|
|
Article: Ditch Witch trencher changes utility installation: Ed Malzahn had an idea for an inexpensive, compact trencher that could go where the big trenchers couldn't. (The Iron Works).(The Charles Machine Works Inc. history)(Brief Article)
- Article from:
- Construction Equipment
- Article date:
- August 1, 2002
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc. (US). This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
|
Big trenchers existed in 1948 for digging distribution lines, but when utilities were being installed to individual houses, the trenchers were too large, and the job of digging trenches fell to men with picks and shovels. Ed Malzahn, a recent engineering graduate, noticed the hand labor taking place in his hometown of Perry, Okla. He envisioned that a compact, inexpensive digging machine could replace the picks and shovels. He took the idea back to the family business, where he and his father, Charles, manufactured products for the oil-drilling industry.
Malzahn and his father went to work designing a compact trencher. After testing and improving prototypes, they ...