Warner & Swasey Co.

The Warner & Swasey Company was a manufacturer of machine tools, instruments, and special machinery. It operated as an independent business firm, based in Cleveland, from its founding in 1880 until its acquisition in 1980. It was founded as a partnership in 1880 by Worcester Reed Warner (1846–1929) and Ambrose Swasey (1846–1937). The company was best known for two general types of products: astronomical telescopes and turret lathes. It also did a large amount of instrument work, such as equipment for astronomical observatories and military instruments (rangefinders, optical gunsights, etc.) The themes that united these various lines of business were the crafts of toolmaking and instrument-making, which have often overlapped technologically. In the decades after World War II, it also entered the heavy equipment industry with its acquisition of the Gradall brand.

In 1946 Warner & Swasey Company acquired the patent rights to manufacture the Gradall telescopic boom excavator from the brothers Ray and Koop Ferwerda with their manufacturing company, the FWF Corporation, of Beachwood, Ohio. The Gradall, a type of hydraulic machinery, became a business of the new owner as the Gradall Division with operations in Cleveland. In the year 1946, the Gradall was the first production hydraulic excavator that was designed and manufactured in the United States. In July 1950, Gradall manufacturing operations were moved to New Philadelphia, Ohio, where it continues, in 2017, as Gradall Industries, Inc., a global manufacturer of telescopic boom excavators and industrial maintenance machinery.

Subject ID: 79805

More

The Warner & Swasey Company was a manufacturer of machine tools, instruments, and special machinery. It operated as an independent business firm, based in Cleveland, from its founding in 1880 until its acquisition in 1980. It was founded as a partnership in 1880 by Worcester Reed Warner (1846–1929) and Ambrose Swasey (1846–1937). The company was best known for two general types of products: astronomical telescopes and turret lathes. It also did a large amount of instrument work, such as equipment for astronomical observatories and military instruments (rangefinders, optical gunsights, etc.) The themes that united these various lines of business were the crafts of toolmaking and instrument-making, which have often overlapped technologically. In the decades after World War II, it also entered the heavy equipment industry with its acquisition of the Gradall brand.

In 1946 Warner & Swasey Company acquired the patent rights to manufacture the Gradall telescopic boom excavator from the brothers Ray and Koop Ferwerda with their manufacturing company, the FWF Corporation, of Beachwood, Ohio. The Gradall, a type of hydraulic machinery, became a business of the new owner as the Gradall Division with operations in Cleveland. In the year 1946, the Gradall was the first production hydraulic excavator that was designed and manufactured in the United States. In July 1950, Gradall manufacturing operations were moved to New Philadelphia, Ohio, where it continues, in 2017, as Gradall Industries, Inc., a global manufacturer of telescopic boom excavators and industrial maintenance machinery.

The foundation of the Warner & Swasey Construction Equipment Division with five product lines was started in 1946 with the development of the first production hydraulic excavator; the Gradall. This machine was new technology for the industry and was highly versatile and productive for a variety of work. The Duplex Truck® Company of Lansing, Michigan, a heavy duty and specialized truck manufacturer was acquired in 1955 to supply truck chassis for the Gradall and future Warner & Swasey backhoe excavator and crane products. In 1957 the company sought a broader market penetration into the hydraulic excavator market. It acquired the Badger Machine Company of Winona, Minnesota, with its six Hopto® hydraulic excavator models which complimented the Gradall models. The company acquired in 1967, the Sargent Engineering Corporation of Fort Dodge, Iowa, a manufacturer of hydraulic cranes. Their six Sargent Hydra-Tower® Crane models enabled the company to move into another large segment of the construction industry using hydraulic machinery. That same year the company partnered with a Canadian paper industry association in the manufacture of the ARBOMATIK® a line of hydraulic tree harvesting equipment. Through corporate diversity into hydraulic construction equipment, the growing popularity and productivity of this type of hydraulic machinery yielded strong business growth for the Warner & Swasey company of Cleveland, Ohio during the years of 1946 through 1977.

Subject ID: 79805

Less