On April 15, 1925, the Holt Manufacturing Co. and C.L. Best Tractor Co. merged to form Caterpillar Tractor Co. Caterpillar has been celebrating this anniversary throughout the year, even commissioning a selection of new machines painted in an adaptation of its original grey paint scheme.
The celebrations bring out how important this history is. Not just of Caterpillar, but across the entire nearly 170-year spectrum of construction, dredging, mining, and infrastructure equipment evolution.
This is not just about the history of the machines and the companies that manufactured them. It embodies so much more: how the infrastructure we enjoy today was (and still is) being built; how raw materials are mined; innovations in design and manufacturing; how the equipment and those involved with it affected the course of history; and the impact it and the people who design, build, operate, and maintain it have on their communities. So much of this—particularly the infrastructure itself—is merely taken for granted, without understanding of what was involved in building what we have now.
Preserving this history, as the Historical Construction Equipment Association does for the sake of public education, is not merely the collecting, restoring, and appreciation of the equipment itself, nor the collecting of literature, photographs, and memorabilia about it. It’s not just the many hobby organizations and their wonderful publications. It goes beyond building that awareness of how what we have now came to be. It also plants seeds for the future.
Take time to observe how small children are fascinated by this equipment. What happens to that fascination? Will the youngsters merely outgrow it? Or can it be the inspiration for a career in the industry, be it as an operating engineer, an owner of a firm using it, or in equipment design, manufacture, and support?
At the HCEA, we maintain that letting kids see old machinery at work at shows—be it ours or others’—helps nurture lasting interest that can lead them to rewarding careers. We encourage you to join us in fostering that interest.
About the HCEA
The Historical Construction Equipment Association (HCEA) is a 501(c )3 nonprofit organization dedicated to preserving the history of the construction, dredging, and surface mining equipment industries. With over 3,500 members in a dozen countries, our activities include operation of National Construction Equipment Museum and archives in Bowling Green, Ohio; publication of a quarterly magazine, Equipment Echoes, from which this text is adapted; and hosting an annual working exhibition of restored construction equipment. Individual annual memberships are $45 within the U.S. and Canada, and $65 elsewhere.
Our next International Convention and Old Equipment Exposition will celebrate the Cat centennial September 18-20, 2025, at our Museum.
We seek to develop relationships in the equipment manufacturing industry, and we offer a college scholarship for engineering students. Information is available at www.hcea.net, or by calling 419.352.5616 or e-mailing [email protected].
