1925 Holt 10-Ton vs. 2025 Cat D3 – Cat Holt Shows 100 Years of Progress

Caterpillar’s 100-year anniversary celebration is also a celebration for the Holt family, which owns the Holt Cat dealership group based in San Antonio, Texas.

So when the delivery arrived last month of Caterpillar’s new Centennial Grey D3 dozer, which pays tribute to the color of the company’s first products, Holt Cat decided to bring out a 1925 Holt 10-Ton “Caterpillar” crawler tractor.

The antique tractor was a way to pay tribute to inventor and ancestor Benjamin Holt, as well as show the progress Caterpillar has made over the past century when displayed alongside the new 2025 limited-edition D3.

Holt 10-Ton

Holt CatBenjamin Holt patented the track-type tractor in 1904, and it was later named the “Caterpillar” because of its crawler tracks. Holt co-founded the Holt Manufacturing Company, which produced the 10-Ton along with other crawler tractors.

Holt’s 10-ton tractor was launched in 1917 for military use during World War I, and commercial versions were produced from 1919 to 1925. The tractors had a 40-drawbar-horsepower gasoline engine and a top speed of 6 mph. The 10-Ton was replaced by the Caterpillar Sixty.

Holt Manufacturing merged with C.L. Best Tractor Co. in 1925 to form the Caterpillar Tractor Co. The new company’s first tractors were battleship gray along with a red wavy “Caterpillar” logo and red trim. In 1931, the company’s products were painted "Hi-Way Yellow" with black trim. It wasn’t until 1979 that Cat switched to the trademark “Caterpillar Yellow” we know today.

In 1925, the 10-Ton was among the largest tractors produced by Caterpillar, while the 2025 D3 of similar weight is among the company’s smallest dozers, but with a 104-horsepower diesel engine.

Cat 100 Years Old; Holt Cat 92

2025 Centennial Grey Cat D3 dozerHolt CatOn March 21, Holt Cat hosted a Caterpillar centennial event attended by Caterpillar executives and Holt family members – including owners Peter J. Holt and Corinna Holt Richter who are direct descendants of Benjamin Holt – at the dealership’s San Antonio headquarters.

The D3 marks the first type of Cat machine to get the limited-edition Centennial Grey paint job, as well as special markings denoting Cat’s 100-year anniversary and a commemorative interior plate.

D6XE and D8 dozers and a 305 CR excavator also got the Centennial Grey treatment, with other models and equipment types possibly to follow, Caterpillar says. The limited-edition machines will be displayed at select anniversary celebrations and trade shows and will be offered for sale at select dealerships.

Holt Cat, which formed in 1933, plans to display its Centennial Grey D3 at its upcoming Equipment Expo and regional Caterpillar Global Operator’s Challenge on April 12 in San Antonio.

“The machines sold around the world today can trace their beginnings to Benjamin Holt’s inventions,” says a Holt Cat news release. “His vision of powerful and efficient equipment laid the foundation for modern machinery used in agriculture, construction and defense. For more than a century, the Holt name has been connected to heavy equipment innovation and Caterpillar.”