Caterpillar celebrates its centennial throughout 2025

Caterpillar is marking one hundred years in business with a series of special events, celebrations, and limited edition machinery revealed throughout 2025. During these celebrations the company is reflecting on its achievements, innovations, and commitment to heavy equipment and the industries it has served over the past century while looking ahead to the next 100 years.

Special events have taken place in Sanford, North Carolina; Peoria, Illinois; and at Caterpillar's headquarters in Irving, Texas, where employees and the families of founders C.L. Best and Benjamin Holt gathered to look back at one hundred years of achievements and goals for the future. 

Trailblazing innovations

Caterpillar was founded in 1925 as a result of the merger between the Holt Manufacturing Company and C.L. Best Tractor Company.

The Holt Manufacturing Company invented the steam-powered track-type tractor in California in 1904, and Holt found international success selling these tracked machines to farmers. Equipment that had formerly been wheeled could now undulate across muddy soil on tracks. During the First World War, Holt supplied the U.S. Army with these manoeuvrable tractors to transport heavy equipment and supplies through the muddy fields of Europe.
 
While Holt focused on the war effort, the C.L. Best Tractor Company gained a customer base across the U.S. with new tractor designs focused on the combustion engine. Following the war, Holt had a global reputation and modern manufacturing facilities, while Best enjoyed a domestic presence, an advanced dealer network, and an expanded product line. The merger of the two companies combined their funds and technological resources for investment in new machine designs, which revolutionized agricultural equipment. A family member of Holt had noted the similarities between the tracked agricultural machine and the waving crawl of a caterpillar, so in 1925 the new company was named the Caterpillar Tractor Co.  

The Caterpillar Tractor Co.'s first official product melded the proven functions of Holt's and Best's previous machines into an entirely new design: the Twenty Track-Type Tractor. Released in 1927, it was named the "Twenty" because of its 20-horsepower rating. The success of this original track-type tractor laid the groundwork for the iconic Cat dozer line that remains central in the company's equipment lineup to this day.

Limited edition Centennial Grey equipment 

To kick off the centennial celebration, Cat released a limited edition Centennial Grey paint colour for select equipment, starting with a D8 dozer. The new paint scheme is a throwback to the original machines and the more subdued palette from the early days of the brand. Cat's first Hi-Way Yellow machines were introduced in 1931. The original yellow was discontinued in the 1970s and replaced with Caterpillar Yellow in 1979; the company has kept this iconic colour which is now associated with construction equipment across the globe. Throughout 2025 the Centennial Grey paint has been spotted on skid-steer loaders, wheel loaders, mini excavators, and more.

Caterpillar at bauma 2025

At bauma 2025, Caterpillar celebrated with the theme "The Next 100 Years," highlighting its commitment to innovation and sustainability. The 9,000-square-metre exhibit featured 48 machines, including 17 brand-new models or upgrades. These included equipment from the battery electric lineup, expansions to next-generation machine lineups, and additions to the demolition, waste handling, and recycling portfolios.

Cat Trial 14: After Hours 

The Cat Trials began as a way for the company to put its best products, services, and technology on display in entertaining short videos, showing contractors that Cat equipment can conquer any challenge.

Past trials include using large and medium excavators, wheeled excavators, and telehandlers to stack giant Jenga blocks; a life-sized game board where skilled operators remotely operated Cat mini excavators to play PAC-MAN; and the infamous trial where a mini excavator was tasked with driving through a china shop without breaking any of the dishes. 

To celebrate its centennial, Cat's 14th trial showcased a century of machine advancements and achievements during a nighttime spectacle. Cat Trial 14: After Hours included demonstrations of equipment from Caterpillar's past, like the Holt T-35, a tractor released in 1921, as well as milestone machines like the Cat 797B, the company's first 400-ton truck. 

Commitment to the workforce 

To further mark its centennial, Caterpillar is making a massive investment in a resource that will be vital to its success over the next 100 years: people. As part of the ongoing celebrations, the company pledged $100 million over the next five years to help equip the workforce of the future with the skills they need, leveraging technology to meet global market demands as the world undergoes a rapid digital transformation.

Caterpillar's work to help close the growing skills gap in the industry includes ThinkBIG, a two-year program that pays students while they train to become machine technicians, and the company's STEM outreach programs that introduce K-12 students to different careers in manufacturing. 

As the job market continues to evolve, skill sets will need to keep up with advancements in artificial intelligence, automation, data analytics, and more. Caterpillar says it intends to keep pace with technological growth across sectors to remain competitive. 

Dedicated to the future

After a century in business, Caterpillar doesn't just look to the past to celebrate its achievements; the company maintains a dedication to the future of construction equipment with forward-looking designs, advanced technologies, and global workforce development. 

Next year, Caterpillar will display its newest machines at CONEXPO-CON/AGG 2026 in Las Vegas, with a larger-than-life exhibit and competitions. Cat will host the third Global Operator Challenge to test operators' agility, resilience, and versatility on a wide range of construction equipment and technology. The company will also host the first-ever Dealer Technician Challenge to demonstrate this high-tech, high-impact, and high-demand career.

Since 1925, Caterpillar has driven a century of change in the construction industry, and, as the company looks ahead to the next 100 years, it takes the role of engaging newcomers and attracting talent to the equipment manufacturing, service, and construction industries seriously while continuing to deliver equipment solutions that will meet the needs of the industries it serves — from the biggest quarries to backyard DIY hobbyists.