The heavy equipment industry is big business. Manufacturers like Caterpillar, Komatsu, John Deere, Hitachi, and Volvo sold $176 billion worth of engines and heavy-duty construction, mining, and power generation equipment last year. These machines pull precious resources out of the earth and help construct roads, bridges, and buildings that serve as the backbone of the world's infrastructure. It's a highly competitive industry with intensely value-conscious buyers.
These companies are giants, but Caterpillar towers above them all. For more than nine decades, Caterpillar has dominated the heavy equipment market. Its yellow tractors, crawlers, loaders, bulldozers, and trucks are a common sight worldwide. Caterpillar sells hundreds of different products in nearly 200 countries, with revenues topping $51 billion. COVID-19 has distorted supply chains and suppressed the construction industry in recent times, but even while Caterpillar's revenues have taken a hit, the company has outperformed the market. Its profits have been strong at 7 to 13 percent of sales. Year after year, the big Cat has led industry sales, taking 13 percent last year over number-two Komatsu's 10.4 percent.

One Caterpillar customer noted that being with the company gave that customer "peace of mind." What enables Caterpillar to be in the "peace of mind" business?