CATERPILLAR Generators Dismantled Machines

The History Of Cat Power Systems

The story of Caterpillar (which today is headquartered in Irving, Texas) harks back to the name of a track-type tractor invented by Benjamin Holt—a photographer commented that the track going over the rollers looked like a caterpillar, and the rest is history. Holt’s company and C. L. Best’s merged in 1925 to form the Caterpillar Tractor Company. Cat generators emerged soon after as an offshoot of the company’s engine production and agricultural ties. Cat generators have played crucial roles in many important events over the years, including:

• 1969 - Cat Power helped NASA communicate with the Apollo 11 moon landing mission, including via a tracking antenna in North Carolina that ran on electricity from 10 Cat diesel generators
• 1977 - Cat D353T and D398 generator sets kept the lights on at the police headquarters, several hospitals, and Shea Stadium during that year’s catastrophic New York City blackout
• 1988 - Roughly 30 Cat generator sets, including two Cat 3508 gen sets, supplied primary and backup power to that year’s Winter Olympics in Calgary, Canada
• 2003 - Over 300 Cat generators and two 1,000-kilowatt trailer gen sets supplied power to numerous places throughout the Northeast U.S. during what was the largest blackout in U.S. history to that point

Cat Power Systems Products

Cat generator sets range from 5 kW up to 16,000 kW. Caterpillar divides its power products into electric power generation, industrial, marine power systems, and oil and gas production categories.

PowerSystemsToday.com hosts for-sale listings for Cat stationary, power plant, marine, and towable generators. Caterpillar’s generator lineup offers options for 50- and 60-Hz power at practically every required voltage level. You’ll find Cat generator sets for single- and three-phase requirements, as well as fuel options that include diesel, natural gas, biogas, field gas, hydrogen blend, and propane.

What Power-Related Brands Does Cat Own?

Over the years, Caterpillar has acquired several other firms, some of which live on as brands under the company umbrella. The following are a few examples:

• MaK - In 1997, Caterpillar acquired what’s now known as MaK, an over 150-year-old large marine diesel engine manufacturer that also builds marine gen sets ranging from under 1,000 kW to over 16,000 kW
• FG Wilson - In 1999, Caterpillar purchased FG Wilson, a U.K.-based diesel and gas generator manufacturer that had previously been building Cat-branded gen sets, including the Olympian brand of small diesel units. FG Wilson’s enclosed and open product line ranges from small 6.8 kVA domestic generator sets to large 2,500 kVA power systems for national grids
• MWM - In 2011, Caterpillar acquired the MWM brand to expand its offerings in the gas-powered generator segment. The Mannheim, Germany, firm makes 400- to 4,500-kW gen sets that run on natural gas, biogas, and other gas types
• 2017 - In 2017, Caterpillar purchased intellectual property and other assets from Enercon Engineering, enabling it to produce custom enclosures and containers for 200 to 4,000-kW diesel and natural gas generators in North America

Find Your Next Caterpillar Generator

Explore PowerSystemsToday.com to find new and used Caterpillar stationary, power plant, marine, and towable generators for sale, plus FG Wilson, MaK, MWM, and Olympian products. A few of the more popular Cat generator model series on the site include the 3412, 3512, 3516, C15, XQ60, and XQ230.