The Cleveland Trencher Co., formed in 1923, is one of the oldest trenching machine manufacturers in the world. It produces and manufactures trenching equipment—mostly wheel ditchers—for pipeline construction.
Contents |
[edit] History
When trenching first occurred in the construction industry, it was done, as in all excavation applications, mostly with primitive hand tools and shovel-like devices. Trenching machines did not really take on a life of their own until the age of mechanization, and when they did, manufacturers such as Cleveland Trencher Co. stepped on in a big way.
[edit] The Birth of a Company
Cleveland Trencher Co. was established after the production of a wheel ditcher by the A.J. Penote Co. in 1921. A.J. Penote, a water and sewer contractor, was based in Detroit, Michigan, and used the ditcher for its own purposes. The founders of the Cleveland Trencher Co. noticed the machine and decided it was a worthy investment and good grounds for a longstanding successful manufacturing company; the company was established two years later in 1923. Cleveland Trencher Co. aimed at producing and manufacturing an assortment of trenching machines for contractors.
Gone were the days of backbreaking excavation work; the Cleveland Trencher Co. now produced machinery capable of digging trenches in a continuous operation with the use of basic mechanization.
[edit] The Baby Digger
The first machine Cleveland produced was the Baby Digger in 1924, a wheel trencher consisting of 10 buckets that were connected to the machine’s wheel. The trencher operated through a series of mechanized chains and spur gears that drove the wheel and a set of wound cables that hoisted and lowered the buckets. The machine also comprised a conveyor powered by a chain from the wheel’s drive shaft, so that whenever the wheel turned, so did the conveyor, resulting in a fully mechanized, continuous operation. Running on crawler tracks that were functioned by chains and sprockets powered by a differential drive and wrap-around brake steering, the machine had the capacity to dig trenches from 10 to 23 inches (25.4 to 58.4 cm) to five feet and six inches (1.5 m and 15 cm) deep. Other features included a Hercules 27 horsepower engine and an operating weight of 7,400 pounds (3,357 kg).[1]
The Baby Digger was sold to the People’s Natural Gas Co., a contractor based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in 1924. The success of the machine led the company to continue producing the Baby Digger, all the while increasing its capacity and power. The Baby Digger continued production up to the 1950s.
[edit] Changing Hands
In 1968, Cleveland Trencher was sold to American Hoist & Derrick Co., a crane manufacturing company in St. Paul, Minnesota. American Hoist & Derrick Co. managed the company until 1984. During this time, Cleveland Trencher suffered in sales, resulting from poor management and lack of focus. The company experienced a turnaround when a management team bought it out in 1986. The following year, its distributor to manufacture machines in the Middle East and Far East purchased the company. Although the machines were manufactured and distributed abroad, the company continued to produce machines at its base in the original Cleveland plant.[2]
Cleveland Trencher struggled with boosting its sales in the 1980s, but persevered after being purchased by Metin Adyin in 1987.[3]
[edit] The Company Today
To date, Cleveland Trencher Co. continues to operate out of its original base in Cleveland, Ohio.
It continues to produce trenching equipment such as the Model 9600-S, Model 9624, and the Model HRS-32.[4] All trenching equipment is produced for pipeline construction and other applications and come with a variety of features suitable for many working conditions.
[edit] Equipment List
[edit] References
- ↑ Cleveland Trencher. Construction Equipment. 2008-09-22.
- ↑ Cleveland trencher Company. Construction Equipment. 2008-09-22.
- ↑ Haddock, Keith. Giant Earthmovers. MBI Publishing Company: St. Paul’s, 1998.
- ↑ New and Used. Cleveland Trencher Company. 2008-09-22.
