Built On A Century Of Innovation

The use of rubber tracks on a farm tractor may date back less than two decades; but the heritage behind the Challenger® brand name, and Challenger track tractors in general, goes back more than a century to the wheat fields in central California.

Since the mid-1880s, Benjamin Holt and Daniel Best had been independently building innovative farm equipment to serve the needs of western agriculture. Among Holt’s inventions were his horse-drawn “link-belt combined harvester.” However, Best had also developed a successful harvester, cleaner and thresher, known as a “combined harvester.” Both families were also building their own brand of steam traction engines.

Unfortunately, the growing size of steam-powered tractors caused them to bog down in the  loose soil of California’s San Joaquin Valley. That’s when Holt came up with the idea for a tractor with “self-laying” tracks, which was first demonstrated on November 24, 1904. Four years later, in 1908, Holt advanced his track-type machine even further with a gasoline engine.

Not to be outdone, one of Daniel Best’s sons began building a crawler similar to Holt’s, but with some improvements, further contributing to the rivalry.

By the early 1920s, however, the slump in the tractor market made it clear that there wasn’t room for two crawler tractor manufacturers. As a result, the bitter rivals merged in 1925 to form the Caterpillar Tractor Company. Thanks to the combined strength and knowledge, Caterpillar® went on to develop even more innovations, including the world’s first production diesel-powered tractor in 1931—the same year they switched to “highway” yellow paint. Within three years, Caterpillar was building more diesel engines than all other North American manufacturers combined. Twenty years later, in 1954, they added turbocharged engines for more power from a smaller displacement.

Of course, through much of the 20th century, the impact of Caterpillar tractors extended far beyond agriculture. Cat® tractors fought the elements in both World War I and World War II, and played a role in nearly every road and reservoir project in North America, including the Alaska Highway and the Hoover Dam.

The real breakthrough for the ag community came in the 1980s with the development of Caterpillar’s revolutionary Mobil-trac system. Utilizing tough rubber tracks and an innovative suspension system, it offered the traction and flotation of steel tracks, combined with the ride and speed of rubber tires.

The concept proved so successful that Caterpillar developed a wide range of Challenger track models, including a smaller Model 35 and Model 45, designed for row-crop use. Just as a third generation of Challenger track tractors was being developed, AGCO Corporation paid Caterpillar the ultimate compliment by acquiring rights to the Challenger brand name and the manufacturing rights to the product.  Today, the new Challenger MT700B and MT800B Series track tractors carry on the "self-laying track" tradition with eight models from 269 to 570 gross engine horsepower.

All are built with pride in Jackson, Minn., at AGCO Corporation’s Jackson manufacturing facility and marketed through the highly respected network of Cat dealers. In the meantime, AGCO and Caterpillar have further solidified the partnership by including Cat engines and components in a number of new Challenger products, including mid-size wheel tractors, combines and self-propelled windrowers.

Challenger may be the new name in some circles. But scratch the surface, and you’ll find it’s a brand built on 100 years of tradition and integrity, backed by two of the world’s largest and most respected equipment companies.