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THE MAKING OF CATERPILLAR AN INSPIRING HISTORY: From Sinking Farm Tractors and a Bitter Machinery Rivalry to the Engineering Giant That Changed How the World Works (DISCOVER SOMETHING NEW EVERYDAY) - Softcover

Book 36 of 59: DISCOVER SOMETHING NEW EVERYDAY

R. BRIGHT, ALEX

 
9798194987849: THE MAKING OF CATERPILLAR AN INSPIRING HISTORY: From Sinking Farm Tractors and a Bitter Machinery Rivalry to the Engineering Giant That Changed How the World Works (DISCOVER SOMETHING NEW EVERYDAY)

Synopsis

How does a tractor that keeps sinking into California soil eventually lead to some of the largest and most powerful machines on Earth?

The answer is a story of invention, rivalry, failure, survival, and engineering ambition.

THE MAKING OF CATERPILLAR takes readers back to a time when horses still powered much of American agriculture and steam tractors promised to change farming forever. But there was a problem. As tractors became larger and more powerful, their enormous weight could make them sink into soft ground.

Benjamin Holt needed an answer.

What followed helped produce the tracked tractor and inspired one of the most recognizable names in industrial history. But Holt was not working without competition. Clarence Leo Best was developing machines of his own, learning from unsuccessful designs, improving gasoline tractors, and building a company capable of challenging Holt.

Their rivalry would become one of the most important forces behind what happened next.

Inside this book, discover why Holt and Best went from competitors to the two major forces behind the historic 1925 merger that created Caterpillar Tractor Co.; how the Great Depression tested the young company; why Caterpillar continued betting on diesel technology during uncertain times; and how machines once associated with farming found new roles building roads, dams, mines, and major infrastructure.

Then watch the scale change dramatically.

Follow Caterpillar from early steam machines and tracked tractors to the massive D11 dozer and the extraordinary 797 family of mining trucks, including the 797F with a nominal payload of 400 U.S. tons. See how greater size created new engineering problems involving power, weight, cooling, braking, structural strength, tires, maintenance, and control.

This is not simply a company history.

It is an accessible engineering and business story about what happens when competitors refuse to stop improving and practical problems demand better machines.

Perfect for readers interested in heavy machinery, engineering history, construction equipment, mining, tractors, manufacturing, invention, and the businesses that helped build the modern industrial world.

If you have ever watched a giant yellow Caterpillar machine at work and wondered how it all began, this book takes you back to the problem that started the journey.

Get your copy today and discover the remarkable story behind the yellow machines that learned how to move the earth.

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