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| Industry | Machinery manufacturing |
|---|---|
| Founded | Marion, Ohio, United States August 1884 |
| Founder | Henry Barnhart Edward Huber George W. King |
| Defunct | 23 July 1997 |
| Fate | Acquired |
| Successor | Bucyrus International, Inc. |
| Headquarters | , United States |
Area served | Worldwide |
| Products |
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Marion Power Shovel Company was an American firm that designed, manufactured and sold steam shovels, power shovels, blast hole drills, excavators, and dragline excavators for use in the construction and mining industries. The company was a major supplier of steam shovels for the construction of the Panama Canal. The company also built the two crawler-transporters used by NASA for transporting the Saturn V rocket and later the Space Shuttle to their launch pads. The company's shovels played a major role in excavation for Hoover Dam, the Holland Tunnel and the extension of the Number 7 subway line to Main Street in Flushing, Queens.[1][2]
Founded in Marion, Ohio in August, 1884 by Henry Barnhart, Edward Huber and 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 of Dresser Industries in 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 rival Bucyrus International for 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 by Caterpillar, Inc., the world’s largest equipment manufacturer.