hawthornecat.com/readNews.htm?id=38|url-status=dead}}</ref>
|
| Customized stationary aftertreatment solutions for internal combustion engines
| Wholly owned subsidiary of Caterpillar Inc. organized under Customer Services Support Division
|-
| [[MWM GmbH|MWM Holding GmbH]]
| Mannheim, Germany
| 2010<ref name="Caterpillar-Inc-Nov-2011-10-Q">{{cite web|url=http://pdf.secdatabase.com/1422/0001104659-11-060986.pdf |title=Caterpillar Inc, Form 10-Q, Quarterly Report, Filing Date Nov 4, 2011 |publisher=secdatabase.com |access-date =Mar 20, 2013}}</ref><ref name="reuters.com">{{cite news| url=https://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE69L1IF20101022 | work=Reuters | title=Caterpillar buys 3i's engine maker MWM for $810 million | date=2010-10-22}}</ref>
| 3i Group Plc
| Gas and diesel powered generator sets
| will become part of Caterpillar's Electric Power division (formerly ''Deutz Power Systems'' division of [[Deutz-Fahr]])
|-
| [[Bucyrus International|Bucyrus International, Inc.]]
| South Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States
| 2011<ref name="Caterpillar-Inc-Jul-2011-8-K">{{cite web|url=http://pdf.secdatabase.com/2333/0000018230-11-000376.pdf |title=Caterpillar Inc, Form 8-K, Current Report, Filing Date Jul 8, 2011 |publisher=secdatabase.com |access-date =Mar 20, 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.caterpillar.com/cda/files/2846365/7/070811.Caterpillar+Completes+Acquisition+of+Bucyrus.pdf|title=Caterpillar Completes Acquisition of Bucyrus|access-date=September 21, 2014}}</ref>
|
| Surface and underground mining equipment
| Transaction closed without issuing new equity on July 8, 2011, in firm's largest acquisition ever, valued at $8.8 billion.
|-
| [[Pyroban|Pyroban Group Ltd]]
| Shoreham, UK
| 2011<ref name="Caterpillar-Inc-Nov-2011-10-Q" /><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cat.com/cda/files/3027453/7/Caterpillar+Acquires+Pyroban+Statement+FINAL.doc.|title=Cat – Products & Services – North America – Caterpillar|access-date=September 21, 2014}}</ref>
|
| Fire and explosion prevention solutions for engines and equipment
|
|-
| [[Berg Propulsion]]
| [[Hönö]], Gothenburg, Sweden
| 2013<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cat.com/en_ZA/news/engine-press-releases/caterpillar-unveilscatsup174supmarinepropulsionsystemssuccessful.html|title=Caterpillar Unveils Cat® Marine Propulsion Systems, Successfully Completes Acquisition of Johan Walter Berg AB|access-date=June 24, 2020|archive-date=October 24, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201024142816/https://www.cat.com/en_ZA/news/engine-press-releases/caterpillar-unveilscatsup174supmarinepropulsionsystemssuccessful.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>
|
| Controllable-pitch propellers for the marine industry
|
|-
| Marble Robot, Inc.
| San Francisco, California, USA
| 2020<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.waste360.com/business/caterpillar-acquires-company-focused-robot-and-autonomy-technology|title=Caterpillar Acquires Company Focused on Robot and Autonomy Technology|access-date=June 24, 2020|archive-date=October 25, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201025084517/https://www.waste360.com/business/caterpillar-acquires-company-focused-robot-and-autonomy-technology|url-status=dead}}</ref>
|
|  Robotics, machinery for groceries, prescriptions, and package delivery
|
|-
|RPMGlobal Holdings 
|Brisbane, Australia
|2025<ref>{{Cite web |last=smishra |date=2025-10-13 |title=Caterpillar to acquire mining software solutions provider RPMGlobal |url=https://www.mining-technology.com/news/caterpillar-acquire-mining-software-rpmglobal/ |access-date=2025-10-13 |website=Mining Technology |language=en-US}}</ref>
|
|Mining software solutions company
|Deal was valued at $728 million.
|}
<!-- Please input entries into the table chronologically by date of acquisition, most recent at the bottom -->

=== Divestitures ===

Caterpillar occasionally divests assets that do not align with its core competencies.

<!-- Please input entries into the table chronologically by date of divestiture, most recent at the bottom -->
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|+ Sortable table
|-
! scope="col" | Asset Divested
! scope="col" class="unsortable" | Location
! scope="col" | Date
! scope="col" | Purchaser
! scope="col" class="unsortable" | Products
! scope="col" class="unsortable" | Notes
|-
| Turbomach Division of Solar Turbines Incorporated
| San Diego, California, United States
| 1985<ref name=turbomachsunstrand>{{cite web |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/1985/04/20/caterpillar-to-sell-turbine-division-to-sundstrand/ |title=Caterpillar To Sell Turbine Division To Sundstrand |first=Mary Holm |last=Ansley |date=April 20, 1985 |work=Chicago Tribune  |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110807121908/http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1985-04-20/business/8501230692_1_sundstrand-caterpillar-solar-turbines |archive-date=August 7, 2011 |access-date=November 22, 2010 |quote=Sundstrand Corp. plans to buy the Turbomach unit of Caterpillar Tractor Co. for $100 million in cash plus royalties based on future sales... |url-status=live |df=mdy }}</ref>
| Sunstrand Corporation
| [[Auxiliary power unit]]s
| Caterpillar's only aerospace asset, not a core competency, sold to longtime partner
|-
| Kato Engineering
| Mankato, Minnesota, United States
| 1999<ref name="Caterpillar-Inc-Feb-1999-8-K">{{cite web|url=http://edgar.secdatabase.com/2310/1823099000010/filing-main.htm |title=Caterpillar Inc, Form 8-K, Current Report, Filing Date Feb 4, 1999 |publisher=secdatabase.com |access-date =Mar 20, 2013}}</ref>
| Emerson Electric Company
| Large electrical generators
| Asset swap. Caterpillar acquired F.G. Wilson from Emerson as part of transaction.
|-
| Agricultural equipment assets
| DeKalb, Illinois, United States
| 2002<ref name="Caterpillar-Inc-Dec-2001-8-K">{{cite web|url=http://edgar.secdatabase.com/2895/1823001500106/filing-main.htm |title=Caterpillar Inc, Form 8-K, Current Report, Filing Date Dec 17, 2001 |publisher=secdatabase.com |access-date =Mar 20, 2013}}</ref>
| AGCO Corporation
| Design, assembly and marketing of [[Challenger Tractor|Challenger track tractors]]
| Although founded as an agricultural equipment manufacturer, Caterpillar exited the business with this sale.
|-
| Preferred Group of Mutual Funds
| not applicable
| 2006<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.marketwatch.com/story/t-rowe-price-to-acquire-caterpillar-unit-funds|title=T. Rowe Price to acquire Caterpillar unit funds|author=Kathie O'Donnell|access-date=September 21, 2014}}</ref>
| T. Rowe Price Group Inc.
| Mutual funds
| Caterpillar Investment Management Ltd. decided to exit the investment management business.
|-
| Pioneer Machinery
| West Columbia, South Carolina, United States
| 2007<ref>{{cite news| url=http://www.bizjournals.com/triangle/stories/2007/11/26/story6.html | title=Caterpillar buys Blount's local unit | date=2007-11-26}}</ref>
| Consortium of six Caterpillar dealers
| Distributor of forestry equipment
|
|-
| ASV, Inc.
| Grand Rapids, Minnesota, United States
| 2008<ref>[http://www.allbusiness.com/company-activities-management/company-structures-ownership/14744441-1.html Terex Corporation acquires ASV | Banking & Finance > Financial Markets & Investing from]. AllBusiness.com. Retrieved on March 17, 2011.</ref>
| Terex Minnesota, Inc.
| Rubber track machines
| Caterpillar formerly held 23.5% of ASV outstanding shares before supporting the purchase by Terex
|-
| Caterpillar Logistics Services
| Morton, IL, United States
| 2012<ref name="Caterpillar-Inc-Nov-2012-10-Q">{{cite web|url=http://pdf.secdatabase.com/797/0000018230-12-000506.pdf |title=Caterpillar Inc, Form 10-Q, Quarterly Report, Filing Date Nov 2, 2012 |publisher=secdatabase.com |access-date =Mar 20, 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.platinumequity.com/news/697/caterpillar-completes-sale-of-third-party-logistics-business-to-platinum-equity|title=Platinum Equity » News – Caterpillar Completes Sale of Third-Party Logistics Business to Platinum Equity|access-date=September 21, 2014}}</ref>
| [[Platinum Equity|Platinum Equity, LLC]]
| Logistics Services & Warehousing Solutions
| Caterpillar retains a 35% equity stake. Business renamed [https://www.neovialogistics.com/ Neovia Logistics Services LLC]
|}
<!-- Please input entries into the table chronologically by date of divestiture, most recent at the bottom -->

{| class="wikitable"
|+Historical financial data in billions of US dollars<ref>{{cite web|title=Annual Report 2005 on SEC Filing Form 10-K|url=https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/18230/000001823006000262/ex_13.htm#fiveyrsum|date=2006-05-31|publisher=Caterpillar, Inc.|access-date=2017-02-25|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Annual Report 2010 on SEC Filing Form 10-K|url=https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/18230/000110465911008938/a10-18643_1ex13.htm#FiveyearFinancialSummary_234815|date=2011-02-22|publisher=Caterpillar, Inc.|access-date=2017-02-25|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Annual Report 2015 on SEC Filing Form 10-K|url=https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/18230/000001823016000410/cat_10-kx12312015.htm#sAEC60CADDD48EE3B3F5AD894AB1716A6|date=2016-02-16|publisher=Caterpillar, Inc.|access-date=2017-02-25|language=en}}</ref><ref name="ar2016">{{cite web|title=Annual Report 2016 on SEC Filing Form 10-K|url=https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/18230/000001823017000041/cat_10-kx12312016.htm|date=2017-02-15|publisher=Caterpillar Inc.|access-date=2017-02-25|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.macrotrends.net/stocks/charts/CAT/caterpillar/financial-statements|title=Caterpillar Financial Statements 2005-2018 {{!}} CAT|website=www.macrotrends.net|access-date=2018-10-30}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Annual Report 2022 on SEC Filing Form 10-K|url=https://www.sec.gov/ix?doc=/Archives/edgar/data/18230/000001823023000011/cat-20221231.htm|date=2023-02-15|publisher=Caterpillar, Inc.|access-date=2023-07-20|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Annual Report 2023 on SEC Filing Form 10-K|url=https://www.sec.gov/ix?doc=/Archives/edgar/data/18230/000001823024000009/cat-20231231.htm|date=2024-02-16|publisher=Caterpillar, Inc.|access-date=2024-05-29|language=en}}</ref>
! Year !! 2001 !! 2002 !! 2003 !! 2004 !! 2005 !! 2006 !! 2007 !! 2008 !! 2009 !! 2010 !! 2011 !! 2012 !! 2013 !! 2014 !! 2015 !! 2016 !! 2017 !!2018 !! 2019 !! 2020 !! 2021 !! 2022 !! 2023
|-
| Revenue || 20.51 || 20.19 || 22.81 || 30.31 || 36.34 || 41.52 || 44.96 || 51.32 || 32.37 || 42.59 || 60.14 || 65.88 || 55.66 || 55.18 || 47.01 || 38.54 || 45.46 || 54.72 || 53.80 || 41.75 || 50.97 || 59.43 || 67.06
|-
| Net Income || 0.805 || 0.798 || 1.099 || 2.035 || 2.854 || 3.537 || 3.541 || 3.557 || 0.895 || 2.700 || 4.928 || 5.397 || 6.556 || 2.452 || 2.512 || −0.067 || 0.743 || 6.147 || 6.093 || 2.998 || 6.489 || 6.705 || 10.34
|-
| Total Assets || 30.49 || 32.71 || 36.71 || 43.10 || 47.07 || 51.45 || 56.13 || 67.78 || 60.04 || 64.02 || 81.22 || 88.83 || 84.76 || 84.50 || 78.34 || 74.70 || 76.96 || 78.51 || 78.45 || 78.32 || 82.79 || 81.94 || 87.48
|-
| Employees (thousands) || 70.68 || 70.97 || 67.83 || 73.03 || 81.67 || 90.16 || 97.44 || 106.5 || 99.36 || 98.50 || 113.6 || 127.8 || 122.5 || 115.6 || 110.8 || 99.5 || 98.4 || 104.9 || 102.3 || 97.3 || 107.7 || 109.1 || 113.2
|}

==Business lines==
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.<ref name=about/> As of 2022, Caterpillar reports its financials using four business segments: construction industries, resource industries, energy & transportation, and financial products.<ref>{{cite report |date= February 1, 2022 |title= FORM 10-K |url= https://d18rn0p25nwr6d.cloudfront.net/CIK-0000018230/b1a22ff4-00ae-4d66-8bad-0115d9ca6658.pdf |publisher= Caterpillar, Inc. |page= 1 |access-date= February 10, 2023 |quote= Currently, we have five operating segments, of which four are reportable segments and are described below: Construction Industries, Resource Industries, Energy & Transportation, Financial Products}}</ref>

===Machinery===
[[File:Caterpillar 906H2, Burg 01.jpg|thumb|Caterpillar 906H2 wheel loader]]
Caterpillar has a list of some 400 products for purchase through its dealer network. Caterpillar's line of machines range from tracked tractors to [[excavator|hydraulic excavator]]s, [[backhoe|backhoe loaders]], [[Grader|motor graders]], off-highway trucks, [[loader (equipment)|wheel loaders]], agricultural [[tractor]]s, and locomotives. Caterpillar machinery is used in the construction, [[road construction|road-building]], mining, [[forestry]], energy, transportation, and material-handling industries.

Caterpillar 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;<ref>{{cite web|url=http://brasil.cat.com|title=Cat – Produtos e Serviços – América Latina – Caterpillar|access-date=August 5, 2015|archive-date=September 7, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150907120902/http://brasil.cat.com/|url-status=dead}}</ref> [[India]]; and the [[People's Republic of China]]. Large wheel loaders are manufactured exclusively in the United States on three separate assembly lines at Aurora, Illinois.

===On-road trucks===
Caterpillar began selling a line of on-road [[truck]]s in 2011, the [[Cat CT660]], a [[Class 8 truck|Class 8 vocational truck]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cat.com/en_US/products/new/equipment/on-highway-trucks.html|title=On-highway truck|access-date=September 21, 2014}}</ref>
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 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.”<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.caterpillar.com/en/news/corporate-press-releases/h/caterpillar-to-end-production-of-on-highway-vocational-trucks.html|title=Caterpillar &#124; Caterpillar to End Production of On-Highway Vocational Trucks|website=www.caterpillar.com}}</ref>

===Engines and gas turbines===
[[File:Lifeboat Engines.JPG|right|thumb|Twin Caterpillar 3208T engines powering the [[Clogher Head]] lifeboat (Ireland)]]
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 the company's own vehicles, are used as the [[prime mover (locomotive)|prime mover]]s in [[Diesel locomotive|locomotives]], [[Semi-trailer truck|semi truck]]s, marine vessels, and ships, as well as providing the power source for [[peak-load power plant]]s and [[electrical generator|emergency generator]]s.

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.<ref name=EngineBuilder/> Caterpillar decreased emissions and noise 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.<ref name=EngineBuilder>{{cite news|last1=McDonald|first1=Bob|title=Understanding and Profiting From the Caterpillar C7 – Engine Builder Magazine|url=http://www.enginebuildermag.com/2012/09/understanding-and-profiting-from-the-caterpillar-c7/|work=Engine Builder Magazine|date=27 September 2012}}</ref> In 2003 Caterpillar started selling a new version of this engine called the [[C-7 (diesel engine)|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.<ref name=EngineBuilder/> In 2007, as [[ultra-low-sulfur diesel]] became required in North America, Caterpillar updated the C7 to use [[common rail]] fuel injectors and improved ACERT electronics.<ref name=EngineBuilder/><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.pitandquarry.com/pitandquarry/article/articleDetail.jsp?id=327472|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060615190910/http://www.pitandquarry.com/pitandquarry/article/articleDetail.jsp?id=327472|url-status=dead|archive-date=2006-06-15|title=Caterpillar demonstrates 2007 compliant on-highway engine|access-date=2007-08-31 |publisher=Pit & Quarry}}</ref>

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 the on-highway diesel engine market in the United States before updated 2010 [[U.S. Environmental Protection Agency]] (EPA) [[emission standard]]s took effect,<ref>{{cite web|title=Caterpillar exits on-highway engine business|url=http://www.todaystrucking.com/caterpillar-exits-on-highway-engine-business|work=[[Today's Trucking]]|access-date=October 13, 2012}}</ref> as costly changes to the engines, which only constituted a small percentage of Caterpillar's total engine sales, would be likely.<ref>{{cite web|last=Hinton |first=Christopher |title=Caterpillar signs alliance deal with Navistar |url=http://articles.marketwatch.com/2008-06-12/news/30755922_1_caterpillar-construction-and-mining-equipment-cummins |work=MarketWatch |publisher=The Wall Street Journal |access-date=October 13, 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130509162049/http://articles.marketwatch.com/2008-06-12/news/30755922_1_caterpillar-construction-and-mining-equipment-cummins |archive-date=May 9, 2013 |df=mdy }}</ref>

In October 2010, Caterpillar announced it would buy German engine-manufacturer [[MWM GmbH]] from [[3i]] for $810 million.<ref name="reuters.com"/>

=== Caterpillar Defense Products ===
<!-- "defence" is how Caterpillar prefers to spell the word "defense" in the U.K., and is reliably sourced to Cat's own web site; do not change this spelling. -->
[[File:Caterpillar Paver at Naval Outlying Field Whitehouse.jpg|thumb|Caterpillar Paver at naval aircraft taxiway in [[Jacksonville, Florida]]]]
The Caterpillar Defence Products<ref>[http://unitedkingdom.cat.com/cda/layout?m=105662&x=7 Caterpillar Defence Products] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120226200321/http://unitedkingdom.cat.com/cda/layout?m=105662 |date=February 26, 2012 }}</ref> subsidiary, headquartered in [[Shrewsbury]], United Kingdom, provides diesel engines, automatic transmissions, and other parts for the UK's [[Challenger 2 tank#Titan|Titan]] [[armored bridge layer]], [[Challenger 2 tank#Trojan|Trojan]] [[combat engineering vehicle|combat engineering tank]], [[Terrier vehicle|Terrier]] [[combat engineering vehicle]]s, and [[tank transporter]]s; the [[Romania]]n [[MLI-84]] [[armored personnel carrier]]; and the [[Switzerland|Swiss]] [[Mowag Piranha|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 [[Combat Vehicle 90|CV90]] family of [[infantry fighting vehicle]]s used by 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 {{sclass|Virginia|submarine|0}} [[nuclear submarine]]s. Caterpillar diesel engines are also used in {{sclass|San Antonio|amphibious transport dock}}s, [[Spanish Navy|Spanish]] {{sclass|Álvaro de Bazán|frigate}}s, [[Royal Navy|British]] {{sclass2|River|offshore patrol vessel}}s, [[Mexican Navy|Mexican]] {{sclass|Sierra|corvette|0}} patrol boats,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.armedforces.co.uk/companies/raq3f8ab10ac700f |title=Caterpillar Defence Products
|access-date=2007-08-04 |work=Armed Forces – The Defence Suppliers Directory |publisher=R & F Defence Publications}}</ref> and [[Royal Malaysian Navy|Malaysian]] {{sclass|Kedah|offshore patrol vessel|0}} [[MEKO]] A-100 offshore patrol vessels.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.naval-technology.com/projects/meko/ |title=MEKO A Class Corvettes / Frigates, Germany |publisher=naval-technology.com |access-date=2008-09-16 |quote=The Kedah Class MEKO A-100 patrol vessel being built for Malaysia has a displacement of 1,650t. The propulsion system is based on two Caterpillar 3616 (5,450kW) diesel engines each driving two controllable pitch propellers.}}</ref> The poor network security of the Caterpillar engines put the United States' submarine force at risk for [[cyberattack]].<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.usni.org/2014/10/22/navsea-submarines-control-systems-risk-cyber-attack |title=NAVSEA: Submarines Control Systems are at Risk for Cyber Attack |last1=Majumdar |first1=Dave |date=22 October 2014 |website=usni.org |publisher=U.S. NAVAL INSTITUTE |access-date=22 October 2014}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://news.usni.org/2014/12/08/navsea-chief-talks-risk-cyber-new-era-naval-shipbuilding|title=NAVSEA Chief Talks Risk, Cyber and A New Era of Naval Shipbuilding|work=USNI News|access-date=August 5, 2015}}</ref> The 
[[File:IDF D9R bulldozer - Swords of Iron - 2023-11-02.jpg|thumb|[[IDF Caterpillar D9]] during the [[Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip]], November 2023]]
The [[Israel Defense Forces]]' use of highly modified [[Caterpillar D9]] bulldozers has led to Caterpillar being criticized by pro-Palestinian activists and some shareholders.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-1629321.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141029170544/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-1629321.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=October 29, 2014|title=Caterpillar digs in on Israeli bulldozer battle|access-date=September 21, 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://dir.salon.com/story/tech/feature/2004/05/13/bulldozers/index.html?pn=3 |title=Caterpillar faces an intifada |access-date=September 21, 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110606230749/http://dir.salon.com/story/tech/feature/2004/05/13/bulldozers/index.html?pn=3 |archive-date=June 6, 2011 |df=mdy }}</ref> In particular, 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.<ref name=sun_corrie>{{cite web
 |url=http://www.nysun.com/national/caterpillar-escapes-liability-for-israeli/62872/
 |title=Caterpillar Escapes Liability For Israeli Bulldozer Operations
 |first=Josh
 |last=Gerstein
 |date=2007-09-18
 |work=The New York Sun
 |publisher=TWO SL LLC
 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090625205541/http://www.nysun.com/national/caterpillar-escapes-liability-for-israeli/62872/
 |archive-date=June 25, 2009
 |url-status=dead
 |access-date=2010-09-19
}}</ref><ref name=reuters_appeals>{{Cite news
 |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/idUSN1733505920070917
 |title=Court dismisses suit over Israeli bulldozing
 |first=Adam
 |last=Tanner
 |date=2007-09-17
 |work=reuters.com
 |publisher=Thomson Reuters
 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100719190306/http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSN1733505920070917
 |archive-date=July 19, 2010
 |access-date=2010-09-19
 |quote=The U.S. government paid for the bulldozers, which were transferred to the Israel Defense Forces.
 |url-status=dead
 |df=mdy
 }}</ref> A lawsuit against [[Israel]] and [[Israeli Defense Ministry]] was rejected by an Israeli court, ruling that her death was an accident, caused by restricted field of view from the heavily armored operators' cabin.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20120907034835/http://elyon1.court.gov.il/heb/dover/5884939.pdf Court verdict] א (חי') ALIENE CORRIE 371-05 ואח' נ' מדינת ישראל, משרד הביטחון, August 28, 2012</ref> In 2014 [[Presbyterian Church (USA)]] sold its shares in Caterpillar citing the use of Caterpillar bulldozers involved in [[House demolition in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict|demolitions of Palestinian houses and Israeli surveillance activities in the West Bank]].<ref name="Cooperman2004-09-29">{{cite news
|first=Alan
|last=Cooperman
|url = https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A58039-2004Sep28.html
|title= Israel Divestiture Spurs Clash
|newspaper= [[The Washington Post]]
|date=29 September 2004
|access-date=22 July 2008
}}</ref><ref name=TimesOfIsrael>{{cite news|last=Stoil|first=Rebecca Shimoni|title='We cannot profit from the destruction of homes and lives,' Presbyterians say|url=http://www.timesofisrael.com/we-cannot-profit-from-the-destruction-of-homes-and-lives-presbyterians-say/|access-date=21 June 2014|newspaper=The Times of Israel|date=21 June 2014}}</ref> 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 the Israeli army, among them Caterpillar.<ref>{{cite news|last=Hassan|first=Anser|title=SF State to divest from weapons manufacturers in deal with pro-Palestinian students|url=https://abc7news.com/post/israel-hamas-war-san-francisco-state-university-divest-weapons-manufacturers-deal-pro-palestinian-students/15245464/|access-date=11 September 2024|newspaper=ABC7 News|date=30 August 2024}}</ref> On August 25, 2025, the [[Government Pension Fund of Norway|Norwegian sovereign wealth fund]] announced that it was divesting from Caterpillar, selling its $2.4 billion worth of shares. It deplored "There is no doubt that Caterpillar's products are being used to commit extensive and systematic violations of international humanitarian law". The fund particularly criticized that the company had "not implemented any measures to prevent such use".<ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-08-26 |title=Norway wealth fund divests from Caterpillar over Gaza 'rights violations' |url=https://www.rfi.fr/en/international-news/20250826-norway-wealth-fund-divests-from-caterpillar-over-gaza-rights-violations |access-date=2025-08-29 |website=RFI |language=en}}</ref>

===Caterpillar Electronics===
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 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.

===Agriculture products===
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 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 the USA. Claas and Caterpillar formed a joint venture, ''Claas Omaha'', to build [[combine harvester]]s 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 the Challenger and CAT names and livery to them. This ended Cat's venture into agriculture.

===Financial products and brand licensing===
[[File:Caterpillar-brand work boot.jpg|right|thumb|Caterpillar-branded work boots manufactured by [[Wolverine World Wide]]]]
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 the company. The company also generates income through the licensing of the Caterpillar and CAT trademarks and logos.<ref>{{cite report |date= November 30, 2022 |title= ONESTOP REPORT: Caterpillar Financial Services Corporation |url= https://app.dnbhoovers.com/company/28a0d020-af06-3f8f-8ffa-872d2856c35c/reportViewer?mode=onestop&reports=summary |publisher= |page= 3 |access-date= February 10, 2023 |quote=Cat Financial is a wholly owned finance subsidiary of Caterpillar Inc. and it provides retail and wholesale financing to customers and dealers around the world for Caterpillar products, as well as financing for vehicles, power generation facilities and marine vessels that, in most cases, incorporate Caterpillar products. Retail financing is primarily {{sic|comprised |hide=y|of}} installment sale contracts and other equipment-related loans, working capital loans, finance leases and operating leases. Wholesale financing to Caterpillar dealers consists primarily of inventory and rental fleet financing. A significant portion of Cat Financial's activity is conducted in North America, with additional offices and subsidiaries in Latin America, Asia/Pacific, Europe, Africa and the Middle East.}}</ref><ref>{{cite report |date= November 30, 2022 |title= ONESTOP REPORT: Caterpillar Insurance Services Corporation |url= https://app.dnbhoovers.com/company/a7f5b146-5db9-3131-bb53-b0eae36701fd/reportViewer?mode=onestop&reports=summary |publisher= |page= 2 |access-date= February 10, 2023 |quote=Agents primarily representing one or more insurance carriers, or brokers not representing any particular carriers primarily engaged as independent contractors in the sale or placement of insurance contracts with carriers, but not employees of the insurance carriers they represent. This industry also includes independent organizations concerned with insurance services.}}</ref>

Caterpillar sells the right to manufacture, market, and sell products bearing the Cat trademark to licensees worldwide. [[Wolverine World Wide]] is one example, a licensee since 1994 and currently the sole company licensed to produce Cat branded [[footwear]].<ref name=wolverine>{{cite web
 |url=http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Donald+Fites,+Former+Caterpillar+Inc.+CEO+%26+Chairman,+Joins+WWW+Board...-a053949287
 |title=Donald Fites, Former Caterpillar Inc. CEO & Chairman, Joins WWW Board of Directors.
 |date=1999-02-24
 |work=Business Wire
 |publisher=The Free Library by Farlex
 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071027005335/http://www.thefreelibrary.com/403.htm
 |archive-date=October 27, 2007
 |access-date=2010-09-20
 |quote=I have been acquainted with Wolverine World Wide since 1994, when the company was licensed to manufacture and market Caterpillar footwear around the world...
 |url-status=dead
 |df=mdy
 }}</ref> Other licensees sell items including scale models of Cat products, clothing, hats, luggage, watches, flashlights, shovels, knives, fans, gloves, smartphones,<ref name="Liszewski">{{cite web|url=https://gizmodo.com/caterpillars-new-s60-is-the-first-smartphone-with-flir-1759685817|title=Caterpillar's New S60 Is the First Smartphone With FLIR Thermal Imaging Built Right In|last=Liszewski|first=Andrew|date=18 February 2016|work=[[Gizmodo]]|access-date=3 October 2016}}</ref> and other consumer products.<ref name=cat_watches>{{cite web
 |url=http://www.catwatches.co.uk/history.html
 |title=History of the CAT brand – Stylish watches for Active Men – CAT Watches from Caterpillar
 |year=2008
 |work=catwatches.co.uk
 |publisher=Time Network
 |location=United Kingdom
 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100712102611/http://www.catwatches.co.uk/history.html
 |archive-date=July 12, 2010
 |access-date=2010-09-20
 |quote=In the late 90s, Caterpillar Inc. issued its first watch license, welcome to CATWATCHES.CO.UK
 |url-status=dead
 |df=mdy
 }}</ref><ref name=suresource>{{cite web
 |url=http://www.shopcaterpillar.com/
 |title=Buy Caterpillar Apparel, Collectibles & More
 |year=2010
 |work=shopcaterpillar.com
 |publisher=SureSource LLC
 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100913040519/http://www.shopcaterpillar.com/
 |archive-date=September 13, 2010
 |access-date=2010-09-20
 |quote=shopcaterpillar.com is operated by SureSource LLC., under license from Caterpillar Inc.
 |url-status=dead
 |df=mdy
 }}</ref>

==Operations==

===Manufacturing===
[[File:Hydraulicke demolicni nuzky na podvozku CAT 330.jpg|right|thumb|Cat 365B [[demolition]] machine in action]]
Caterpillar products and components are manufactured in 110 facilities worldwide. 51 of the 110 plants are located in the [[United States]] and 59 of the 110 plants are located overseas in [[Australia]] (until 2015), [[Belgium]], [[Brazil]], [[Canada]], [[China]], [[Czech Republic]], [[England]], [[France]], [[Germany]], [[Hungary]], [[India]], [[Indonesia]], [[Italy]], [[Japan]], [[Mexico]], the [[Netherlands]], [[Northern Ireland]], [[Poland]], [[Russia]], [[Singapore]], [[South Africa]], and [[Sweden]].

Caterpillar's historical manufacturing home is in [[Peoria, Illinois]], which also has been the location of Caterpillar's world headquarters and core research and development activities. Although Caterpillar has contracted much of its local parts production and warehousing to third parties, Caterpillar still has four major plants in the Peoria area: the [[Mapleton, Illinois|Mapleton]] Foundry, where diesel engine blocks and other large parts are cast; the [[East Peoria, Illinois|East Peoria]] factory, which has assembled Caterpillar tractors for over 70 years; the [[Mossville, Illinois|Mossville]] engine plant, built after [[World War II]]; and the [[Morton, Illinois|Morton]] parts facility.

=== Remanufacturing ===
Major facilities in Latin America:
* Mexico: [[Oradel Industrial Center]], Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, México (Since 1988)<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://elsemanario.com/negocios/280241/parque-industrial-oradel-en-nuevo-laredo-innovacion-y-crecimiento/|title=Parque Industrial Oradel impulsa innovación y crecimiento en Nuevo Laredo|last=Semanario|first=Redacción El|date=2018-08-18|website=El Semanario Sin Límites|language=es|access-date=2019-07-11}}</ref>

===Distribution===
[[File:Caterpillar D350D.jpg|thumb|Caterpillar D350D [[Articulated hauler|articulated off-road truck]]]]
Caterpillar products are distributed to end-users in nearly 200 countries through Caterpillar's worldwide network of 220 dealers. Caterpillar's dealers are independently owned and operated businesses with exclusive geographical territories. Dealers provide sales, maintenance and repair services, rental equipment, and parts<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.aga-parts.com/caterpillar/|title=Caterpillar parts catalog|publisher=AGA Parts|access-date=2020-09-28}}</ref> distribution. [[Finning International|Finning]], a dealer based in [[Vancouver, Canada]], is Caterpillar's largest global distributor.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.finning.ca/About/Corporate_Overview/Default.aspx|title=Corporate Overview|access-date=September 21, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140926001303/http://www.finning.ca/about/Corporate_Overview/Default.aspx|archive-date=September 26, 2014|url-status=dead|df=mdy-all}}</ref> [[Gmmco Ltd]] is India's No. 1 Dealer for Caterpillar Machines.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.business-standard.com/article/economy-policy/our-vision-is-to-be-a-leader-wherever-we-do-business-ed-rapp-114110900185_1.html|title=Our vision is to be a leader wherever we do business: Ed Rapp|last=Narasimhan|first=T. E.|date=2014-11-09|work=Business Standard India|access-date=2017-03-23}}</ref> United Tractor & Equipment (Pvt) Limited also known as UTE is the sole authorized dealer of Caterpillar machines and heavy equipment in Sri Lanka.<ref>{{Cite web|title=UTE Engineering wins Gold at Construct 2018 Awards {{!}} Daily FT|url=https://www.ft.lk/propertyconstruction/UTE-Engineering-wins-Gold-at-Construct-2018-Awards/10516-668541|access-date=2021-10-18|website=www.ft.lk|language=English}}</ref>

Most dealers use a management system called [[Dealer Business System|DBS]] for their day-to-day operations.

As of the first quarter of 2006, 66% of Caterpillar's sales are made by one of the 63 dealers in the United States, with the remaining 34% sold by one of Caterpillar's 157 overseas dealers.{{Citation needed|date=June 2011}}

=== Management ===
Caterpillar has a [[corporate governance]] structure where the [[chairman of the board]] also acts as chief executive officer (CEO). The board of directors is fully independent and is made up of non-employee [[Non-executive director|director]]s selected from outside the company. Several [[President (corporate title)|group president]]s report to the CEO, and multiple vice presidents report to each group president.

The board has three committees: audit; compensation and human resources; governance and public policy.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.caterpillar.com/en/company/governance/committees-and-charters.html|title=Caterpillar {{!}} Committees & Charters|website=www.caterpillar.com|access-date=2018-12-14}}</ref>

The behavior of all employees is governed by a code of worldwide business conduct, first published in 1974 and last amended in 2005, which sets the corporate standard for honesty and ethical behavior. Management employees are retested on this code annually.

===Current board of directors===
{{As of| October 2023}}, the board of directors was composed as follows:<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.caterpillar.com/en/company/governance/board-of-directors.html|title=Board of Directors|date=2022-11-04|website=caterpillar.com}}</ref>
{{div col}}
* [[Jim Umpleby|D. James Umpleby III]]<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.caterpillar.com/en/company/governance/officers.html|title=Officers |publisher=Caterpillar |access-date=18 January 2024}}</ref>
* [[Daniel M. Dickinson]]
* Gerald Johnson
* [[Dave MacLennan|David W. MacLennan]]
* [[Debra L. Reed|Debra L. Reed-Klages]]
* [[Susan C. Schwab]]
* [[Jim Umpleby]]—chairman
* [[Rayford Wilkins, Jr.]]
{{div col end}}

On January 1, 2017, [[Jim Umpleby]] succeeded [[Douglas R. Oberhelman]] as CEO and Dave Calhoun became non-executive chairman.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.caterpillar.com/en/news/corporate-press-releases/h/caterpillar-chairman-and-ceo-doug-oberhelman-elects-to-retire-in-2017-jim-umpleby-elected-as-caterpillars-next-ceo-dave-calhoun-to-become-non-executive-chairman-of-the-board.html |title=Caterpillar Chairman and CEO Doug Oberhelman Elects to Retire in 2017; Jim Umpleby Elected as Caterpillar's Next CEO; Dave Calhoun to become Non-Executive Chairman of the Board  |publisher=Caterpillar Inc. |date=2016-10-17 |access-date=2020-01-06}}</ref> On December 12, 2018, Umpleby was named chairman of the board as well, reversing Caterpillar's previous decision to split the CEO and chairman position.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/caterpillar-puts-ceo-back-in-charge-of-board-11544720979|title=Caterpillar Puts CEO Back in Charge of Board|last=Hufford|first=Austen|date=2018-12-13|website=The Wall Street Journal|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181214053407/https://www.wsj.com/articles/caterpillar-puts-ceo-back-in-charge-of-board-11544720979|archive-date=2018-12-14|url-status=dead|access-date=2018-12-13}}</ref> After eight years as CEO and nearly 45 years of service, Chairman and CEO D. James Umpleby III will become Executive Chairman of the Board effective May 1. Chief Operating Officer (COO) Joseph E. Creed, a 28-year Caterpillar veteran, will succeed him as CEO and join the Board of Directors May 1.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Caterpillar Press Release |title=Caterpillar Chairman and CEO Jim Umpleby to become Executive Chairman; Caterpillar Chief Operating Officer Joe Creed Elected as Caterpillar's Next CEO |url=https://www.caterpillar.com/en/news/corporate-press-releases/h/caterpillar-next-ceo.html }}</ref>

==Workforce and labor relations==
As of December 31, 2009, Caterpillar employed 93,813 persons of whom 50,562 are located outside the United States. Current employment figures represent a decline of 17,900 employees compared the third quarter of 2008.<ref name=10K_2009/> Due to the restructuring of business operations which began in the 1990s, there are 20,000 fewer [[labor union|union]] jobs in the Peoria, Illinois area while employment outside the U.S. has increased.{{Citation needed|date=September 2010}}

In 2020, it was reported that Caterpillar was planning to cut 700 jobs at its Northern Ireland operations.<ref>{{Cite news|date=2020-11-05|title=Caterpillar: Up to 700 jobs to go at Larne plant|language=en-GB|work=BBC News|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-54823208|access-date=2020-11-05}}</ref>

===Labor practices===
Caterpillar came close to bankruptcy in the early 1980s, at one point losing almost US$1 million per day due to a sharp downturn in product demand as competition with Japanese rival [[Komatsu Limited|Komatsu]] increased. (At the time, Komatsu used the internal slogan "encircle Caterpillar".)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thinkingmanagers.com/management/commitment.php|title=Management|access-date=August 5, 2015}}</ref> Caterpillar suffered further when the United States declared an [[United States embargoes|embargo]] against the [[Soviet Union]] after the Soviet invasion of [[Afghanistan]], causing the company to be unable to sell US$400 million worth of pipelaying machinery that had already been built.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.usaengage.org/archives/studies/append2.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111003231833/http://www.usaengage.org/archives/studies/append2.html|url-status=dead|title=USA Engage – Home<!-- Bot generated title -->|archive-date=October 3, 2011}}</ref>

Due to the drastic drop in demand<ref>{{cite web |title=The Critical Demand for Heavy Equipment Parts |url=https://mcgillindustries.com/the-critical-demand-for-heavy-equipment-parts/ |website=McGill Industries |access-date=13 May 2025}}</ref>, Caterpillar initiated employee [[layoffs]], which led to strikes, primarily by the members of the [[United Auto Workers]], against Caterpillar facilities in [[Illinois]] and [[Pennsylvania]]. Several news reports at the time indicated that products were piling up so high in facilities that replacement workers could barely make their way to their work stations.

In 1992, the [[United Auto Workers]] conducted a five-month strike against Caterpillar. In response, Caterpillar threatened to replace Caterpillar's entire unionized work force. Over ten thousand UAW members struck again in 1994–1995 for 17 months, a record at that time. The strike ended with the UAW deciding to return to work without a contract despite record revenues and profits by Caterpillar.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/Caterpillar-Inc-Company-History.html|title=Caterpillar Inc.|access-date=September 21, 2014}}</ref> In 1994, Caterpillar offered a contract to the UAW members that would have raised the salary of top workers from $35,000 to $39,000 per year. However, the UAW was seeking the same top wage of $40,000 that was paid to workers at [[John Deere|John Deere & Company]] in 1994.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1992/04/15/us/union-agrees-to-end-strike-at-caterpillar.html|title=Union Agrees To End Strike At Caterpillar|date=April 15, 1992|work=The New York Times}}</ref>

During the strikes, Caterpillar used management employees in an attempt to maintain production. It suspended [[research and development]] work, sending thousands of engineers and other non-bargained for employees into their manufacturing and assembly facilities to replace striking or locked out union members.

Rather than continuing to fight the United Auto Workers, Caterpillar chose to make itself less vulnerable to the traditional bargaining tactics of organized labor. One way was by outsourcing much of their parts production and warehouse work to outside firms. In another move, according to UAW officials and industry analysts, Caterpillar began to execute a "[[Southeastern United States|southern]] strategy".<ref name=southernstrategy>{{cite news |url=http://www.bizjournals.com/triangle/stories/1996/06/24/story1.html |title=Caterpillar rolls into Lee County |first=Matthew |last=Burns |date=1996-06-24 |work=Triangle Business Journal|location=Raleigh, North Carolina |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110629021618/http://www.bizjournals.com/triangle/stories/1996/06/24/story1.html |archive-date=June 29, 2011 |access-date=2011-03-08 |quote=Locating plants in non-union states such as North Carolina is part of Caterpillar's effort to decrease the impact of organized labor on production, according to union officials and analysts. |url-status=dead |df=mdy }}</ref> This involved opening new, smaller plants, termed "focus facilities", in [[right-to-work law|right-to-work]] states. Caterpillar opened these new facilities in [[Clayton, North Carolina|Clayton]] and [[Sanford, North Carolina]]; [[Fountain Inn, South Carolina]]; [[Corinth, Mississippi]]; [[Dyersburg, Tennessee]]; [[Griffin, Georgia|Griffin]] and [[LaGrange, Georgia]]; [[Seguin, Texas]]; and [[North Little Rock, Arkansas]].

In 2012, the company locked out workers at a locomotive plant in [[London, Ontario, Canada]] and demanded some accept up to a 50% cut in pay, in order to become cost-competitive with comparable Caterpillar manufacturing facilities in the United States.<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.thestar.com/article/1126186--caterpillar-gives-ontario-harsh-lesson-in-union-busting-by-shutting-locomotive-plant | location=Toronto | work=The Star | title=Caterpillar gives Ontario harsh lesson in union-busting by shutting locomotive plant | date=2012-02-05}}</ref> The move created controversy in Canada, with some complaining the plant was acquired under false pretenses.<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.thestar.com/business/article/1126643--olive-capitalism-s-ugly-face-in-london-ont?bn=1 | location=Toronto | work=The Star | first=David | last=Olive | title=Caterpillar likes to play hardball – so let's play hardball | date=2012-02-05}}</ref> Retail store [[Mark's Work Wearhouse]] began pulling Caterpillar boots from its shelves as a result.<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/article/1126570--mark-s-work-wearhouse-pulls-caterpillar-boots-to-protest-closure-of-london-plant | location=Toronto | work=The Star | title=Mark's Work Wearhouse pulls Caterpillar boots to protest closure of London plant | date=2012-02-05}}</ref>

On May 1, 2012, 780 members of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers Local Lodge 851 went on strike. An agreement was reached in August, resulting in a 6-year wage freeze. Striking workers expressed anger about the freeze given the company's record 2011 profits and CEO Oberhelman's 60% salary increase.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/18/business/striking-caterpillar-workers-ratify-contract-offer.html?_r=0 | location=New York | work=[[The New York Times]] | title=Caterpillar Workers Ratify Deal They Dislike | date=2012-08-17 | first=Steven | last=Greenhouse}}</ref>

==== Coerced labor in Xinjiang ====
In June 2020, it was reported that a Caterpillar clothing wholesaler, Summit Resource International, participates in a Chinese government-run labor transfer scheme that uses [[Laogai|forced labor]] of [[Uyghurs]] in [[Xinjiang re-education camps|internment camps]].<ref>{{Cite news|last=Allen-Ebrahimian|first=Bethany|date=June 30, 2020|title=Caterpillar sourced clothes from Xinjiang factory involved in coercive labor|work=Axios|url=https://www.axios.com/caterpillar-xinjiang-uighur-labor-a6ec73df-b75e-4aea-ae76-cc8182ad6a3c.html|access-date=June 30, 2020}}</ref>

==Environmental record==

===Environmental stewardship===
[[File:D7E new century.jpg|thumb|Cat D7E Electric Drive Dozer becomes the first electrically-driven dozer in the construction industry to use alternating current, 2009.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Stewart |first1=Larry |title=Caterpillar's D7E Electric Drive Redefines Dozer Productivity |url=https://www.constructionequipment.com/earthmoving/article/10708305/caterpillars-d7e-electric-drive-redefines-dozer-productivity |publisher=Construction Equipment Magazine}}</ref>]]
Caterpillar divisions have won Illinois Governor's Pollution Prevention Awards every year since 1997.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.wmrc.uiuc.edu/info/govs_awards_prev_winners.cfm |title=Governor's Awards Previous Winners |work=Illinois Sustainable Technology Center |publisher=Institute of Natural Resource Sustainability, [[University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign]] |location=[[Champaign, Illinois]] |access-date=2010-03-21 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080513191131/http://www.wmrc.uiuc.edu/info/govs_awards_prev_winners.cfm |archive-date=May 13, 2008 |url-status=dead |df=mdy-all}}</ref> Caterpillar was awarded the 2007 Illinois Governor's Pollution Prevention Award for three projects: The Hydraulics and Hydraulic Systems business unit in Joliet implemented a flame sprayed coating for its truck suspension system, replacing a chroming process, reducing hazardous waste by {{convert|700,000|lb|kg}} annually, and saving {{convert|14|e6USgal|m3}} of water. Caterpillar's Cast Metals Organization in Mapleton worked with the American Foundry Society to help produce a rule to reduce hazardous waste in scrap metal that meet strict quality requirements, and also allow foundries to continue recycling certain types of scrap and maintain a competitive cost structure. Caterpillar's Mossville Engine Center formed a team to look at used oil reuse and recycle processes that forced MEC to send large amounts of used oil off-site for recycling, and developed an updated system for reclaiming it for reuse on-site. The resulting benefits included a usage reduction of about {{convert|208,000|USgal|m3}} of oil per year.<ref>[http://dnr.state.il.us/PUBAFFAIRS/2007/Oct/illinois.html Illinois Department Of Natural Resources October 25, 2007. Retrieved May 8, 2008] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080612091803/http://www.dnr.state.il.us/PUBAFFAIRS/2007/Oct/illinois.html |date=June 12, 2008}}</ref>

In 2004 Caterpillar participated in initiatives such as the [[United States Environmental Protection Agency]]'s National Clean Diesel Campaign program, which encourages retrofitting fleets of older buses and trucks with newer diesel engines that meet higher emissions standards.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Cat skid steers and compact loader specs |url=https://skidsteers.net/caterpillar-loaders/ |access-date=2007-08-31 |publisher=skidsteers.net}} {{dead link|date=August 2010|bot=RjwilmsiBot}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.metshapeattachments.com/products |title=Diesel Engine School Bus Retrofit Technology Workshop, Baltimore, MD, April 29, 2004 |access-date=2007-08-31 |publisher=Maryland Department of the Environment |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081225095935/http://www.mde.state.md.us/Programs/AirPrograms/Mobile_Sources/dieselemmiscontrolprog/workshop/participants/index.asp |archive-date=December 25, 2008}}</ref>

[[File:CES 2025 - Catepillar 972 01.jpg|thumb|Cat® 972 Wheel Loader demonstrator w/Extended Range Electrified Machine (EREM) hybrid retrofit at CES 2025]]

In 2005, Caterpillar donated $12 million to [[The Nature Conservancy]] in a joint effort to protect and preserve river systems in Brazil, U.S.A., and China.<ref>{{cite web
|url=http://www.nature.org/wherewework/northamerica/states/illinois/press/press1737.html
|title=$12 Million from Caterpillar Inc. to The Nature Conservancy Launches Ambitious Global Freshwater River Project and Establishes a Great Rivers Center
|access-date=2007-08-31
|publisher=The Nature Conservancy
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061214212639/http://www.nature.org/wherewework/northamerica/states/illinois/press/press1737.html |archive-date=December 14, 2006}}</ref>

Caterpillar has, for many years, been a member of the [[World Business Council for Sustainable Development]] based in [[Geneva, Switzerland]]<ref>{{cite web
 |url=http://www.wbcsd.org/web/about/members.htm
 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030418183509/http://www.wbcsd.org/web/about/members.htm
 |url-status=dead
 |archive-date=April 18, 2003
 |title=WBCSD member companies
 |publisher=World Business Council for Sustainable Development
 |access-date=2007-08-04
 |date=2007-08-03
}}</ref> and has been listed on the [[Dow Jones Sustainability World Index]] each year since 2001.<ref>{{cite web
|url=http://goliath.ecnext.com/coms2/summary_0199-4719013_ITM
|title=Dow Jones Sustainability World Index Recognizes Caterpillar's Leadership for the Fifth Consecutive Year.
|publisher=PRNewswire
|access-date=2007-08-31
|date=2005-09-21
}}</ref>

===Clean Air Act violation===
In July 1999, Caterpillar and five other [[diesel engine]] manufacturers signed a [[consent decree]] with the [[United States Department of Justice|Justice Department]] and the [[California|State of California]], after governmental investigations revealed violations of the [[Clean Air Act (United States)|Clean Air Act]]. The violation involves over a million diesel engines sold with [[defeat device]]s, devices that regulated emissions during pre-sale tests, but that could be disabled in favor of better performance during subsequent highway driving. Consequently, these engines "...emit up to triple the permissible level of smog-forming [[nitrogen oxide]]s (NOx). In 1998 alone, these violating vehicles emitted {{convert|1,300,000|ST|LT t|sigfig=4}} of additional NOx – an amount equal to the emissions of 65 million cars." For this reason, Caterpillar was named the "Clean Air Villain of the Month" for August 2000 by the [[Clean Air Trust]].<ref>{{cite web
|url=http://www.cleanairtrust.org/villain.0800.htmlgfig=4
|title=Six Diesel Engine Companies
|access-date=2007-08-05
|date=2000-08-01
|work=Clean Air Villain of the Month
|publisher=Clean Air Trust
}}{{Dead link|date=June 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> The consent decree provided that $83 million be paid in civil penalties and determined new deadlines for meeting emissions standards. Caterpillar, however, was successful in lobbying for an extension of deadlines they considered too severe. Even so, in October 2002, Caterpillar&nbsp;– the only diesel engine company (of those that signed decrees) to fail to meet the new emissions standards deadline&nbsp;– was forced to pay $128 million in per-engine non-conformance penalties.<ref name="doj2003">{{cite web
|url=http://www.usdoj.gov/opa/pr/2003/December/03_enrd_694.htm
|title=Justice Department Announces FY2003 Record Year For Recovery Of Civil Penalties In Environmental Cases
|access-date=2007-08-05
|publisher=United States Department of Justice
|date=2003-12-16
}}</ref>

===Carbon footprint===
Caterpillar reported Total [[carbon footprint|CO2e emissions]] (Direct + Indirect) for the twelve months ending 31 December 2020 at 1,521 Kt (-310 /-16.9% y-o-y).<ref name ="Caterpillar Total CO2e emissions for 2020Q4">{{Cite web |title=Caterpillar's Sustainability Report for 2020Q4 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211110095800/https://reports.caterpillar.com/sr/2020_Caterpillar_Sustainability_Report.pdf?_ga=2.237247360.1815830483.1622463458-276384602.1622463458 |url=https://reports.caterpillar.com/sr/2020_Caterpillar_Sustainability_Report.pdf?_ga=2.237247360.1815830483.1622463458-276384602.1622463458|archive-date=November 10, 2021 }} [https://analytics.exerica.com/App/Name/Caterpillar/Total%20CO2e%20Emissions%20-%20Location-Based%20Scope%201%20%2b%20Scope%202/2020Q4/12 Alt URL]</ref> Caterpillar plans to reduce emissions 30% by 2030 from a 2018 base year.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Caterpillar's Sustainability Report for 2020Q4 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211110095800/https://reports.caterpillar.com/sr/2020_Caterpillar_Sustainability_Report.pdf?_ga=2.237247360.1815830483.1622463458-276384602.1622463458 |url=https://reports.caterpillar.com/sr/2020_Caterpillar_Sustainability_Report.pdf?_ga=2.237247360.1815830483.1622463458-276384602.1622463458|archive-date=November 10, 2021 }} [https://analytics.exerica.com/App/Name/Caterpillar/Climate%20Goal&#91;Climate%20Goal,Total%20CO2e%20emissions%20(Scope%201%20%2b%20Scope%202)&#93;/2020Q4 Alt URL]</ref>

{| class="wikitable"
|+ Caterpillar's annual Total CO2e Emissions - Location-Based Scope 1 + Scope 2 (in kilotonnes)
|-
! Dec 2017 !! Dec 2018 !! Dec 2019 !! Dec 2020
|-
| 2,154<ref>{{Cite web |title=Caterpillar's Sustainability Report for 2020Q4 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211110095800/https://reports.caterpillar.com/sr/2020_Caterpillar_Sustainability_Report.pdf?_ga=2.237247360.1815830483.1622463458-276384602.1622463458 |url=https://reports.caterpillar.com/sr/2020_Caterpillar_Sustainability_Report.pdf?_ga=2.237247360.1815830483.1622463458-276384602.1622463458|archive-date=November 10, 2021 }} [https://analytics.exerica.com/App/Name/Caterpillar/Total%20CO2e%20Emissions%20-%20Location-Based%20Scope%201%20%2b%20Scope%202/2017Q4/12 Alt URL]</ref> || 2,249<ref>{{Cite web |title=Caterpillar's Sustainability Report for 2020Q4 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211110095800/https://reports.caterpillar.com/sr/2020_Caterpillar_Sustainability_Report.pdf?_ga=2.237247360.1815830483.1622463458-276384602.1622463458 |url=https://reports.caterpillar.com/sr/2020_Caterpillar_Sustainability_Report.pdf?_ga=2.237247360.1815830483.1622463458-276384602.1622463458|archive-date=November 10, 2021 }} [https://analytics.exerica.com/App/Name/Caterpillar/Total%20CO2e%20Emissions%20-%20Location-Based%20Scope%201%20%2b%20Scope%202/2018Q4/12 Alt URL]</ref> || 1,831<ref>{{Cite web |title=Caterpillar's Sustainability Report for 2020Q4 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211110095800/https://reports.caterpillar.com/sr/2020_Caterpillar_Sustainability_Report.pdf?_ga=2.237247360.1815830483.1622463458-276384602.1622463458 |url=https://reports.caterpillar.com/sr/2020_Caterpillar_Sustainability_Report.pdf?_ga=2.237247360.1815830483.1622463458-276384602.1622463458|archive-date=November 10, 2021 }} [https://analytics.exerica.com/App/Name/Caterpillar/Total%20CO2e%20Emissions%20-%20Location-Based%20Scope%201%20%2b%20Scope%202/2019Q4/12 Alt URL]</ref> || 1,521<ref name="Caterpillar Total CO2e emissions for 2020Q4"/>
|}

==Controversies==
===Tax deferral techniques===
In March 2017, when US federal agents raided Caterpillar's headquarters in Peoria Ill., it was already evident that the company engaged in aggressive measures to control tax costs. Since April 2014, the company's tax policies have been investigated by a senate subcommittee headed by Senator [[Carl Levin]]. Those investigations uncovered significant changes in Caterpillar's offshore tax strategy, culminating in the creation of the new Swiss subsidiary Caterpillar SARL (CSARL) in [[Geneva]]. In 1999, former Caterpillar executive Daniel Schlicksup accused the company of funneling profits made on replacement parts into Switzerland, even though it had no warehouses or factories there. The Internal Revenue Service found the firm liable for a billion dollars of unpaid taxes for the years 2007 to 2009.<ref name="A Fine Mess">{{cite book|last1=Reid|first1=T. R.|title=A Fine Mess|date=April 4, 2017|publisher=Penguin Press|location=2603}}</ref>

At the same time, the architect of Caterpillar's fiscal strategy, [[PricewaterhouseCoopers]] (PWC), came under scrutiny because of PWC's conflict of interest in acting as Caterpillar's controller as well as being its global tax consultant.<ref>Bushey C. (2017). [http://www.chicagobusiness.com/article/20170302/NEWS07/170309960/feds-search-caterpillar-h{{wbr}}&nbsp;Feds search Caterpillar HQ]. ''Crain's Chicago Business''. Retrieved 3 March 2017.</ref> The Senate uncovered documents from PWC saying the elaborate move was simply a way to evade American taxes. "We are going to have to do some dancing" one said. Another noted, "What the heck, we will all be retired when this comes up on audit."<ref name="A Fine Mess"/>

In January 2023, Caterpillar reached a settlement with the [[Internal Revenue Service]] and was not ordered to pay any penalties.<ref>{{cite news |last= Jacob |first= Denny |date= September 8, 2022 |url= https://www.wsj.com/articles/caterpillar-settles-tax-dispute-with-irs-will-pay-no-penalties-11662680622 |title= Caterpillar Settles Tax Dispute With IRS, Will Pay No Penalties |publisher= [[The Wall Street Journal]] |accessdate= February 10, 2023 |quote= Caterpillar Inc. said Thursday it reached a settlement with the Internal Revenue Service that resolves a yearslong tax dispute without any penalties. The construction equipment maker said in a regulatory filing that the settlement included the resolution of the disputed tax treatment of profits earned from 2007 to 2016 by a subsidiary in Switzerland, called Caterpillar SARL, from sales of replacement parts.}}</ref>

===Israel Defense Forces sales===
{{further|IDF Caterpillar D9|Israeli demolition of Palestinian property}}
The sale of Caterpillar bulldozers to the Israeli military, and specifically the [[IDF Caterpillar D9]], for use in the [[occupied Palestinian territories]] has long drawn criticism from human rights groups, society groups and responsible investment monitors.<ref name=UN-Haaretz/><ref name=ToI-MSCI/>

[[Amnesty International]] released a report in May 2004 on home demolition in Gaza and the west bank that noted the risk of complicity for Caterpillar in human rights violations.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.amnesty.org/en/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/mde150402004en.pdf |title=Israel and the Occupied Territories Under the rubble: House demolition and destruction of land and property |publisher=Amnesty International}}</ref> The Office of the [[UN High Commissioner on Human Rights]] also sent a warning letter to the company the next month about its sales of bulldozers to the [[Israel Defense Forces]] and their use to destroy Palestinian farms.<ref name=UN-Haaretz>{{cite news |title=The UN vs. Caterpillar |url=https://www.haaretz.com/1.4714772 |work=Haaretz |date=16 June 2004 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=US bulldozer firm in Mid-East row |url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3805677.stm |work=BBC |date=15 June 2004}}</ref> [[Human Rights Watch]] reported the same year on the systematic use of D9 bulldozers in illegal demolitions throughout the occupied territories and called on Caterpillar to suspend its sales to Israel, citing the company's own code of conduct.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.hrw.org/news/2004/11/21/israel-caterpillar-should-suspend-bulldozer-sales |title=Israel: Caterpillar Should Suspend Bulldozer Sales |publisher=Human Rights Watch}}</ref>

The pro-Palestinian group [[Jewish Voice for Peace]] and four Roman Catholic orders of nuns planned to introduce a resolution at a Caterpillar shareholder meeting subsequent to the human rights reports asking for an investigation into whether Israel's use of the company's bulldozer to [[House demolition in the Israeli–Palestinian conflict|destroy Palestinian homes]] conformed with the company's code of business conduct. In response, the pro-Israel advocacy group [[StandWithUs]] urged its members to buy Caterpillar stock and to write letters of support to the company.<ref name=Caterpillar>{{cite news|last=Watanabe|first=Teresa|title=Jews Target Caterpillar Shareholder Effort|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2005-apr-13-me-divest13-story.html|access-date=5 May 2013|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|date=13 April 2005}}</ref>

The US investment indexer [[MSCI]] removed Caterpillar from three of its indices for socially responsible investments in 2012, citing the Israeli military's use of its bulldozers in the Palestinian territories.<ref name=ToI-MSCI>{{cite news |url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/caterpillar-inc-bulldozed-off-investment-list-because-of-idf/ |title=Caterpillar bulldozed off investment list because of sales to Israeli army |website=The Times of Israel}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/2012/6/27/caterpillar-cut-from-social-index-over-israel |title=Caterpillar cut from social index over Israel |publisher=Al Jazeera}}</ref> In 2017, documents emerged that showed Caterpillar had hired [[private investigators]] to spy on the family of [[Rachel Corrie]], the American human rights activist who was killed by a D9 bulldozer in [[Rafah]] in early 2003.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.haaretz.com/world-news/europe/2017-12-12/ty-article/report-caterpillar-spied-on-rachel-corries-mourning-family-leaked-documents-reveal/0000017f-f856-d460-afff-fb76e25e0000 |title=Report: Caterpillar Hired Intelligence Firm to Spy on Rachel Corrie's Family, Leaked Documents Reveal |publisher=Haaretz}}</ref> In 2022, Stop the Wall called Caterpillar, alongside [[Hyundai Heavy Industries]], [[JCB (heavy equipment manufacturer)|JCB]] and [[Volvo Group]].
In August 2025, the [[Government Pension Fund of Norway]] pulled out of Caterpillar over what it says is its involvement in Israeli human rights abuses in Gaza and the occupied West Bank.<ref>{{cite news |title=Norway fund divests from US firm Caterpillar over Gaza, West Bank abuses |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/8/26/norway-fund-divests-from-us-firm-caterpillar-over-gaza-west-bank-abuses}}</ref>

=== Trademark claims ===
Caterpillar Inc. has sought the revocations of [[registered trademark]]s in the United States incorporating the word "Cat" in markets unrelated to its machinery business, such as "Cat & Cloud" (a cafe in [[Santa Cruz, California]]), and [[Keyboard Cat]]. The company has faced criticism for this perceived "bullying", especially in cases where the likelihood of confusion is low.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.ksbw.com/article/cat-and-cloud-coffee-in-santa-cruz-facing-trademark-controversy-against-caterpillar-inc/27595279|title=Cat and Cloud Coffee in Santa Cruz facing trademark controversy against Caterpillar Inc.|last=Linville|first=Kyla|date=2019-05-28|website=[[KSBW]].com|publisher=[[Hearst Television]]|language=en|access-date=2019-06-21}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.fastcompany.com/90361041/caterpillar-inc-threatens-a-tiny-cafe-over-cat-trademark|title=Caterpillar Inc. is trying to stop a tiny café from using the word cat|last=Weissman|first=Cale Guthrie|date=2019-06-07|website=Fast Company|language=en-US|access-date=2019-06-21}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20190619/05404542430/caterpillar-now-going-after-all-cats-trademark-cancellations.shtml|title=Caterpillar Now Going After All The Cats For Trademark Cancellations|last=Geigner|first=Timothy |website=Techdirt|access-date=2019-06-21}}</ref>

=== Defective engines ===
In 2014, Caterpillar paid $46M to settle claims that one of its engines caused a fiery explosion on a ship owned by Bender Shipbuilding and Repair Company Inc.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2014-06-11|title=Caterpillar pays $46 million to settle engine fire lawsuit - Professional Mariner|url=https://professionalmariner.com/caterpillar-pays-46-million-to-settle-engine-fire-lawsuit/|access-date=2022-02-01|language=en-US}}</ref> In 2016 Caterpillar paid $60M to settle claims that its bus engines were prone to breakdowns and fires.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Tita|first=James R. Hagerty and Bob|date=2014-06-12|title=Caterpillar School-Bus Engines Are Hit in Lawsuits|language=en-US|work=[[The Wall Street Journal]]|url=https://online.wsj.com/articles/caterpillar-school-bus-engines-are-hit-in-lawsuits-1402614291|access-date=2022-02-01|issn=0099-9660}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=2016-06-29|title=Caterpillar to Pay $60 Million to Settle Engine Defect Claims|url=https://www.ttnews.com/articles/caterpillar-pay-60-million-settle-engine-defect-claims|access-date=2022-02-01|website=Transport Topics|language=en}}</ref>

==Advocacy, philanthropy, awards, and lobbying efforts==
Caterpillar is a member of the [[U.S. Global Leadership Coalition]]. A Washington D.C.–based coalition of over 400 major companies and NGOs that advocates for increased funding of American diplomatic and development efforts abroad through the International Affairs Budget.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.usglc.org/about/our-coalition|title=U.S. Global Leadership Coalition, Global Trust members|work=U.S. Global Leadership Coalition|access-date=September 21, 2014}}</ref> Economic development projects in developing countries (particularly in rural, agricultural regions) serve as new markets for Caterpillar products by improving political and economic stability and raising average incomes.
2011 recipient of the [[Henry C. Turner Prize for Innovation in Construction Technology]] from the [[National Building Museum]].

In 2025, Caterpillar was one of the donors who funded the White House's [[East Wing#2025 demolition|East Wing demolition]], and planned building of a ballroom.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Maher |first1=Kit |last2=Tapper |first2=Jake |last3=Jaramillo |first3=Alejandra |title=White House releases list of donors for Trump’s multi-million-dollar ballroom |url=https://www.cnn.com/2025/10/23/politics/ballroom-donors-white-house-trump |access-date=23 October 2025 |work=CNN |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20251023104311/https://www.cnn.com/2025/10/23/politics/ballroom-donors-white-house-trump |archive-date=October 23, 2025}}</ref>

== Leadership ==

=== President ===

# Raymond C. Force, 1925–1930
# Byron Claude Heacock, 1930–1941
# Louis Bontz Neumiller, 1941–1954
# Harmon Sewell Eberhard, 1954–1962
# William A. Blackie, 1962–1966
# William Henry Franklin, 1966–1972
# Lee L. Morgan, 1972–1977
# Robert E. Gilmore, 1977–1985
# Peter Paul Donis, 1985–1989
# Donald Vester Fites, 1989–1990<br>''office abolished July 1, 1990''

=== Chairman of the Board ===

# Louis B. Neumiller, 1954–1962
# Harmon S. Eberhard, 1962–1966
# William A. Blackie, 1966–1972
# W. H. Franklin, 1972–1975
# W. L. Naumann, 1975–1977
# Lee L. Morgan, 1977–1985
# [[George Schaefer (businessman)|George Anthony Schaefer]], 1985–1990
# [[Donald V. Fites|Donald Vester Fites]], 1990–1999
# Glen A. Barton, 1999–2004
# [[James W. Owens]], 2004–2010
# [[Doug Oberhelman|Douglas Ray Oberhelman]], 2010–2016
# [[Dave Calhoun|David L. Calhoun]], 2016–2018
# [[Jim Umpleby|Donald James Umpleby III]], 2018–present

==See also==
{{Portal|Companies}}
* [[G-numbers]] for U.S. Army Caterpillar tractors
* [[List of trucks]]

==References==
{{reflist|colwidth=30em}}

==Further reading==
* Orlemann, Eric C. [https://books.google.com/books?id=pTvLXD25AbQC&q=Caterpillar+Chronicle+The+History+of+the+World%27s+Greatest+Earthmovers ''Caterpillar Chronicle, The History of the World's Greatest Earthmovers'']. Minneapolis, MN: MBI Publishing Company, 2000. {{ISBN|978-0-7603-3673-1}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Caterpillar Inc.}}
* {{Official website}}
{{Finance links
| name = Caterpillar Inc.
| symbol = CAT
| sec_cik = 18230
| yahoo = CAT
| google = CAT:NYSE
}}
* [http://www.cat.com Cat Products Official Website]
* [http://www.acmoc.org Antique Caterpillar Machinery Owners Club]
* [http://www.antiquecaterpillar.org Antique Caterpillar Machinery Enthusiasts]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20101230082430/http://mailer.fsu.edu/~akirk/tanks/UnitedStates/unarmored-halftracks/unarmored-half-tracks.html Photos of early Holt machinery]
* [http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HBS.Baker.EAD:bak00091 Caterpillar Tractor Company Photograph Collection at Baker Library Historical Collections, Harvard Business School]

{{Caterpillar}}
{{Dow Jones Industrial Average companies}}
{{Automotive industry in the United States}}
{{Trucking industry in the United States}}
{{Illinois Corporations}}
{{Authority control}}

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