Ruston-Bucyrus
| Industry | Heavy equipment |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | Selston, Nottinghamshire, England, UK |
| Products | Cranes, spares, fabrication |
| Owner | Delden CSE Ltd |
| Website | RB Cranes |
Ruston-Bucyrus Ltd was an engineering company established in 1930 and jointly owned by Ruston and Hornsby based in Lincoln, England and Bucyrus-Erie based in Bucyrus, Ohio, the latter of which had operational control[1] and into which the excavator manufacturing operation of Ruston and Hornsby was transferred. The Bucyrus company proper, from which the Bucyrus component of the Ruston-Bucyrus name was created, was an American company founded in 1880, in Bucyrus, Ohio.
During the Second World War, the company developed a trench cutting machine known by the code name Cultivator No. 6 at the behest of Winston Churchill.[2]
A limited company, Ruston-Bucyrus Ltd., was formed in 2005, by Paul and Frank Murray (Brothers) as Co-Directors. This has no ties to RB Cranes which holds all of the original machine information & drawings
Ruston-Bucyrus Ltd era
Gradually Universal Excavators designed by Bucyrus-Erie replaced Ruston and Hornsby designed models.[1] Ruston-Bucyrus built larger machines for the British market to Bucyrus-Erie designs. The Bucyrus-Monigan 5W was a top seller for export by Ruston-Bucyrus, thus they started building it. This was a walking dragline, with either Diesel or electric powered options.
The R-B International era
In 1985 Ruston Bucyrus was bought by its management, severing all links with Bucyrus-Erie resulting in the formation of 'R-B Lincoln', which became R-B International, a subsidiary of Lincoln Industries (part of The Heather Corporation Ltd).[1] Production of existing Ruston-Bucyrus designed cable excavator/crane models from the 22RB to the 71RB continued at the Lincoln factory with 'Improved Crane Dragline' versions also offered. From 1985 onwards all new machines carried the 'RB' name instead of 'Ruston-Bucyrus' and in 1987 a new mechanical/hydraulic powered 51–60 model developed from the 38-RB was offered for use as a crane or dragline excavator[1] In 1990 RB bought from its rival Priestman, the design and manufacturing rights to Priestman's Variable Counterbalance hydraulic/cable long reach excavator range and its extensive range of Grabs.
In 1992 RB introduced its CH series of fully hydraulic crane/dragline models with further models added in 1999. In 1996 R-B changed ownership in a buy-in management buy out[3] but in 2000 R-B International entered voluntary administration as a tough trading environment including a strong Pound and stiff competition from overseas competitors meant it could no longer continue as a going concern without a significant injection of capital.[4][5]
RB Cranes era
Having entered administration on 3 July 2000[5] and following unsuccessful attempts to sell the company to Daniel E. Davis, former president of Favelle Favco[6] R-B International was sold to Langley Holdings plc as a going-concern on 22 December 2000 and a new company 'RB Cranes Ltd' was created.
A day earlier on 21 December 2000, Langley Holdings plc had acquired the material-handling division of Rolls-Royce PLC which became the Clarke Chapman Group comprising Cowans Sheldon, RB Cranes, Stothert & Pitt, Wellman Booth as its principal subsidiary companies. In January 2001 Clarke Chapman ceased production at RB's Lincoln works with production transferred to facilities in Retford and Gainsborough. Following a rationalisation of the RB product line, as of 2008 RB continue to offer the CH40,CH50,CH70,CH80, CH100,CH135 and CH135LJ Hydraulic Crawler Cranes as well as specialist variants for Dockside usage[7][8] RB also offer the CH E (Series CH50E & CH70E) for dragline and clamshell grab applications[9] and the CH HD (Heavy Duty) (Series CH50D & CH70D) for adaption for piling and foundation engineering applications e.g. as a piling rig.[9]
RB continues to offer four models of Variable Counterbalance hydraulic long reach excavators, the VC20-15, VC20-17,VC20-20 and VC20-22[10] and also continues to offer the RB Priestman range of grabs for excavation and material rehandling applications.[11]
On 14 October 2009 the business RB Cranes was sold by Langley Holdings plc to Delden CSE Limited, the business has been moved to Delden CSE's pemises in Selston, Nottinghamshire. The business will continue to service the complete range of RB machines, Priestman VC excavators and Priestman grabs in addition to the range of B-E (Bucyrus-Erie) up to 88B.[12]
In February 2012 Delden CSE Limited [13] acquired NCK Cranes NCK [14] the other major UK crane & excavator manufacturer. Delden CSE Ltd still hire cranes manufactured by RB and NCK, as well as other manufacturers all over the UK and Ireland
See also
- Ruston & Hornsby
- NCK
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 The Amazing Story of Excavators:Volume 1. Peter N Grimshaw
- ↑ Turner, 1988. p. 45.
- ↑ http://www.contractjournal.com/Articles/1996/08/22/24103/INBRIEF.html
- ↑ http://www.contractjournal.com/Articles/2000/07/26/14563/r-b-international-in-admin.html
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 http://www.cranestodaymagazine.com/story.asp?storycode=4011
- ↑ http://www.cranestodaymagazine.com/story.asp?storycode=2001415
- ↑ http://www.clarkechapman.co.uk/site/9/Hydraulic-Crawler-Cranes.asp?nav_id=747
- ↑ http://www.clarkechapman.co.uk/site/9/Dockside-Mobile-Cranes.asp?nav_id=748
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 http://www.clarkechapman.co.uk/site/9/Dragline/Clamshell-Cranes.asp?nav_id=749
- ↑ http://www.clarkechapman.co.uk/site/9/Long-Reach-Excavators.asp?nav_id=750
- ↑ http://www.clarkechapman.co.uk/site/9/RB-Priestman-Grabs.asp?nav_id=751
- ↑ http://www.rbcranes.co.uk
- ↑ http://www.delden-cse.com
- ↑ http://nckcranes.co.uk
- Turner, John T (1988). 'Nellie' The History of Churchill's Lincoln-Built Trenching Machine. Occasional Papers in Lincolnshire History and Archaeology 7. ISBN 0-904680-68-1.
Further reading
- Lincoln's excavators -The Ruston-Bucyrus years 1930–1945 by Peter Robinson