What Is the Caterpillar Logo?
The Caterpillar logo is the word CAT in heavy capital letters, with a yellow triangle set into the bottom of the A. It belongs to Caterpillar Inc., the American maker of construction and mining machines, engines and power systems, which was formed in California in 1925 and is headquartered in Irving, Texas.
The company's machines have carried the short name Cat since 1950, and the triangle mark has been in use since 1989. The CAT mark with its triangle is available as the Caterpillar logo SVG.
Caterpillar Logo Facts
| Introduced | 1989 |
| Symbol | A yellow triangle under the A of CAT |
| Logo type | Combination mark: the CAT wordmark and a triangle |
| Earlier mark | The Block-C logo, introduced in 1967 |
| Owner | Caterpillar Inc. |
What the Caterpillar Logo Means
The name comes from a test drive. In 1904 Benjamin Holt replaced the rear wheels of a Holt steam tractor with a pair of tracks, so the machine would not sink into soft farm soil. During a test in 1905, the company photographer remarked that it crawled like a giant caterpillar, and the name stuck.
CAT is the short form of that name, the one painted on the machines since 1950. The triangle uses the same yellow the company paints its machines. Caterpillar switched its machines from battleship grey to Hi-Way Yellow in 1931, and moved to a shade called Caterpillar Yellow in 1979.
Caterpillar Logo History
Caterpillar Tractor Co. was formed in 1925, when the Holt Manufacturing Company and the C.L. Best Tractor Co. merged, and was first based in San Leandro, California.
- 1925: The new company adopted a wavy logo that echoed the crawling tracks of its machines, and painted every machine battleship grey.
- 1930: Caterpillar officially dropped the wavy logo, although it stayed on cast parts for a few more years.
- 1931: Machines changed from grey to Hi-Way Yellow.
- 1950: The short name Cat began to appear on machines.
- 1967: The Block-C logo arrived, along with a box on the machine that grouped the logo and the model name.
- 1989: A yellow triangle joined the CAT name and the longer Caterpillar wordmark. The block lettering stayed but was made thinner.
- 2018: Caterpillar's in-house design team added a red hexagon to the logo for its machines, a shape taken from graphics on the company's first crawler tractors of 1925. Caterpillar calls this machine look Cat Modern Hex.
Caterpillar and John Deere
Both companies grew out of farm machinery, and both are named after something that moves across a field. Holt fitted tracks to a tractor to cope with soft soil, while John Deere built his first steel plow for the sticky prairie soil of Illinois in 1837 (compare the John Deere logo). The two also split the colour chart: Caterpillar has painted its machines yellow since 1931, while Deere pairs green with yellow on its farm machines and uses a yellow deer on black for its construction equipment.
For more brands like Caterpillar, browse our industrial logos.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is Caterpillar called Caterpillar?
During a test of Benjamin Holt's tracked steam tractor in 1905, the company photographer said the machine crawled like a giant caterpillar.
When did Caterpillar start using the name Cat?
The short name Cat first appeared on Caterpillar machines in 1950. The CAT logo with the yellow triangle followed in 1989.
When did Caterpillar machines turn yellow?
In 1931, when Caterpillar changed its machines from battleship grey to Hi-Way Yellow. In 1979 it replaced that shade with Caterpillar Yellow.
What is the red hexagon on Cat machines?
It was added in 2018 and is based on graphics used on Caterpillar's first crawler tractors in 1925.