The history of Caterpillar started in a way that most businesses do; there was a great demand for this type of machinery. At the turn of the century, farmers in California faced the problem of using steam engines to plow the land of the San Joaquin valley. The problem aroused when the huge tires of the steam engine machines sank deeply into the soil putting a halt to the plowing. In 1904, this problem was solved when Benjamin Holt replaced the heavy steam engine with a gasoline engine, which led to more mobility as well.