Marion Power Shovel Company

Marion Power Shovel Company
IndustryMachinery manufacturing
FoundedMarion, Ohio, United States August 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,
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

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.

  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