10. Bobcat Company
Founded in North Dakota in the late 1950s, Bobcat transformed the industry by creating the world’s first skid-steer loader — a compact, agile machine that could turn within its own length. Originally developed by the Keller brothers and marketed by the Melroe Manufacturing Company, the “Bobcat” name quickly became synonymous with small but powerful earthmoving equipment.
The company later expanded into mini-excavators and other compact machines widely used in construction, agriculture, and landscaping. Bobcat’s focus on versatility and ease of maintenance made it a global reference in compact equipment.
Today: Bobcat operates under Doosan Bobcat, with production sites in the United States, Czech Republic, and South Korea. It remains one of the most recognizable names in light construction machinery, representing the American tradition of innovation in a smaller format.
11. Euclid Road Machinery Company
Euclid, founded in 1931, pioneered the off-highway dump truck and set the benchmark for productivity in mining and construction hauling. The name “Euc” became a generic term for rigid dumpers on job sites.
Today: Euclid’s operations passed through GM, Daimler-Benz, and Hitachi before the brand was finally retired in 2004. Its DNA endures in Hitachi’s rigid dump truck line.
12. Hough (Frank G. Hough Company)
Frank G. Hough revolutionized loading equipment with the first modern rubber-tired wheel loader, the “PayLoader,” in the 1930s. This compact yet powerful concept spread worldwide and became a construction standard.
Today: Acquired by International Harvester in 1952, Hough’s technology continued through Dresser and now lives on in Komatsu’s wheel loader line.
13. Case Corporation (J.I. Case)
Established in 1842, Case was already a leader in agricultural machinery before entering the construction market. The launch of the Case 320 in 1957—the first integrated tractor-loader-backhoe—redefined job-site versatility and remains an icon of American engineering.
Today: Case Construction Equipment, part of CNH Industrial, continues to produce backhoes, wheel loaders, and dozers worldwide.
14. Koehring Company
Starting as a concrete mixer maker in Milwaukee, Koehring grew into a major manufacturer of hydraulic excavators and cranes. Its 1960s 505 backhoe represented the transition from cable to hydraulic technology.
Today: Acquired by Terex in 1987, the Koehring brand is gone but its mechanical lineage helped shape modern hydraulic excavator design.
15. WABCO (Earthmoving Division)
Known originally for railway brakes, WABCO entered the earthmoving business in the 1950s, producing scrapers, graders, and off-highway trucks with advanced air-brake systems. Its equipment was common on large construction and mining projects through the 1970s.
Today: The construction division was sold to Dresser and then merged into Komatsu. The WABCO name survives in vehicle braking systems—far from the dusty quarries it once served.
