WorldWide Drilling Resource

60 OCTOBER 2014 WorldWide Drilling Resource ® A Tale of Two Companies Compiled by Amy White, Associate Editor WorldWide Drilling Resource ® The Caterpillar Story For farmers in California, in the mid- 1800s, it was the best of times, and it was the worst of times. Weary and dis- couraged gold miners had found the light at the end of the tunnel to be an ideal environment for raising wheat - fields upon fields of fertile soil and flat terrain, paired with a climate of rainy winters and hot, dry summers. The state’s gold rush soon gave way to an agricul- tural rush. California’s grain operations evolved into something quite different from fam- ily farms of the American North. Wheat farms were much larger in California, and more reliant on labor-saving tech- nology. Farmers used wheeled steam trac- tors, which had a tendency to get stuck in the mud. Daniel Best and Benjamin Holt were manufacturers who wanted to remedy this problem. Holt had a brilliant idea to replace the tractor ’s large rear wheels with a set of tracks, and thus the modern trac- tor - called a “caterpillar” because of the way it moved across the ground - was born. By the early 1900s, the Holt caterpillar was operating around the world. Caterpillar Tractor Co. was estab- lished in 1925. By 1931, the diesel tractor engine was perfected for common use. Construction of highways, dams, and mines boomed in the 1960s, and kept Caterpillar sales on a continuous rise. In 1963, the company produced its first off-highway construction and mining truck. By 1978, Caterpillar was offering more heavy-duty agricultural, construc- tion, and material-hauling machines than any other company. Caterpillar began pursuing worldwide leadership in the mining sector in the 1980s. After several decades of tremen- dous success in the industry, the com- pany purchased Bucyrus International, Inc., a leading manufacturer of surface and underground mining equipment. It was the largest acquisition in Caterpillar’s history, and larger than all the company’s previous acquisitions combined. The Halco Story In 1948, Halifax Tool Co. - which became known as Halco - was founded by S. Marshall & Sons in Halifax, United Kingdom, to manufacture tungsten car- bide and masons tools. Working with Stenuick of Belgium, Halco developed the first DTH (down-the-hole) hammer in 1951. The company began to manufacture DTH drill rigs in 1952. After introducing a variety of rigs over a span of 40 years, Halco produced its last rig in 1995, and production became focused solely on hammers and bits. In 1996, following several acquisi- tions by Halco, the company was oper- ating under multiple names, including Halco Halifax and Halco America. These companies sold to a venture capital group, and collectively became Halco Group Ltd. In 2003, Halco Group Ltd. restructured to form Halco Holdings Ltd. Terex Corporation of the USA pur- chased Halco Holdings Ltd. in 2006. Bucyrus International acquired several subsidiaries and assets of the Terex Corporation in 2009, including Halco, which began trading as Halco Rock Tools. When Caterpillar purchased Bucyrus in 2011, Halco Rock Tools became part of Caterpillar. Recognizing the importance of main- taining personal relationships between the two organizations, Caterpillar quickly went to work with the mindset of “one team wherever there is mining” at the heart of the process. Joining forces with Caterpillar gave Halco - which was already well-known around the world for superb DTH drilling equipment - unsurpassed access to knowledge and resources of the world’s chief mining operations. Last year, Halco celebrated its 65th anniversary in the DTH industry. The company plans to keep helping cus- tomers with innovative drilling solutions for many years to come. The original Caterpillar. Photo courtesy of holtcat.com Heat treatment is essential to Halco’s bits, which are recognized throughout the world for their performance and reliability. Photo courtesy of halcorocktools.com Hello Bonnie, Good Morning..!! On first look I have no words to appreciate you for this wonderful article. Real ly very very nice. A BIGGG thanks to all WWDR Team... everything is perfect and right. Job done at first shot...that’s what I like..!! I seriously believe all WWDR Team is doing Solid Gold Service... of course, with a Smile. Have a great day WWDR Team. Keep doing the same work. Thanks and Best Regards, Ashish Rathi National Sales Manager Shakti Pumps USA LLC