In 1984, Caterpillars first truck, a CAT 785, rolled off of the assembly line marking the company’s significant shift into building larger, mechanical drive mining equipment. 28 Years later that very same fully restored CAT 785 Mining Truck returned to the Decatur, IL facility where it was originally manufactured.
Although more than 10,000 mining trucks have been manufactured at the Caterpillar Inc. plant since 1984, the first CAT 785 was restored as visual reminder of the work that takes place there.
And due to its symbolic nature, the restoration committee sought authenticity.
Photo Courtesy of the Herald Review
Not only did they call upon some members of the original assembly line team but also Muir Omni Graphics, who manufactured and supplied the original industrial graphics for the truck.
“We were the original manufacturer of its decals back in 1984”, said Andrew Muir, President of Muir Omni Graphics. “It was gratifying to search through the archives for these old films and reproduce the graphics for this remarkable machine. And although screen printing technology has evolved over the years, we were able to manufacture the decals to look just as they did so many years ago.”
