11th Day of Construction Gifts: “Wain-Roy and the Invention of the Backhoe” | Dump Truck Company
The authors of the book “Wain-Roy and the Invention of the Backhoe” attribute the revolutionary construction machine’s creation to Vaino (pronounced Waino) J.
Holopainen and Roy E. Handy Jr. Their 1947 invention “could dig and load by swinging side to side” and was “the world’s first all hydraulically actuated and controlled machine for digging.”
Written by Lee Horton and Dave Willens, two engineers from central Massachusetts who “wanted to capture this fascinating history before it was lost to time,” the book chronicles the creation of the first hydraulic backhoe, sold in 1948 by the Wain-Roy Corporation.
“The amazing story of Wain-Roy and the invention of the backhoe is one of inspiration, struggle, genius, success, theft and failure,” according a press release. “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.”