A History of Customer Focus

"Fifty Years on Tracks" is a marvelous time-worn book published in 1954 by the Caterpillar Tractor Company. It chronicles the story of how the C. L. Best Tractor Co. and the Holt Manufacturing Company merged to become the Caterpillar Tractor Co. It’s a story many of us know well. But likely not many know of the Caterpillar customers and employees who come to life on the book’s yellowed pages. Written as a memento marking Caterpillar’s first 50 years, the words tell a story of innovation, hard work, determination – and even connectedness that somehow still tugs at the heart some 63 years later.

At Caterpillar, we have a history of customer focus. In fact, "Fifty Years on Tracks" says it best, “And people [are] the most vital ingredient of success. The shareholders who supply the capital and shoulder the risk. The men and women and their tools; the mangers; the suppliers, the other business friends; the world family of dealers and the boss over all, the customer.”

The book devoted a two-page spread to a prominent customer of the day, Alex MacDougald, who presided over the MacDougald Construction Company – Atlanta’s largest contractor in 1954. MacDouglad reportedly owned a fleet of 50 Cat machines from jackhammers to asphalt pavers and is credited with building the second concrete highway in Georgia.