LeTourneau Technologies
LeTourneau Technologies, Inc. was an American manufacturer of heavy construction equipment founded by R. G. LeTourneau. In 2011, the company was acquired by Joy Global.
History[edit]
 | This section needs additional citations for verification. (July 2024) |
R. G. LeTourneau founded R.G. LeTourneau, Inc. in California in 1929, as a contractor of earthmoving equipment, which manufactured products in Longview, Texas.[1][better source needed]
During World War II, the company provided nearly 75% of the Allies' earthmoving equipment.[2] In 1954, it built the first jack-up drilling rig.[citation needed] In 1955, it made the first log-stacker machine.[citation needed] In 1965, the company made the first straddle carrier.[citation needed][clarification needed]
LeTourneau had spent the early 1950s perfecting a diesel-electric drivetrain for multi-wheeled heavy-machinery.[citation needed] The system—somewhat similar in concept to the sort used on many locomotives –used a diesel combustion engine to spin an electric generator, which would send its power to hub motors mounted to each wheel of the vehicle.[2] This allowed for multi-wheel-drive without differentials, driveshafts, or the drivetrain losses associated with them.[citation needed]
For the Distant Early Warning Line (DEW line) project, Western Electric and Alaska Freightlines, with the help of TRADCOM (U.S. Army Transportation Research and Development Command), contracted to have a pair of off-road over-land trains, the TC-264 Sno-Buggy, designed specifically for Arctic conditions, to be built by LeTourneau Technologies. The TC-264 Sno-Buggy was the longest off-road vehicle ever built at the time, with its six cars (including the locomotive) measuring a total of 274 feet. Each car was driven by four 7.3 foot-tall wheels and tires. The 24-wheel-drive was powered by two 400 horsepower Cummins diesel engines connected to a hub motor. It had a payload capacity of 150 tons, and could traverse nearly any terrain. It had a very successful first season hauling freight to the DEW Line.[3]
LeTourneau sold most of his company to Westinghouse Air Brake Company in 1953, for US$ 31M.[2] In 1970, just after the death of the founder, the company[clarification needed] was sold to Marathon Manufacturing Company and was renamed Marathon LeTourneau Company.[citation needed]
In 1994, Rowan (now Valaris Limited), which had used the company to manufacture its drilling rigs, acquired the company from General Cable for $50 million.[4][5]
In 2011, Rowan (now Valaris Limited) sold LeTourneau Technologies to Joy Global.[6] Joy Global subsequently sold LeTourneau's Drilling, Marine, and Power divisions to Cameron International.[7]
In 2016, Keppel Corporation acquired LeTourneau Offshore Products (jackups, cranes, and elevating units) from Cameron, while Cameron retained the LeTourneau Drilling Products division.[8]
References[edit]
- ^ "Komatsu: Who We Are". Komatsu Limited.
- ^ a b c Karwatka, Dennis (2006). "Technology's Past: R. G. LeTourneau and His Massive Earth-Moving Equipment". Tech Directions. 65 (10): 8. Retrieved 9 July 2024.
- ^ Holderith, Peter (25 May 2020). "The Incredible Story of the US Army's Earth-Shaking, Off-Road Land Trains". the drive.com. Retrieved 30 May 2020.
- ^ "ROWAN COMPANIES INC, Form 10-K, Annual Report, Filing Date Mar 16, 2005". U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
- ^ "Rowan Buys Marathon LeTourneau From General Cable". AP News. November 10, 1993. Archived from the original on August 1, 2019. Retrieved August 1, 2019.
- ^ "Rowan Announces Agreement to Sell LeTourneau Technologies, Inc" (Press release). PR Newswire. May 16, 2011.
- ^ Koyitty, Bijoy (August 31, 2011). "Joy Global sells LeTourneau's drilling unit; shares up". Reuters.
- ^ Furr, Laura (August 31, 2015). "Cameron sells offshore rig business". American City Business Journals.
Further reading[edit]
- Orlemann, Eric C. (2001). LeTourneau Earthmovers. St. Paul, Minnesota: Motorbooks International, MBI. ISBN 9780760308400.
- Niemela, John H.; Hardy, Dale. A History of R.G. LeTourneau's Earliest Scrapers: Culminating in the 1922 Mountain Mover (PDF). S2CID 162762371. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2019-08-01.
- LeTourneau, R.G. Mover of Men and Mountains, Autobiography (Prentice-Hall 1960, 1967; Reprint Moody Press 1967, 1972), ISBN 0-8024-3818-0
- "The LeTourneau Legend", Equipment history, ISBN 0-646-27692-1 (Global General Publishing Pty Ltd; 1995, 1998, 3rd revised edition 2007)
- "The LeTourneau Archive", Equipment history, ISBN 0-9585608-0-3 (Global General Publishing Pty Ltd; 2005)
- "WABCO Australia", LeTourneau Australia history, ISBN 0-9585608-1-1 (Global General Publishing Pty Ltd; 2007)
- "The WABCO Archive Wheel-Tractor Scrapers", Letourneau-Westinghouse scraper history, ISBN 978-0-9871503-0-1 (Global General Publishing Pty Ltd; 2011)
External links[edit]
- "History". Keppel LeTourneau. Retrieved June 1, 2022.
- "Milestones in Rig design". Keppel LeTourneau. Retrieved June 1, 2022.