Caterpillar Inc. is a Peoria, Illinois based manufacturer of construction and mining equipment. Caterpillar is one of the world’s largest manufactures of construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas engines, and industrial gas turbines. Chances are you have already heard of Caterpillar thanks to their brand recognition and history of high quality.

 The company was founded in 1925. Currently, James Owens is the CEO and Chairman. To get a better idea of how popular Caterpillar has become, it is one of only 30 companies that have their stock tracked in the Dow Jones Industrial Average. With roughly $30 billion in assets, Caterpillar finds itself in the Fortune 500 every year and is currently number one in its industry.

Caterpillar sells their vehicles, engines, and other products in nearly 200 countries across the world. Additionally, products are also manufactured in other countries including Australia, Brazil, Canada, England, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Russia, South Africa and Sweden among many others. Caterpillar is truly a global brand.

Through a large dealer network, Caterpillar sells more than 400 products. There most popular products are vehicles including backhoe loaders, excavators, off highway trucks, tractors, wheel loaders, and motor graders. All of these vehicles have a particular use and are commonly put to work in many industries, such as construction and mining, to handle various tasks.

Although engineering vehicles are the largest part of the Caterpillar brand, they are also popular for their engine selection. The company manufacturers natural gas and diesel engines as well as gas turbines. In addition to use in their own vehicles, Caterpillar also sells their engines for use in locomotives, ships, and trucks.

To get their products in the right hands, Caterpillar relies on a large dealer network that spans from one side of the world to the next. All dealers are operated independent of Caterpillar Inc, and are given an exclusive territory to ensure success. In addition to sales, most dealers also provide maintenance services.

Caterpillar employs roughly 100k people worldwide. Of them, more than half are based outside of the United States.

It is not difficult to pick out a Caterpillar product thanks to its famous bright yellow paint. As the largest manufacturer of engineering vehicles, Caterpillar plays a major part in a number of industries and can be found in hundreds of countries the world over.