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

R. G. LeTourneau founded R.G. LeTourneau, Inc. in

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

in 1929, as a contractor of earthmoving equipment, which manufactured products in

Longview, Texas Longview is a city in, and county seat of, Gregg County, Texas, United States. Longview is located in East Texas, where Interstate 20 and U.S. Highway system, U.S. highways U.S. Route 80, 80 and U.S. Route 259, 259 converge just north of the Sabi ...

. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, the company provided nearly 75% of the

Allies An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not an explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are calle ...

' earthmoving equipment. In 1954, it built the first jack-up

drilling rig A drilling rig is an integrated system that Drilling, drills wells, such as oil or water wells, or holes for piling and other construction purposes, into the earth's subsurface. Drilling rigs can be massive structures housing equipment used to ...

. In 1955, it made the first log-stacker machine. In 1965, the company made the first

straddle carrier A straddle carrier or straddle truck is a freight-carrying vehicle that carries its load underneath by "straddling" it, rather than carrying it on top like a conventional truck. The advantage of the straddle carrier is its ability to load and unlo ...

. LeTourneau had spent the early 1950s perfecting a diesel-electric drivetrain for multi-wheeled heavy-machinery. 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. This allowed for multi-wheel-drive without differentials, driveshafts, or the drivetrain losses associated with them. For the

Distant Early Warning Line The Distant Early Warning Line, also known as the DEW Line or Early Warning Line, was a system of radar stations in the northern Arctic region of Canada, with additional stations along the north coast and Aleutian Islands of Alaska (see List o ...

(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 Cummins Inc. is an American multinational corporation, multinational corporation that designs, manufactures, and distributes engines, electric vehicle components, and power generation products. Cummins also services engines and related equipmen ...

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. LeTourneau sold most of his company to Westinghouse Air Brake Company in 1953, for US$ 31M. In 1970, just after the death of the founder, the company was sold to Marathon Manufacturing Company and was renamed Marathon LeTourneau Company. In 1994, Rowan (now Valaris Limited), which had used the company to manufacture its drilling rigs, acquired the company from

General Cable General Cable is an American multinational cable manufacturing company based in Highland Heights, Kentucky, Highland Heights, Kentucky, with sales offices and manufacturing facilities in several countries. General Cable manufactures and distribu ...

for $50 million. In 2011, Rowan (now Valaris Limited) sold LeTourneau Technologies to Joy Global. Joy Global subsequently sold LeTourneau's Drilling, Marine, and Power divisions to

Cameron International Cameron International Corporation (formerly Cooper Cameron Corporation (CCC) and Cooper Oil Tool, Cameron Iron Works) though now operating under Schlumberger, is a global provider of pressure control, production, processing, and flow control s ...

. In 2016,

Keppel Corporation Keppel Ltd., previously Keppel Corporation (or Keppel Corp) is a Singaporean company headquartered in Keppel Bay Tower, HarbourFront. The company consists of several affiliated businesses that specialises in property, infrastructure and asset ...

acquired LeTourneau Offshore Products (jackups, cranes, and elevating units) from Cameron, while Cameron retained the LeTourneau Drilling Products division.

References

External links

* * {{cite web , url=http://keppelletourneau.com/en/content.aspx?sid=6471 , title=Milestones in Rig design , publisher=Keppel LeTourneau , access-date=June 1, 2022 1929 establishments in California Defunct manufacturing companies based in California

History

References

Further reading

External links