Caterpillar’s centenary in 2025

In 2025 it will be 100 years since Best and Holt called a halt to their legal battles and joined together to form Caterpillar. 

The firm will launch its Centennial Celebration during the CES 2025 event in Las Vegas in January 2025. Caterpillar’s exhibit will provide visitors the opportunity to reflect on the company’s global impact over the last century as well as envision what’s in store for the future. The firm’s exhibit, “The Next 100 Years: Experience What’s Possible,” will feature a powerful combination of technologies and expertise designed to highlight some of the ways Caterpillar is evolving with customers through the energy transition.

“Caterpillar was founded in 1925 with an innovative spirit, aimed at helping our customers overcome practical problems and challenges. Over the past 100 years, the company has built on a revolutionary legacy — creating industry-leading products, technologies, services and solutions,” said Rob Hoenes, senior vice president of Caterpillar’s Electrification + Energy Solutions division.

Taking centre stage at the Caterpillar exhibit will be a Cat 972 wheeled Loader featuring a technical demonstrator Extended Range Electrified Machine hybrid retrofit. The demonstrator maintains or exceeds performance similar to a diesel machine and does not require DC charging. The retrofit could eliminate the need for additional electrical infrastructure at job sites.

“What sets this demonstrator apart from other Cat battery electric machines is an additional power source,” said Rob Janssen, vice president and general manager of Caterpillar’s Electrification + Energy Solutions division. “In this case, it’s a conventional diesel generator running AC power to a rectifier, which converts energy from AC to DC. The energy created is used to charge the battery, drive the machine or both.”

Cat machines nearing end-of-life can be rebuilt and repowered in a way that allows them to function as part of a reduced-carbon future. The machines can be driven on 100% zero emission battery power for several hours. For extended operation, the machine can operate on hybrid mode with electricity generated from an onboard gen set. The technology is an option for customers looking to lower emissions, but not ready to go all-in on battery electric. It charges overnight on a regular utility grid connection at 240V.

Visitors to the Caterpillar exhibit will also experience a virtual job site of the future showcasing examples of the infrastructure required to support electrified job sites, varying charging schedules, and the complexities of a job site powered by the full Caterpillar ecosystem.