LeTourneau Technologies, Inc. was an American manufacturer of heavy construction equipment founded by

R. G. LeTourneau Robert Gilmour LeTourneau (November 30, 1888 – June 1, 1969), born in Richford, Vermont, he was a prolific inventor of earthmoving machinery and the founder of LeTourneau Technologies, Inc. His factories supplied LeTourneau machines which rep ...

. In 2011, the company was acquired by

Joy Global Joy Global Inc. was a company that manufactured and serviced heavy equipment used in the extraction and haulage of coal and minerals in both underground and surface mining. The company had manufacturing facilities in Alabama, Pennsylvania, Te ...

History

, also the founder of

LeTourneau University LeTourneau University (LETU) is a private, interdenominational evangelical Christian university in Longview, Texas. Founded as LeTourneau Technical Institute in February 1946 by R. G. LeTourneau with his wife, Evelyn, the school initially educate ...

, founded R. G. LeTourneau, Inc. in 1929 in

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

as a contractor of earthmoving equipment. LeTourneau manufactured products in

Longview, Texas Longview is a city in the U.S. state of Texas, and county seat of Gregg County; a small part of Longview extends into the western portion of neighboring Harrison County. Longview is located in East Texas, where Interstate 20 and U.S. Highways ...

. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, the company provided 70% 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 explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...

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

drilling rig A drilling rig is an integrated system that 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 drill wa ...

. 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 unloa ...

. LeTourneau had spent the early 1950s perfecting a sort of diesel-electric drivetrain for multi-wheeled heavy-machinery. The system – somewhat similar in concept to the sort used on many locomotives – used a combustion engine to spin an electric generator. This generator would send its power to hub motors mounted to each wheel of the vehicle, allowing for multi-wheel-drive without differentials, driveshafts, or the drivetrain losses associated with them. For the 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 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. 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 plc Valaris plc is an offshore drilling contractor headquartered in Houston, Texas, and incorporated in the UK. It is the largest offshore drilling and well drilling company in the world, and owns 56 rigs, including 40 offshore jackup rigs, 11 dril ...

), 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, with sales offices and manufacturing facilities in several countries. General Cable manufactures and distributes copper, aluminum, and o ...

for $50 million. In 2011, Rowan (now

) sold LeTourneau Technologies to

. Joy Global subsequently sold LeTourneau's Drilling, Marine, and Power divisions to Cameron International. In 2016,

Keppel Corporation Keppel Corporation (also known as Keppel Corp) is a Singaporean conglomerate headquartered in Keppel Bay Tower, HarbourFront. The company consists of several affiliated businesses that specialises in offshore & marine, property, infrastructure ...

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

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* * {{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

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Further reading

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