Wain-Roy and the Invention of the Backhoe

Book excerpt: In 1947 Vaino J. Holopainen (Waino) and Roy E. Handy Jr. of the small town of Hubbardston, Massachusetts developed the world's first backhoe. This revolutionary invention that could dig and load by swinging side to side, was also the world's first all hydraulically actuated and controlled machine for digging. Vaino and Roy then formed Wain-Roy Corporation. Their grassroots contribution to the earth moving industry lead to the development of twenty-six major backhoe related break-through designs, including the tractor loader backhoe, which formed the worldwide multi-billion-dollar industry that we know today.The amazing story of Wain-Roy and the invention of the backhoe is one of inspiration, struggle, genius, success, theft and failure. Credit for the backhoe is often given to other larger outfits who no-doubt fueled the rise of its widespread use. Few people alive still remember the greatest triumphs and failures of the true inventors and innovators of first backhoe and the first all-hydraulic digger. Authors Lee Horton and Dave Willens, two engineers from Central Massachusetts, wanted to capture this fascinating history before it was lost to time.