The Many Faces of Caterpillar, and Keeping up with Spares
Originally, the name given to the larval stage in the lifecycle of butterflies and moths; an agile insect form with the ability to negotiate any type of terrain with ease and even to climb the vertical trunks of trees, to some people, the name Caterpillar conjures a rather different image. Powerful, often huge, machines characterised by their yellow livery and their capacity to deal with every challenge that comes their way have, together with their essential spares, become the workhorses of numerous industries throughout the world.
Today there is a choice of more than three hundred machines that bear the iconic CAT marque. Many of these owe their exceptional abilities to a simple idea conceived by an American named Benjamin Holt and first applied with great success in 1904. Having already introduced the concept of larger and broader wheels to prevent steam-driven tractors from sinking in muddy fields, he was concerned about the increased cost. Laying a temporary road of wooden planks to aid progress was also a costly solution and gave him the novel idea to make the road a component of the tractor, attaching the planks to chains that ran between the front and rear wheels
A colleague, who witnessed the test, commented that his invention moved like a caterpillar and the label stuck. The first production tracked vehicle was sold in 1907, creating a market for spares and marking the birth of a new era in warfare as the concept was quickly adopted by the military to provide improved traction for its tanks.
The subsequent introduction of the internal combustion engine further increased the power and potential of tracked vehicles generally, and has led to a growing array of innovative applications in which they have proved to be invaluable. Wherever the terrain presents a challenge to the activities of miners, farmers, engineers, construction workers and others, it is invariably caterpillar tracks that provide the solution. Dealerships worldwide supply the bright yellow machines along with their accessories and spares that, together with hard hats and high-visibility jackets, have grown to become an everyday feature of life in the course of just over a century.
Not all of these iconic vehicles and machines are fitted with tracks, however. Along with the bulldozers, excavators, multi-terrain loaders, harvesters, and hydraulic mining shovels, the CAT emblem is also found on articulated trucks, graders, material handlers, and compactors, to name just a few. All are known and admired for their exceptional durability but, just as humans suffer fatigue and sustain injuries when worked hard, machines such as these also need attention if they are to maintain their performance. Thus, in addition to supplying the machines, it is vital that an accredited Caterpillar agent like Kanu Equipment also maintains a wide range of essential spares, such as replacement parts for the tracks, in order to ensure that our clients’ equipment is always operating efficiently and able to meet whatever challenges it may face.
A subsidiary of the listed company Torre Equipment Africa, in South Africa, Kanu Equipment specialises in machinery for use in agriculture, forestry, earthmoving and construction. Together with other leading international brands such as Bell, Liebherr, Tigercat and Deutz, we supply Caterpillar equipment and spares, backed by expert support.
