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Carolina Tractor - History Detail
07/01/2009Carolina Tractor, one of the oldest Caterpillar dealerships in the United States, was founded at Salisbury, NC, in 1926 by B.V. Hedrick, W.C. Heitman and W.S. Jobe. In 1930, L.M. Weisiger, an equipment dealer in Hickory bought into the company, became the majority stockholder and eventually became sole owner. L.M. Weisiger was succeeded by his son, Edward I. Weisiger, in 1965 and Edward I. Weisiger was succeeded by his son, Edward I Weisiger, Jr., in 1991. Today both Ed and Ed, Jr., preside over Carolina Tractor, one of the Carolina's largest privately held corporations.
From the beginning, Carolina Tractor has been a distributor of heavy construction equipment but, during the depression, our products included dairy supplies, washing powder and milk bottle caps. We sold anything to pay the bills. Our commitment to customer service is well known. Early one Sunday morning in 1955, a fire destroyed Carolina Tractor's Asheville branch. By Monday morning, we were back in business at a temporary location. Within a week Carolina Tractor had purchased and moved into a new facility. The company moved quickly so that our customers would not be disadvantaged by our misfortune.
As a result of the passage of the Interstate Highway Bill during the Eisenhower Administration, Carolina Tractor enjoyed great success during the 60's and 70's. The 80's saw the influx of foreign competition. Carolina Tractor and Caterpillar responded and now enjoy high market share and a great economy in North Carolina. In the 90's, there has been a great expansion of both our material handling and engine business.
Over the years, Carolina Tractor has continued to expand its product lines to include forestry and paving products, material handling equipment, engineered systems,truck engines and power generation systems to meet the growing needs of our customers. Also, The Rental Store offers contractors the flexibility of renting a wide range of equipment by Caterpillar and other outstanding manufacturers, by the day, week or month, to meet all of their equipment rental needs. More than 900 dedicated employees work hard to meet the complete sales, parts, product support and rental needs of our customers. Our goal is to remain a leading supplier of Caterpillar products and services that continue to contribute to the development, growth and prosperity of North and South Carolina.
