CATERPILLAR DIESEL GENERATOR ENGINES

The story of Caterpillar Inc. originates in the late nineteenth century, when Daniel Best and Benjamin Holt experimented with ways to fulfill the promise that steam tractors held for farming. By 1904, these large steam-powered tractors had been plowing California fields for 14 years, and occasionally got bogged down in the soft California soil, especially after heavy rains. These huge tractors were difficult to pull free, even with teams of horses. Benjamin Holt had an idea: why not carry the road with the vehicle? On November 24, 1904 he added wooden block-linked treads around the idlers on Holt No.77, his test tractor. The results were impressive, and the modern tractor was born. Caterpillar became famous for its Caterpillar 30 and its Caterpillar 60 tractors.

Caterpillar formed on April 15, 1925 with the merger of Holt Manufacturing Company of Stockton, California and the C. L. Best Gas Traction Company of San Leandro, California, forming the Caterpillar Tractor Co. Sales the first year were $13 million. By 1929, sales climbed to $52.8 million, and CAT continued to grow throughout the Depression of the 1930s. The Holt Manufacturing Company had earlier pioneered the use of the caterpillar track during World War I.

After the companies merged, Caterpillar went through many changes, including the adoption of the diesel engine. Caterpillar products found fame with the US Navy "Seabees" who built airfields in the Pacific War. Following World War II, the company grew at a rapid pace and launched its first venture outside the US in 1950, marking the beginning of Caterpillar's development into a multinational corporation. Caterpillar products range from track-type tractors to hydraulic excavators, backhoe loaders, motor graders, off-highway trucks, wheel loaders, agricultural tractors, diesel and natural gas engines and gas turbines. They are used in construction, road-building, mining, forestry, energy, transportation and material-handling industries.

Caterpillar's crawler tractors inspired the first military tanks, which helped end World War I. Many of their machines helped build the Hoover Dam, tunnel under the English Channel, tumble the Berlin Wall and construct cities and neighborhoods across the United States. Caterpillar was one of the "excellent" companies featured in the 1982 best-selling management book In Search of Excellence, by business management guru Tom Peters. The company is guided by the principles of their "Worldwide Code of Conduct" document that stresses integrity in every action.

BALDOR DIESEL GENERATOR ENGINES

Baldor Electric was founded in 1920 by Edwin Ballman and Emil Doerr. The name of the company was derived using part of each of their names. In 1967 the Company's headquarters were moved from St. Louis, Missouri to Fort Smith, Arkansas.

Baldor became a public company on 15 January 1976. In 1977, Fred Ballman, Chairman and CEO -- and son of founder Edwin Ballman -- appointed the Company's President, Roland S. Boreham, Jr. to the position of CEO. Mr. Boreham, who was the Company's Chairman from 1981 - 2004, passed away 5 February 2006.

The Company's business guidelines are outlined by R.S. Boreham, Jr., in his book, "The Road Less Traveled: The History of Baldor 1976 - 2000":

"We have chosen to keep our manufacturing in the United States. We have chosen to have an independent sales force. We have chosen to follow our own pricing policies. We have chosen to augment our product lines rather than diversify. We have chosen to respond to economic downturns by maintaining our work force, continuing our research and development, and building inventories so we are ready when times improve. We have chosen to focus equally on our relationships with employees, customers, and shareholders."

Baldor introduced its line of Super-E premium efficient motors in 1983. In creating the Super-E motor, Baldor's goal was to create the most energy efficient motor on the market. In 1985, the white epoxy washdown duty motor line was introduced. In late 1989, Baldor purchased Sweo, allowing it to offer AC vector drives in addition to DC drive products. In the year following, Baldor developed AC vector motors for use with the vector controls.

Also in 1991, Baldor began its extremely successful customer education program, which continues to this day. Classes range from motor basics to intense drive programming and motion product courses. Classes are held at the Company's headquarters in Fort Smith, Arkansas.

In 1992, the U.S. government passed the Energy Policy Act of 1992. With this new set of rules, the government could set the minimum efficiency ratings required for AC motors. Baldor successfully met the 1 October 1997 deadline. Baldor Standard-E motors meet or exceed EPAct requirements. The line of Standard-E motors was chosen as "Product of the Year" by Plant Engineering magazine in 1998.

In 1996 alone, Baldor spent $19.9 million on Research and Development, correctly assuming that a large portion of future sales would depend on new product development.

In 1999, Baldor unveiled its highly customized computer system, with the help of SAP AG. Nicknamed the "Baldor Unified System" (BUS), the system allows district offices across North America to access to each other's warehouses, corporate engineering data, and customer information. In 2006, Baldor continued its tradition of education by introducing the BUS College, an employee education program focused on educating district office employees on the vast system available to them.

Presently, Baldor customers can gain access to their account information, including stock checks, placing and checking existing orders, and managing their accounting information via / BaldorVIP, an online progam connected to the Baldor BUS computer system.

In 2000, Baldor purchased Pow'R Guard, a generator manufacturer based in Wisconsin. Also in 2000, the University of Arkansas - Fort Smith, formally opened the Baldor Technology Center.

Baldor promotes its home-grown Value Formula. The Value Formula was publicly introduced in the 1990 Annual Report and remains a cornerstone of Baldor's customer service today:

V (Value Perceived by the customer) = Quality (Perceived) X Service (Perceived) / Cost + Time.

Baldor has fifteen manufacturing plants across the U.S., as well as locations around the world (UK, Australia, Germany, Singapore, Mexico, etc.). There are forty district sales offices and warehouses located throughout North America.

On 7 November 2006, Baldor Electric initiated a purchase of the Dodge and Reliance Electric brands from Rockwell Automation for 1.8 billion dollars USD. The purchase closed 31 January 2007, making Baldor the single largest motor manufacturer in the world.

CUMMINS DIESEL GENERATOR ENGINES

Cummins Inc. (NYSE: CMI) is a maker of diesel and natural gas engines whose corporate headquarters is located in Columbus, Indiana. Today more than 51% of Cummins' business comes from operations outside of the United States. Part of Cummins model is to create partnerships with key players in foreign markets and they have done so recently in China and India.

Cummins is named after inventor-mechanic Clessie Cummins, who was one of the key players in the founding of the company. He was financially backed by investor William Irwin, starting in 1919, as he improved on existing diesel engine designs.

Cummins Power Generation (formerly Onan)
Cummins purchased Fridley, MN based Onan in the 1990s to gain entry into power generation, an industry which relies heavily upon diesel engines. The division officially changed its name to Cummins Power Generation to be identified more closely with their parent company.

Cummins has an extensive manufacturing, distributor and dealer network with 550 Company-owned and independent distributor locations and more than 5,000 dealer locations that provide sales, service and support for it's products worldwide.

JOHN DEERE DIESEL GENERATOR ENGINES

John Deere (February 7, 1804 – May 17, 1886) was an American blacksmith and manufacturer who founded Deere & Company—one of the largest agricultural and construction equipment manufacturers in the world.

Deere was born in Rutland, Vermont, the son of William Rinold Deere, a tailor. His father disappeared en route to England in 1808, where he was seeking a possible inheritance. John received a basic education from the local common school. With no inheritance and a meager education, in 1821, his mother had him apprenticed at age 17. He served four years as apprentice to Captain Benjamin Lawrence, a prosperous Middlebury blacksmith, and entered the trade for himself in 1825.

In 1827 he married Demarius Lamb, and by 1836 the couple had four children, with a fifth child on the way. The business was not doing very well and Deere was having trouble with his creditors. Facing bankruptcy, Deere sold the shop to his father-in-law, and departed for Illinois. He left his wife and family, who were to join him later

Deere settled in Grand Detour, Illinois. As there were no other blacksmiths in the area, Deere had no difficulty finding work. Growing up in his father's Rutland, Vt. tailor shop, Deere had polished and sharpened needles by running them through sand. This polishing helped the needles sew through tough leather. He found that cast-iron plows were not working very well in the tough prairie soil found in Illinois, and remembering the polished needles, Deere came to the conclusion that a plow made out of highly polished steel and a correctly shaped moldboard (the self-scouring steel plow) would better be able to handle the soil conditions of the prairie, especially its sticky clay.

In 1837 Deere developed and manufactured the first commercially-successful steel plow cast-steel plow. The wrought iron plow had a steel share which made it ideal for the tough soil of the Midwest, and worked better than other plows. In 1843 Deere partnered with Leonard Andrus to produce more plows to keep up with demand. In 1848, Deere dissolved the partnership with Andrus, and moved to Moline, Illinois because the city's location by the Mississippi River, and because it was a transportation hub. By 1855, over 10,000 such plows were sold by Deere's factory. From the very beginning, Deere insisted on making high quality equipment. Deere once said, "I will never put my name on a product that does not have in it the best that is in me." As the business improved, Deere left the day to day operations to his son Charles. In 1868, Deere incorporated his business as Deere & Company.

Later in life, Deere focused most of his attention on civil and political affairs. He served as President of the National Bank of Moline, a director of the Moline Free Public Library, and was an active member of the First Congregational Church. Deere also served as Mayor of Moline for two years.

Deere died at home on May 17, 1886. The company he founded continued following his death, and has become the world's leading provider of advanced products and services for agriculture and forestry and a major provider of advanced products and services for construction, lawn and turf care, landscaping and irrigation.

DETROIT DIESEL GENERATOR ENGINES

Detroit Diesel Corporation (DDC), is headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, USA. There are today two individual divisions that share this name: the off-highway division which is owned by Tognum, which EQT IV formed along with MTU Friedrichshafen, and the on-highway division which is owned by DaimlerChrysler.

Detroit Diesel was part of the Freightliner - Trucks NAFTA Business Unit of DaimlerChrysler until it was split into two. The on-highway part of Detroit Diesel remains a part of this division, with the sale of the off-highway division to EQT IV. The company produces on-highway medium and heavy-duty Diesel engines for the commercial truck market, and for other commercial and automobile use. Engines range from 170 to 515 hp (127 to 384 kW) for the on-highway market. The Series 60 has been the market share leader since 1992, and combined with the MBE 4000 has 27% of the Class 8 market. Worldwide there are over 800,000 Series 60's, and over 350,000 MBE 900's, in operation.

• 1938: The company was founded by General Motors as the GM Diesel Division. Its initial product line was the Series 71 engine family, this first lineup consisting of exclusively inline configurations ranging from one to six cylinders.
• World War II: When WWII broke out DDC's two-cycle, lightweight, compact engine is in great demand for landing craft, tanks, road building equipment, and standby generators.
• 1957: Introduction of the Series 53 & Series V-71 engines
• 1965: GM Diesel becomes Detroit Diesel Engine Division. Also, the Series 149 is introduced, replacing the prior Series 110.
• 1970: General Motors merges the Indianapolis based Allison Division, maker of gas turbines and transmissions, to form the Detroit Diesel Allison Division.
• 1974: Series 92 introduced.
• 1980: 8.2 Fuel Pincher diesel introduced.
• 1981: Series 92 upgraded; renamed to "Silver 92."
• 1982: Detroit Diesel V8 engine is introduced in the Chevrolet C/K
• 1987: Series 60 introduced.
• 1988: Penske Corporation buys a portion of the company and together with GM spin Detroit Diesel Corporation off as a separate company
• 1993: Company completes an initial public offering (IPO), listing on the NYSE under the ticker symbol DDC. Series 50 introduced.
• 2000: DaimlerChrysler AG purchased the company, merging it with their MTU Friedrichshafen and Mercedes-Benz industrial engines businesses, creating the DaimlerChrysler Powersystems division.
• 2006: MTU Friedrichshafen, including the Off-highway part of Detroit Diesel in the USA, is acquired by the EQT investment group. A new company, Tognum GmbH, was formed as a holding company for the brands. The on-highway division of Detroit Diesel was retained by Daimlerchrysler as part of its Freightliner Truck division. Both companies use the 'Detroit Diesel' name and corporate logo.

KOHLER DIESEL GENERATOR ENGINES

Kohler was founded in 1873 by Austrian immigrant John Michael Kohler with the purchase of the Sheboygan Union Iron and Steel Foundry. Early products included cast iron and steel farm implements, castings for furniture factories, and ornamental iron pieces including cemetery crosses and settees. A breakthrough came for the company when, in 1883, John Michael applied enamel to a cast iron horse trough to create the company's first bathtub. From this point on, the company has been primarily in the plumbing business, and became well known for plumbing fixtures. In 1888 the then Kohler Water Works developed the original trademarked Bubbler. The idea took off and other companies developed similar products under the generic term "drinking fountain." The colloquial word Bubbler is still used in several regions of the United States.

Former Wisconsin Governor Walter J. Kohler, Sr. was President of Kohler Company as was his son former Wisconsin Governor Walter J. Kohler, Jr.. Today, the president of Kohler is Herbert V. Kohler, Jr. (born February 20, 1939), grandson of the founder.

In 1998, Kohler made a plan to buy back any outstanding shares not owned by the family. All family members had to exchange their common shares for share with limited rights, those that could not be sold. Since Kohler is not a publically traded company, the amount of shares floating were minimal. Kohler offered $55,400 per share, but some shareholders challenged this valuation and sued.

The IRS also decided challenge this valuation by prosecuting the estate of Frederick Kohler who had recently died holding 975 shares. The value of 489, was due in tax. Kohler won the lawsuit against the IRS.

Kohler makes a large range of small industrial engines. Kohler engines power a range of devices from water pumps to the commercially available Tomcar off-road vehicle.

More recently, the company has been expanding in the areas of furniture, cabinetry, and tile in the consumer market, and engines and generators for industry. The Kohler Interiors division of the company is made up of Baker Furniture, McGuire Furniture and Ann Sacks Tile. These other consumer products have not yet achieved the market presence of the plumbing products. However, the industrial products have become well recognized in eastern Wisconsin.

Kohler company displays many of its products at the Kohler Design Center in the city of Kohler.

PERKINS DIESEL GENERATOR ENGINES

Perkins Engines was formed as F. Perkins Ltd. on the 7th June 1932 in Peterborough, England by Frank Perkins. The Company was sold to Massey-Ferguson Ltd. in 1959. It later became part of LucasVarity Plc. Caterpillar purchased the Perkins Engines Company from LucasVarity in 1998 for US $1.35 billion. Worldwide one in five tractors is powered by a Perkins engine. The French truck manufacturer ACMAT uses Perkins engines exclusively.