Marion Power Shovel
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| Industry | Machinery manufacturing |
|---|---|
| Fate | Acquired |
| Successor | Bucyrus International, Inc. |
| Founded | Marion, Ohio, United States August 1884 |
| Founder | Henry Barnhart Edward Huber George W. King |
| Defunct | July 23, 1997 |
| Headquarters | Marion, Ohio, United States |
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Area served
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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.
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 an independent entity 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 would eventually become known as Global Industrial Technologies, Inc. Global put the Marion division up for sale in 1997 and its longtime rival Bucyrus International purchased the division for US$40.1 million. Bucyrus integrated the Marion division's products into the Bucyrus product line, then closed the Marion, Ohio, facility.
The Marion Steam Shovel Company was established by Henry Barnhart, George W. King and Edward Huber in 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 United States 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.
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