Ohio Machinery Co., the Caterpillar equipment and power systems dealership in eastern Ohio, has purchased Holt Caterpillar, the Caterpillar dealership in western Ohio and renamed the company Ohio Cat. It now consists of 16 locations throughout the state. Ohio Cat now serves the entire state of Ohio and portions of northern Kentucky and southeastern Indiana that surround metropolitan Cincinnati. The new combined dealership serves an 89-county area of about 12 million people.
The western Ohio dealership was formerly a division of San Antonio-based Holt Cat.
For Ohio Cat, based in the Cleveland suburb of Broadview Heights, the acquisition represents a return to the origins of Ohio Machinery Co., which served the entire state when it was originally formed in 1945. Before the acquisition, Ohio Machinery represented Caterpillar in 25 counties in eastern Ohio and Holt Cat served 64 counties in western Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana.
Company president Kenneth Taylor is following his father and grandfather as a third generation Cat dealer principal.
Both dealerships have substantial rental divisions and are both listed on the new RER 100 – Ohio Machinery at No. 50 and Holt Cat at No. 59.
