Page 460 - Peterson 85 Years and Going Strong

RISKS THAT PAID OFF
Peterson was built on the backs of risk and innovation. Founder Howard Peterson set the tone. At the end of WWII, he bought dozens of army surplus Cat machines from the government for $2,000 apiece. Most were new or barely used. Their one stipulation? He had to go find them himself—out on the islands of the South Pacific. So Howard partnered with a local used equipment dealer and chartered a ship for $1,000 a day to go collect Cat D7s and D8s in places like Bora Bora, the Solomon Islands and the Philippines. There were 160 machines total. Howard got half. Since the construction industry was starved for equipment, he got top dollar for every single one. It was a very smart move because nobody could get equipment out of Caterpillar at that time.
Other risky business decisions throughout Peterson’s history:
• TurningdowntwootherCatdealershipsbeforegettingtheonehewantedintheSFBayArea—HowardPeterson
• BuildingagiantshowroomattheSanLeandroHQfacilityin1947-48—Howard&BusterPeterson
• NumerousSEQinnovations:QuadD9s,Triple657s,TwinD8s,SnoCats—34patentsinall—BusterPeterson
• ThecomputerizedKenwaypartsretrievalsystemintheSanLeandroPartsDept.duringthe1970s—BillDoyle
• Takingon3newCatterritoriesinthe1980sduringrecoveryfrom1981-82recession—BillDoyle
• BuyingCrescointhe1990satthebeginningofPeterson’sthirdgeneration—DuaneDoyleSr.
• CreatingPower’sprojectmanagementsoftwareprogram—EBMS—inthe1990s,whichCatbought—TimTreat
• OrderingtwentyscrapersonahandshakedealwithDeSilva-Gatesin2003—JerryLopus
• Theturbinerentalbusinessinthe2000s—JeffGoggin,RogerWood,GeneHamilton
• Thechillerrentalbusinessinthemid-1990s—JeffGoggin,RogerWood,MattGeorge
• BuyinganInternationalTruckdealershipin2010afterCatquitthetruckenginebusiness—DuaneDoyleSr.and
Eric Martin
Left to right: The beginning of Peterson’s fourth generation, with Duane Jr. in 1984; Duane Sr. & Duane Jr. in 2019
458 | PETERSON: 85 YEARS AND GOING STRONG