In the 21st century, when it comes to construction and mining machinery and vehicles, many people will think of Caterpillar's classic "Cat (Carter) yellow" livery. Pen @ fun @ pavilion wWw. ｂｉｑUｇE。 From African mines to Siberian forests, from the Panama Canal to China's Three Gorges Dam, Caterpillar construction vehicles are active on every major construction site.

For nearly 100 years, Caterpillar's products have won many fans around the world for their powerful shape, powerful power and reliable performance. In particular, the Caterpillar 797 mining truck, which claims to be the world's largest dump truck, weighs 288 tons and has a load capacity of 400 tons. The diameter of the tire alone is more than 4 meters and weighs 5.3 tons), and it is a holy monument in the hearts of all muscle car enthusiasts.

When John was in Louisville in his previous life, there was a neighbor in the neighborhood named Pete who was a member of the Caterpillar Antique Equipment Owners Club. In 2015, on Caterpillar's 90th anniversary, he hosted an exhibit about Caterpillar's history at the community center at his own expense, showing the community more than 400 models of Caterpillar equipment from his collection and a Caterpillar track-type tractor that his grandfather purchased in 1955.

At the time, John and his neighbors were amazed that the 60-year-old tractor was still functional. But Pete told them it wasn't a big deal, and in 1938 an Estonian bought a Caterpillar D4 bulldozer, which he buried in the ground before fleeing the country due to political turmoil (the Soviet Union annexed Estonia).

After the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, the octogenarian regained ownership of the land where the D4 bulldozer was buried. He had the bulldozer dug up and found that the equipment was still in good condition and functional. Later, the historic D4 bulldozer was purchased by Caterpillar's dealers in Estonia at a high price and became an important exhibit.

Today, John is very grateful to the neighbor named Pete in his previous life. Through his exhibition, John learned that the tractor company, founded in Illinois in 1925, is not only the world's largest manufacturer of construction machinery and mining equipment, but also a technology leader and a top global manufacturer of diesel and natural gas engines and industrial gas turbines.

In 2015, Caterpillar Inc.'s annual sales reached $47 billion, ranking 194th among the world's top 500 companies. At the same time, as it is the world's largest manufacturer of earthmoving and mining equipment, it plays an important role in the engine of global economic growth. Caterpillar is known as a barometer of the global economy, and its performance trend has been included in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index 16 times.

More importantly, Pitt's exhibition allowed John to understand the development process of this "king of construction machinery". Let him know that at this time in 1940, Caterpillar was in the most difficult period of his 90-year history.

Thanks to the establishment of diplomatic relations between the United States and the Soviet Union in the early 30s, the years after the economic crisis of 1929 were not too difficult for Caterpillar. Although sales are declining year by year, the production operations of the plant are still progressing steadily.

Even when all walks of life in the United States were adrift in the economic depression, Caterpillar could still have the spare energy to expand, expanding its business to road construction machines, compressors and other fields, and also launched the world's only diesel engine assembly line at that time, becoming the world's largest diesel engine manufacturer in one fell swoop.

Much of Caterpillar's impressive performance during the economic crisis was due to export sales, especially to the Soviet Union.

At that time, the Soviet Union was implementing the "Second Five-Year Plan", which vigorously promoted the collectivization of agriculture at the same time as the rapid socialist industrialization. Due to the shortage of agricultural labor caused by industrialization and the movement to completely "exterminate" the entire kulak class, and large tracts of collective farm land needed to be cultivated, the Soviets imported large quantities of Caterpillar track-type tractors from the United States.

Although none of the American capitalists will have a favorable opinion of communism, Marx's words say, "For money, capitalists will sell the ropes that hang themselves!" Translated into the popular phrase of the American business community in the 30s, "A capitalist who does not want to sell his products to a communist country is not a good capitalist." ”

At that time, under the pressure of the economic crisis, many American companies tried their best to do business with the Soviets. They not only bought products, but also sold technology, and some enterprises even sold workers with production lines to the Soviet Union.

During this "honeymoon period" of trade between the United States and the Soviet Union, Caterpillar's performance was the most eye-catching. Throughout the 30s, they not only exported a large number of tractors and diesel engines to the Soviet Union, but also helped the Soviets design two new giant tractor factories in Stalingrad and Leningrad. Both factories later played an important role in the Great Patriotic War of the Soviet Union.

But in 1940, Caterpillar's profit line suddenly broke. As the Soviet Union brazenly annexed western Poland and the three Baltic states, the short "honeymoon period" between the United States and the Soviet Union came to an end. The Roosevelt administration announced economic sanctions against the Soviet Union, and Caterpillar products were included in the embargoed list.

Since the ban was issued, Caterpillar's stock price has been falling. THIS NOT ONLY LED TO THE DIRECT GROUNDING OF SEVERAL MERGERS AND ACQUISITIONS THAT THE COMPANY'S CHAIRMAN C.L. BEST WAS OPERATING, BUT THE ENTIRE COMPANY'S CAPITAL CHAIN WAS ALSO AT RISK OF BREAKING. This, in turn, has intensified the contradictions within Caterpillar, and a power struggle is in full swing.

Originally, Caterpillar was formed by the merger of two tractor companies, Holt and Best. The current president and chairman of the company, Best, is the son of Daniel Best, the founder of the original Best Tractor Company, and has been at the helm of Caterpillar for 15 years.

Best was an amazing engineer with more than 27 patents, and he designed a chassis that will continue to be used in many Caterpillar products into the next century. But now, he has been challenged by Rooney Newmiller, a vice president of Holt Tractors.

Newmiller was a master of team management who had risen from the ranks of stenographer and draftsman, and when the two companies merged in 1925, he was only a manager in the general parts department. In 1938, he rose to the position of vice president of the company, becoming the de facto manager of the day-to-day operations of the entire company.

John knew that this time in history, Newmiller would become president of Caterpillar Inc. by this time next year, and in 1954 he would officially become chairman of the company. During his tenure, Caterpillar expanded its product line from 3 to 11, opened 13 new factories (6 overseas), and completed its initial global footprint.

If a few years ago, John smashed all the $1 million in his hands into Caterpillar's large plate with sales of tens of millions of dollars per year, it is estimated that he would not even be able to hear the sound. But now, Caterpillar is in the midst of internal and external difficulties, and the order from the military will be their only lifeline. If John can make good use of his military status, he may not be unable to get a piece of the pie from this internal power struggle.