Cat Diesel Power’s Ultimate Origin Story

March 12, 2021

C.L. Best. Oscar Starr. Art Rosen. Three names behind one of Caterpillar’s most important product innovations in its history: the diesel engine. 
 
This year marks the 90th anniversary when Caterpillar started producing its first diesel tractor model – the Caterpillar Diesel Sixty Tractor. The company realized it was only a matter of time before the diesel crawler would catch on, and by the mid 1930s, Caterpillar was the largest producer of diesel engines in the world – making diesel technology the backbone of our business. These powerful machines made work easier for our customers who used them to complete construction on the Hoover Dam, the Golden Gate Bridge and other incredible projects around the world.

But the real origin story begins many years before. Come along with Caterpillar’s Corporate Archivist Lee Fosburgh and host Rusty Dunn who are digging into history to tell the tale of a legendary product.