Wikipedia

Marion Power Shovel Company

This article is about the company. For the historic Model 91 steam shovel in upstate New York, seeMarion Steam Shovel (Le Roy, New York).

Marion Power Shovel Companywas an American firm that designed, manufactured and soldsteam shovels,power shovels,blast hole drills,excavators,anddragline excavatorsfor use in the construction and mining industries. The company was a major supplier of steam shovels for the construction of thePanama Canal.The company also built the twocrawler-transportersused byNASAfor transporting theSaturn V rocketand later theSpace Shuttleto their launch pads. The company's shovels played a major role in excavation forHoover Dam,theHolland Tunneland the extension of theNumber 7 subway linetoMain StreetinFlushing, Queens.[1][2]

Marion Power Shovel Company
IndustryMachinery manufacturing
FoundedMarion,Ohio,United StatesAugust 1884;140 years ago(1884-08)
FounderHenry Barnhart
Edward Huber
George W. King
Defunct23 July 1997;27 years ago(1997-07-23)
FateAcquired
SuccessorBucyrus International, Inc.
Headquarters
Marion, Ohio
,
United States
Area served
Worldwide
Products
  • 5760 Electric Shovel
  • 6360 Electric Shovel
  • 7820 Electric Dragline
  • 8200 Electric Dragline
  • 8750 Electric Dragline
  • 191M Electric Shovel
  • 201M Electric Shovel
  • 301M Electric Shovel
  • 351M Electric Shovel
  • 305M Crawler Dragline

Founded inMarion, Ohioin August, 1884 by Henry Barnhart,Edward Huberand George W. King as the Marion Steam Shovel Company, the company grew through sales and acquisitions throughout the 20th century. The company changed its name to Marion Power Shovel Company in 1946 to reflect the industry's change from steam power to diesel power.

The company ceased to be independent when it was sold, becoming the Marion division ofDresser Industriesin 1977. In 1992, Dresser spun off the Marion division and certain other assets into a holding company that eventually became the Global Industrial Technologies, Inc. Global sold the division to longtime rivalBucyrus Internationalfor US$40.1 million in 1997. Bucyrus integrated the Marion division's products into the Bucyrus product line, then closed the Marion, Ohio, facility. In 2010 Bucyrus was purchased byCaterpillar, Inc.,the world’s largest equipment manufacturer.

History

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Marion Steam Shovel Company

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The Marion Steam Shovel Company was established by Henry Barnhart, George W. King andEdward Huberin August 1884. While steam shovels had been made prior to this date in the United States, Barnhart persuaded Huber to financially back his design, which incorporated a stronger bucket support than other makes. Barnhart and Huber patented Barnhart's changes under US Patent No. 285,100 on September 18, 1883. One element of Barnhart's design was the use of solid iron rods (hog rings) to support the boom of the shovel, which was stronger than simple chain.[citation needed]

Marion Model 91, Culebra Cut,Panama Canal

Marion built large and small steam shovels for building contractors, railroads and theUS Army Corps of Engineerswho were building thePanama Canalat the time. The company, from between 1902 and 1911, shipped 24 shovels toPanamafor the construction of the canal.[3]One set the record in July 1908 for moving 53,000 cubic yards (41,000 m3) of earth in 25 eight-hour days after American project management began.

By 1911 90% of all large bucket steam shovels and draglines were produced in Marion Ohio, which was also the headquarters of Osgood Steam Shovel, Fairbanks Steam Shovel and General Excavating Corporation.[citation needed](Future head-to-head competitorBucyrus Steam Shovelwas founded 15 miles (24 km) from Marion in nearbyBucyrus, Ohio,and relocated to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in 1893 after Bucyrus city officials refused to approve expansion plans for the company.)[citation needed]

Marion 111-M Dragline (built in 1948, in operation at the Harrison Coal & Reclamation Historic Park in New Athens, Ohio, in 2011) (30 seconds)

Towards the end of WWI the company assembled M1918 railway guns utilizing a repurposedM189512 inch 45 caliber coastal defense gun. The only remaining example was stored for testing purposes at Naval Surface Warfare Center Dahlgren VA until 2011 when it was moved to Fort Lee, VA for inclusion in the U.S. Army Ordnance Training and Heritage Center.[4]

Marion excavators were used during construction ofMagnitogorsk Iron and Steel Worksin the Soviet Union in 1930s. Marion was the first fоreign machine there, in 1930. PoetBoris Ruchyovwrote the "Ballad of Excavator Marion" [Баллада об экскаваторе Марион] on this occasion.[5]

Marion Power Shovel

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In April 1946, the company changed its name to the Marion Power Shovel Company to more closely reflect its products.[6]

Marion built its first walkingdraglinein 1939 and became a key player in providing giant stripping shovels to the coal industry, being the first to put a long-boom revolving stripping shovel to work in North America in 1911. Marion’s succession of giant shovels, many breaking world size records, starting withThe Mountaineerin 1956 which was 16 stories. One shovel load moved approximately 90 tons, which was then one of the world's largest power shovels.[7]Marion's huge power shovel models eventually culminated in the world’s largest: the 1965Marion 6360.The 6360 at the Captain Mine, Illinois, operated with a 180 cubic yard (138 cubic meter) dipper. With an estimated weight of 15,000 tons (13,600 tonnes), this machine is one of the heaviest mobile land machines ever built.

One of twocrawler-transportersbuilt by Marion and used by NASA for transporting rockets

Marion designed and built the NASACrawler-transporterused to transport both the Saturn V rocket, as well as the Space Shuttle.[8]

Osgood Company acquisition

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In 1955, Marion Power Shovel acquired its crosstown rival, theOsgood Company,which manufactured shovels under the Marion-Osgood and Osgood names. Osgood's product line complemented Marion Power Shovel's, with most of Osgood's product line focusing on shovels, cranes and draglines that were small capacity machines as opposed to Marion's line, which focused increasingly on high end strip mining draglines. Osgood also built road-ready mobile units that used Mack truck undercarriages.[citation needed]

Acquisition and end

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ThisMarion Model 91shovel on display inLe Roy, New Yorkis the only example known to exist. This shovel is included on the National Register of Historic Places.

The Marion Power Shovel Company was refinanced by management in the late 1960s with only the signature guarantee of the primary stockholder, billionaireHenry Hillman,ofPittsburgh, PennsylvaniaandPNC Bankfame. In 1977Dresser Industries, Inc.purchased Marion Power Shovel for approximately US$250 million. The company grew from 1,500 employees in 1974 to over 3,200 employees by 1978 under the direction of Putt McDowell during the massive growth incoal miningdemand of the late 1970s.[citation needed]

By 1992, Dresser Industries decided to exit the production of industrial and mining equipment. The affected assets, including the Marion division, became part of Indresco, a holding company created by Dresser in 1992 and then spun off to Dresser shareholders.[9]On November 1, 1995, Indresco changed its name to Global Industrial Technologies, Inc.[10]

On January 23, 1997 Global Industrial Technologies announced that it was divesting certain assets, including the Marion division.[11]Global Industrial Technologies sold the Marion Power Shovel Company, which had revenues of US$114.4 million in FY 1996, for US$40.1 million toBucyrus Internationalon July 23, 1997.[12][13][14]Following the acquisition, Bucyrus International closed Marion Power Shovel Company's Marion, Ohio facility.[citation needed]

Historical corporate files and archives for Marion Power Shovel were split betweenBowling Green, Ohio's Historical Construction Equipment Association and theMarion County Historical Societyin Marion, Ohio.[citation needed]

References & Sources

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  1. ^Olberhelman, Olberhelman, and Lampe. Quail Lakes & Coal: Energy for Wildlife... and the World, 2013, page 60
  2. ^Contractors & Engineers Magazine, Volume 10, 1925, page 80
  3. ^Koblentz, Stuart J. Marion Historical Society.Marion CountyArcadia Publishing, 2007.
  4. ^ExArtGalleryArchived2017-04-08 at theWayback Machine
  5. ^Камынин, "Отношение к иностранной помощи СССР в годы первой пятилетки", История и современное мировоззрение, 2019, no. 1
  6. ^Haddock, Keith (2005).Bucyrus: Making the Earth Move for 125 Years.MotorBooks International. p. 57.ISBN9781610608350.RetrievedNovember 13,2015– via GoogleBooks.
  7. ^"16 Tone Mobile Shovel Take 90 Ton Bite of Earth"Popular Mechanics,April 1956, p. 95. -via books.google
  8. ^Teitel, Amy Shira (September 19, 2012)."How Will NASA Move Its Giant New Rocket?".RetrievedNovember 13,2015.
  9. ^Dresser 1992.
  10. ^Indresco 1995.
  11. ^Global Industrial Technologies 1997a.
  12. ^Bucyrus 1997.
  13. ^Global Industrial Technologies 1997.
  14. ^Bucyrus 2010.

Sources

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See also

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