CAT PUMPS triplex piston and plunger history from 1968 to 1979

The Early years of CAT PUMPS
"The heart of car wash and pressure wash"

1968

Introduction of the "A" Series Model 400 CAT PUMP rated at 4.0 GPM, 700 PSI. Originally designed for the car wash market, this pump revolutionized both the car wash and pressure wash industries, providing 10 times the life of previous pumps.

1969

Expansion of the CAT PUMPS line with the "B" Series Model 1000 pump rated at 10 GPM, 600 PSI and the "C" Series Model 500 pump rated at 5 GPM, 1000 PSI began our growth into the industrial markets.

1970

Introduction of the "T" Series Model 250 Twin Piston, ultra-compact pump for the pressure washer industry. This pump was rated at 2.5 GPM, 600 PSI and included one of our first accessories, the Pulsation Dampener.

1971

Addition of the "D" Series Model 2500 pump rated at 25 GPM, 600 PSI encouraged additional applications in the Food and Processing industries. Concern for coordinating accessories accelerated early with the introduction of the Model 6050 Flow Sensitive Regulating Unloader, Pulsation Dampeners, Pressure Gauges, the Model 6060 Pressure Regulator and Ceramic Nozzles.

1973

Introduction of the Model 420 with its patented "Stepped-Sleeved Piston Rod" brought significant changes to pump construction, providing quick, simple and complete servicing of all wear parts from the front end of the pump. This greatly reduced servicing time, parts and labor costs, and became a standard feature on all CAT PUMPS.

During the next two years, CAT PUMPS went "international". Three offices in England, Belgium and Germany were opened to meet the growing needs in Europe for the pump with "Nine Lives" due to our rapid acceptance by the industrial market place; each office with technical managers to meet the application and delivery needs of the specific region.

1974

Announced a special Hi-Pressure Injection Pump called the Model 284. This pump was built with sleeved-type pistons and multiple V-Packings to provide 0.6 GPM at 3000 PSI. Several other high pressure sleeved-type piston pumps followed later that year, including the 434 (4.0 GPM, 1750 PSI), 524 (4.5 GPM, 2150 PSI), 624 (3.0 GPM, 3000 PSI) 1024 (6.0 GPM, 3000 PSI) and the 1044 (10 GPM, 2000 PSI). It was model 524 that took the gas engine pressure washer market by storm and quickly became the industry standard. This same year a new Pulse Pump Injector Head was introduced. This mounted directly onto the piston pump discharge manifold and permitted chemical injection at pressures up to 1000 PSI.

1975

Started the concept of "Modular Flexibility" permitting different flow and pressure combinations to be built from the same Frame size. This encouraged "minimum inventory" and "maximum application flexibility." The year also brought the CAT PUMPS family to 57 different models and 5 Frame sizes. To emphasize the "Nine Lives Dependability and Service", we named each of the frame sizes after one of the well-known cats: Bobcat, Cougar, Leopard, Jaguar and Panther.

Live CAT PUMP demonstrations, applications, motorized cutaways and system accessories were demonstrated on-site, as the CATMOBILE, the first high pressure pump demonstration van, began traveling across the U.S. in 1975.

1976

Introduction of a new larger Frame size, the 45 HP, 60 Frame Series, including the Models 6020, 6040, 6024 and 6044 brought our capacity up to 60 GPM and maximum pressure up to 5000 PSI. This increased our application opportunities in agriculture, oil field, mining, central cleaning systems and large vehicle wash systems.

1977

CAT PUMPS answered the demand for Hi-Temp pumps for applications such as pumping Hi-Temp condensate back into boilers with the Model 2527 (later renamed the 2520C). This pump was rated up to 25 GPM, 1000 PSI at 210¡F and featured a specially ported inlet manifold to allow cool fluid to be circulated on the back side of the inlet seals for optimum life with Hi-Temp fluids.

1978

Introduction of the "double seal" concept Plunger Pump, with the Lo-Pressure Seal providing lubrication for the ceramic plunger on the backside of the Hi-Pressure seal. This unique new seal design and the exclusive, specially formulated seal material offered exceptional life and higher pressure capabilities, further expanding CAT PUMPS into the industrial market. 1978 and 1979 delivered 4 new Frame sizes including the 3 Frame Model 270, 5 Frame Model 310, 7 Frame Models 530 and 550 and the 15 Frame Models 650 and 1050.

1979

Continued demand for our products internationally and industrially prompted the addition of our 4th international office in Switzerland covering Asia, Africa, Australia and the Middle East. Our five locations have developed the "most extensive" international distributor network for high pressure pumps.