Hydraulic cranes are so common these days that most people assume that they have been around forever, but that is hardly the case. Until the 1940s, the cranes that were available were difficult to operate, overly large, often undependable and incredibly costly.
It was a tough time for project managers of construction projects everywhere until the president of the Milwaukee Hydraulics Corp, Roy O. Billings, decided to change all that with his dream of creating a smaller, safer, cheaper and more user-friendly hydraulic crane that could make many big-time construction projects much easier.
It all began when Billings realized that many companies were successfully using high-pressure hydraulic systems in smaller machines. He thought it might be a brilliant idea to apply this same mechanical principle to cranes – and he was right. In 1946, he released the H-2, America’s first-ever hydraulic crane, notes Construction Equipment.
There were many advantages to the H-2. For one, it could be properly mounted on any two-ton truck, making it easy to transport to different job sites and allowing more jobs to be completed in less time. It also was much easier to use than earlier cranes, and required only one operator in the cab with new, efficient controls that could do it all – manipulating all of the cranes functions and outriggers.
The crane was so much of a success that its appeal became widespread, eventually getting the attention of G.Y. Anderson, the chief engineer at Bucyrus-Erie Co. (B-E) in the next county. He was so thrilled with the crane’s technical agility and ease of movement that B-E eventually purchased the Milwaukee Hydraulics Corp. and worked the mechanics of the H-2 into bigger and better machines, opening the door to a new revolution of machinery and crane operation was born.
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