Malzahn's Ditch Witch® Trencher Makes Its Mark in Engineering History

PERRY, Okla., Dec. 16, 2002 - As the first mechanized, compact service-line trencher developed to replace manual digging for underground water lines, ASME International (The American Society of Mechanical Engineers) will designate the Ditch Witch® DWP Service-Line Trencher a historic mechanical engineering landmark. A ceremony commemorating the designation was held today at the Ditch Witch Museum & Heritage Center in Perry, Okla.

While large trenchers did exist for digging big trenches for distribution lines, hard manual labor was still required to produce smaller trenches. That's when Edwin "Ed" Malzahn, a mechanical engineer and native of Perry, Okla., conceived the idea that a more compact, inexpensive digging machine could replace digging with picks and shovels. In 1949, Malzahn and his father Charles produced the first compact trencher at the family business, the Charles Machine Shop.

The name DWP, stands for Ditch Witch trencher-Power, which distinguished it from a companion machine that relied on a ratcheting, manual operation for mobility. An air-cooled 7-horsepower engine powered the DWP's simple but unique design, giving the trencher mobility and power for the working end. Small 2-piece buckets with sharp finger-like edges were mounted on a vertical chain to gouge out chunks dirt. The buckets were attached in sequence onto an endless moving chain that carried them down a ladder- type mechanism to chew out chucks of soil, then upward to dump the "spoil" in neat piles on the ground as they began the downward decent to bring up more dirt.

While seated on the machine's contoured metal seat, the operator used simple levers to raise and lower the digging device. A 4-inch wide trench with a digging depth of thirty inches was the goal.

"An engineer's ability to bring his dream to reality is always dependent upon the effort and support of his associates and colleagues. It's the team that wins the game not just the quarterback," said Malzahn. The DWP paved the way for the creation of a worldwide trenching-products industry, its machines used for the installation of underground utilities including telephone, cable-TV and data, and fiber-optic cables.

To commemorate the landmark designation, Susan H. Skemp, president of ASME International, presented a bronze landmark plaque to Ditch Witch® creator Ed Malzahn, P.E., president and chairman of the board of Charles Machine Works, Inc.

"The Ditch Witch Trencher is an important example of how engineers rise to the challenge of making our lives better by improving methods, processes and technology," said Skemp.

Since its inception in 1972, ASME International's History and Heritage Program has designated 222 historical mechanical engineering landmarks, heritage collections or heritage sites. Each selection represents contributions made by the technological advances of mechanical engineering and their impact on the quality of life.