Clark Clark Equipment Co., formed in 1916
and named after Eugene Clark, a mechanical engineer with the Illinois Steel Co,
was not a big player in the equipment industry. However what makes Clark
Equipment Co. important was its development of the lift truck and their
domination in the wheel loader market in the early 1950's. Clark's wheel
loaders, we're marketed under the Michigan brand name, that left an undeniable
mark on the industry. Company
History -
In 1903 The Clark Equipment Co. existed as George R. Rich Manufacturing Co., as
a side business that was owned by executives of Illinois Steel Co. The company
was named after a mechanic who has designed the Celfor Drill, used for drilling
holes in steel railroad rails. The company had to expand to a larger facility
to increase its client base, and in 1904 relocated to Benchanan, Michigan.
Troubled financial times resulted in the company hiring Eugene Clark, a 33 year
old Illinois Steel employee and mechanical engineer, as a product consultant.
Rich Manufacturing was eventually to be renamed to Celfor Tool Co. Under
Clark’s management, sales were steadily inclined with the company manufacturing
new drills of tungsten steel. In 1909 Clark has travelled to Europe and has
learned that using electric furnaces was producing steel casting of a higher
quality. Convinced that such a process would take off in the U.S., Clark and
his executives at Celfor Tools constructed a new second plant, Buchanan
Electric Steel Co. The plant would produce high quality, high grade steel
castings and new technologies. Eventually, Buchanan Electric Steel Co., was one
of the two companies in the U.S. producing steel disc wheels for the automotive
industry. As president, Clark has decided to focus on production efforts that
turn durable steel trucks wheels replacing the wooden spoke trucks wheels and a
truck axle that replaces chain drives. Formation of
Clark Equipment Co. - In 1916, Clark decided to merge two companies Buchanan and
Celfor Tools together to form the Clark Equipment Co. The merger provided an
opportunity to develop a range of new products, such as gas powered shop buggy
with a box fixed to three wheels. At
first, the truck tractor had a box that could be dumped first by gravity then
by doing it mechanically. This Led to a later development allowing the platform
truck to lift until all these features were incorporated together to lead to
the creation of the lift truck that picked up materials, moved them and then
lifted them to be stored. Early Growth
and Diversification - by the mid 1920's, Clark owned four plants and was
manufacturing drills, electric steel castings, reamers, axles, transmissions,
wheels and the truck tractor. Solid profits over time enabled the company to
come out of the 1930s from the Depression relatively unscathed. The company has
continued to diversify into other product areas such as prototype of a fast,
aluminum railcar for the 1934 World Fair called the Auto tram. The prototype
scored Clark a contract to produce undercarriage for trolley streetcars and
subway systems for the next twenty years. The company’s Truck tractor was also
a high seller. By the 1943 sales were $77 million up from $11.5 four years
prior, associating the Clark name with lift trucks. A
Multinational Company - Clark's current production facilities were not enough to
keep the demand. In 1975, Clark built a new facility in Asheville, North
Carolina, becoming the first company to head to the south with obvious benefit
of using cheaper labor. By 1973, Clark has broken its $1 billion mark in sales
and established plants in the U.K., West Germany, Brazil, France, Argentina and
Australia. The Demise
of Clark -
By the 1980's sales have been greatly impacted by the recession. Lower priced
Japanese imports on equipment also dealt a huge blow to the market of lift
trucks. The company was faced with the indisputable fact that it has failed by
not diversifying its construction equipment line enough to stay competitive. In
1981 Clark has announced a full withdrawal from scraper and motor grader business. Clark credited for having invented the lift
truck in 1928 decided to divest the portion of its business in 1992 to Terex
Corp. as it was no longer proving to be viable. Clark was not pleased about its
lack of control in the joint venture and threated to take public its share of
the venture. In response, Volvo has bought back Clarks existing shares for $573
million and gave an official end to Clark's forty year involvement in the wheel
loader business. Shortly after that, Clark was approached with another offer
from Ingersoll Rand. The company bought of all Clarks existing shares for $1.4
billion Dollars.
The Company
Today -
Clark Equipment Co. is no longer in existence as a result of its buyout by
Volvo and Ingersoll Rand. Clark Material Handling Co., which exists today, was
previously the Industrial Truck Division of Clark Equipment Co.
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