Peterson

Archives ... Digging Up the Past

	peterson tractor & Equipment co. begins - 1936 On November 16, 1936, Howard Peterson opened the doors on his new company, Peterson Tractor & Equipment Company as the new Caterpillar dealership for the SF Bay Area. Peterson took over the leased flat on Howard St, in SF from former dealer, Robinson Tractor, along with existing branches in Half Moon Bay, and Brentwood, and for a very short time, in Oakland.
	peterson's grand opening in hayward - 1937 Peterson held a Grand Opening for its very first new facility ever ... the first of two in Hayward, on April 17, 1937. A month later, in May, Peterson personnel moved out of the temporary leased space (of former CAT dealer, Robinson Tractor) and into another new facility across town at 470 Bayshore, SF.
	PETERSON during wwii - 1941 Peterson Tractor & Eqpt Co. was just 5 years old at the time, gearing up to move into its new headquarters at A & Soto Sts. in Hayward. "We were throwing a big party for our customers at a duck club," says founder Howard Peterson. "I remember vividly coming in from the duck blind and hearing the news about Pearl Harbor being bombed."
	PETERSON breaks ground on new SL facility - 1947 In 1947, Howard Peterson bought 20 acres of tomato fields in San Leandro on First Avenue, for his new headquarters. They moved in a year later on Labor Day weekend, 1948.
	peterson offset d8 pipelayer - 1949 One of Peterson's early design successes was the Offset D8 Pipelayer designed for Bechtel’s Super Inch Pipeline project in 1949. It was patented in July 1955, and later bought by Caterpillar and added to their product line.
	sno-cats walk on arctic permafrost - 1953 In 1953, Peterson shipped its newest design, the D7 SnoCAT to Thule Air Force Base in Greenland. The Army Corps of Engineers took delivery on several more the following year. The SnoCAT's success was due to low ground pressure tracks that could walk across the permafrost without sinking.
	peterson's twin d8s - 1954 One of Peterson’s early signature designs was the twin D8, patented in 1954 as the “Tractor with Twin Power Plants”. It served as a stopgap for higher horsepower requirements until CAT came out with the D9 in 1955.
	peterson's quad d9s - 1964 Buster Peterson's Quad D9 design was the most practical and popular innovation to come out of Peterson's Special Services shop in the 1960s. The Quad’s doubled-horsepower increased loading capacity and cycle-times significantly, earning them a “standard” spot in the earthmoving industry for several years.
	peterson's triple 657 scraper - 1965 Peterson built a 6-engine, 6-axle, 2850 horsepower, 186-ft long machine for Peter Kiewit's San Luis Canal contract in 1965. It blew conventional machines out of the Valley, making a bit of construction history in the process.
	Oroville dam: Peterson supports Oman construction Oroville Dam was where Peterson cut its teeth on combining traditional product support with innovative custom fabrication. Special equipment designed to aid a mammoth and unconventional construction method brought the project in one month under deadline. It was dedicated in May 1968 and still stands as the tallest earth-filled dam in the nation.
	buster's hoe apron scraper - 1969 In the late 1960s, Caterpillar was pushing to develop a self-loading scraper. After the success of his Triple 657s, Buster went to work on his Hoe Apron Scraper ... a complicated but workable idea.
	_______________________________________________ HISTORY ARCHIVAL LIBRARY - under construction • Peterson Facilities History • Howard Peterson • Buster Peterson • Birth of Caterpillar Name • Caterpillar Begins • Best Steamer No. 185 • Peterson Moves into Oregon • Peterson Acquires Pape Bros. (Press Release) • Peterson's Cat Rental Store Opens • Innovations in Iron - Custom Designs • Buster Peterson's Patents • Peterson's Earliest Employees (1930s) • Pioneering the Edge of the Future (Custom Fab) • Peterson People (Archives)