American Hoist & Derrick
In 1892 American Manufacturing Company became known as American Hoist & Derrick for 106 years. The first mobile crane was invented in 1895 called the Traveling Derrick. It consisted of a revolving derrick and steam hoist mounted on a rail-car like wheels. The ditcher, flatcar mounted crane designed to scoop out dirt on either side of the railroad, was invented by Oliver Crosby in 1904.
The first crawler was established in 1923 and made cranes mobile. The company became international when the Yokohama Warehouse was constructed in 1905. Major construction projects such as the Panama Canal and Mount Rushmore used cranes from American Hoist & Derrick. American Hoist & Derrick reached 467 on the Fortune 500 list with a total revenue of $464.2 million.
In 1985 American Hoist & Derrick changed its name to Amdura and in that same year a group of investors purchased the business. The result of the purchase was a new company called the American Crane Corporation. In 1998 Terex acquired the American Crane Corporation.
