CATERPILLAR Power Systems For Sale

About Caterpillar

For nearly nine decades, Caterpillar has leveraged its engine manufacturing power to produce a different kind of power: electricity. Now more commonly known as Cat Power Systems, the complete lineup includes a variety of specifications for backup power when utility systems fail and for primary power where the grid is inadequate or nonexistent. Cat Power Systems offers both diesel and other commercial and industrial generators, as well as full line of power system accessories. The systems serve as standby power for data centers, hospitals, and disaster relief sites; as primary power production for the energy sector (as in drilling, well servicing, wellhead gas compression, and offshore oilfield and gas well platforms); and for power generation for the agriculture, forestry, mining, and construction industries, not to mention for oceangoing ships.

Historically Powerful

Currently headquartered in Peoria, Illinois, the Caterpillar story harks back to the name of a track-type tractor invented by Benjamin Holt. His company and C. L. Best’s merged in 1925 to become known as the Caterpillar Tractor Company. Cat generators emerged in the 1930s and 1940s as an offshoot of the company’s engine production and agricultural ties; their history is illustrated by important events in which they have taken part.

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Cat Power Systems 3412C Generator Set

In 1969, Cat Power helped NASA communicate with the Apollo 11 moon landing mission. For example, an 85-foot (26-meter) Rosman, North Carolina tracking antenna ran on electricity from ten Caterpillar diesel generators to keep Earth in touch with the pioneering astronauts.

At the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary, Canada, 27 Cat generator sets supplied primary and backup power. When utility-supplied power to the Roundup Center failed twice during the events, two Cat 3508 generator sets picked up the slack.

During the catastrophic New York City blackout of 1977, Cat D353T and D398 generator sets kept the lights on at the police headquarters, several hospitals, and even Shea Stadium. In 2003, during an even bigger power outage in the Northeast U.S., more than 300 Cat generators and a pair of 1,000-kilowatt trailer gen sets were sent to places such as Detroit, Cleveland, and New York City, where Cat power kept Wall Street trading uninterrupted. The company says that it supplied the majority of power production and dealer assistance during the blackout, the largest in United States history to that point.

Cat Power Systems Today

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

Being on the large side, many Cat generators come mounted on skids, on and inside towable trailers, and in stationary enclosures when they’re not permanently installed in power plant settings. More recently, Cat introduced portable models around the RP series of compact recreational generators.

On PowerSystemsToday.com, you’ll find categories for Cat stationary generators, Cat power plant generators, Cat marine generators, and Cat towable generators, among others.

Cat’s extensive generator lineup offers options for 50- and 60-Hz power at practically every required voltage level. There are Cat Power Systems generator sets for single-phase applications and triple-phase requirements. Fuel options include diesel, natural gas, biogas from landfills and digesters, propane, and alternative fuels.

Peripheral Cat Power Equipment

Cat also sells paralleling control panels and switchgear systems for its generators, along with flywheel UPSes (uninterruptible power supplies) and batteries for UPS systems. Cat even has a hand in solar power generation. The company sells photovoltaic panels, energy time shift modules, and grid stability modules in its Microgrid product line.

Other Cat Brands

Over the years, Caterpillar has added to its own innovation with the acquisition of other firms, some of which live on as brands under the company umbrella.

In 1997, Cat acquired Krupp MaK Maschinenbau GmbH of Kiel, Germany, now known as MaK in the company’s portfolio of brands. The more than 150 year-old large marine diesel engine manufacturer also builds marine generator sets ranging from under 1,000 kilowatts to more than 16,000 kilowatts. MaK is well-versed in dual fuel and hybrid technologies.

In 1999, Cat purchased FG Wilson, a more than 50 year-old diesel and gas generator manufacturer in Belfast, Northern Ireland. FG Wilson had been building Cat-branded generator sets for some years prior, including the Olympian brand of small diesel units since 1992. Today, 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. The value-oriented Olympian line for prime or standby power applications is serviced and supported by Cat dealers, but with an independent parts supply chain.

In 2011, Caterpillar acquired the MWM brand to expand its offerings in the gas-powered generator market segment. The Mannheim, Germany firm makes 400- to 4,500-kilowatt gen sets that run on natural gas as well as sustainable gases, such as landfill and sewage bio-gas.

Finally, in 2017, Cat purchased intellectual property and other assets from Enercon Engineering. This lets the company produce custom enclosures and containers for 200 to 4,000-kilowatt diesel and natural gas generators in North America.

Find The Right Cat Power System

PowerSystemsToday.com is your source for new and used Caterpillar, FG Wilson, Olympian, and related brands of generators for sale. A few of the more popular Cat models on the used market include the Cat 3412, 3512, 3406, C15, C18, and XQ2000 generators.