Two of the largest companies in the US have an East Peoria location.
Caterpillar is the world's largest manufacturer of construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas engines and industrial gas turbines. With almost $90 billion in assets as of June 2012, Caterpillar ranks number one in its industry.
In February 2, 1910, Benjamin Holt opened up a plant in East Peoria led by his nephew Pliny Holt. There Pliny met farm implement dealer Murray Baker who knew of an empty factory that had been recently built to manufacture farm implements and steam engines. Baker, who later became the first executive vice president of what became Caterpillar Tractor Company, wrote to Holt headquarters in Stockton and described the plant of the bankrupt Colean Manufacturing Co. of East Peoria. On October 25, 1909, Pliny Holt purchased the factory, and immediately began operations with 12 employees.
The addition of a plant in the Midwest, despite the hefty capital needed to retool the plant, proved so profitable that only two years later the company employed 625 people and was exporting tractors to Argentina, Canada, and Mexico. Tractors were built in both Stockton and East Peoria. In 1925 the Holt Manufacturing Company and the C.L. Best Tractor Company merged to create he Caterpillar Tractor Company Today Caterpillar has annual revenues of $42.5 billion and employees over 100,000 people.
Sam Walton opened the first Walmart in Rogers, Arkansas in 1962. As of 2012, after 50 years in business, the company employs 2.2 million associates worldwide and serves 200 million customers each week at more than 10,000 stores in 27 countries. Annual revenues total in excess of $400 billion. It is the third largest public company in the world.
The cache can be found at the following coordinates:
N 4B 4J.JAF W DM GJ.HMN
Here are some hints to help you get to the correct location.
ABCD - The store number (not phone #) of the East Peoria Walmart.
EFG - The street address of the Buffalo Wild Wings in East Peoria.
HIJK - The year Holt Manufacturing Co. and C.L. Best Tractor Co. merged.
LMN - First three digits of East Peoria Tire & Vulcanizing phone #
You can check your answers for this puzzle on GeoChecker.com.