World War II

During World War II Caterpillar's relations with the US Defense Force helped Caterpillar to get huge orders for tractors which meant huge orders for LeTourneau attachments and accessories. LeTourneau supplied thousands of bulldozers, Carryalls (wagons to load and carry various equipment), sheepsfoot compactors, rooters, Tournapull (two wheeled tractors to pull Carryall wagons) and Tournacranes (pick and carry crane). The proximity of the Caterpillar Tractor Plant and LeTourneau plant in Peoria helped them become one of the biggest machinery suppliers of the US Military.

After the war in 1945 the joint venture contract between Caterpillar and LeTourneau ended but after that LeTourneau was one of the competitors for Caterpillar, so Caterpillar started to manufacture its own products which were earlier manufactured by LeTourneau. With wide dealership network Caterpillar dominated the segment which resulted in LeTourneau earth moving business being sold in 1953 to Westinghouse Air Brake Company (WABCO), a Pennsylvania based brake manufacturer.^[2]

Dump Trucks

After the acquisition in 1953 the new company had only one mining dump truck the Tournarocker (worlds first articulated dump truck) from the previous company. To fill the gap the company hired Ralph Kress in 1955 to design new off-road dump trucks at their Peoria plant. In 1956 the company launched its first off-road dump truck LW-30 it was a 20 ton capacity rear dump truck next year in 1957 company came up with the Haulpak lineup of dump trucks which introduced as 35 ton dump trucks later grew to 65 tons very quickly. With high sales and demand for the Haulpak the company lost its focus on other products of the previous company like the loader and scraper.

In 1968 the company was acquired by American Standard Inc. which developed bigger versions of the truck lineup to 100 plus tons and even electric versions later in 1984 the Haulpak lineup was sold to Dresser Industries a Dallas based multinational corporation by 1988 Komatsu America Corp. and Dresser Industries went into a joint venture named Komatsu Dresser Company and by the 1994 Komatsu gained full control over the venture Haulpak branding lasted till 1999.^[4]

Overland Trains

For the Distant Early Warning Line (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 Overland 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.^[5]

Drilling rigs

R. G. LeTourneau visioned to build a mobile drilling platform which could overcome the huge cost and time of foundation and relocation a drilling rig in waters. After years of engineering and studies LeTourneau came up with a concept of a barge mobile platform supported by tripod type system which he proposed to Zapata Corporation, a Rochester based oil company headed by future president of America George H. W. Bush. In 1954 Zapata contracted LeTourneau to construct the first ever jack up drilling rig and the construction started by the end of the year on the shores of the Mississippi River next to their Vicksburg plant.

The platform was large barge supported by three electro-mechanically-operated lattice legs which helps the structure to walk into the Mississippi River with its 4000 ton weight after the successful walk of the platform other equipments and drilling pumps were installed and handed over to Zapata at its christening ceremony where R G LeTourneau handed 3-ft “Key to the Gulf” to Zapata’s president, George Bush in 1956. Scorpion the drilling rig took off to its first service from Port Aransas, Texas to drill a well for Standard Oil Company of Texas. Soon after Scorpion LeTourneau delivered a second jack up drilling rig the Vinegaroon in 1957 to Zapata.^[6]