Objects in the Museum Courtyard Universal Cable Excavator, Model Mb II

The machinery factory Menck & Hambrock was founded in 1868 in Ottensen, which in those days was still a village close to Altona. In 1901, the company launched their first excavator. As the construction boom at the beginning of the 20th century kicked off, Menck & Hambrock increased their production and set up global trade partnerships. The blue excavators dug saltpetre in Chile, canals in Sweden, asbestos in Russian mines and moved rocks and boulders in quarries on the Canary Islands. They played a role in Hitler’s Autobahn building programme in the 1930s, and later helped to rebuild Germany’s ruins after the end of the war.

In 1978 Menck & Hambrock ceased making excavators. Modern hydraulic excavators increasingly superseded the traditional cable excavators and Menck & Hambrock lost their leading position on the market. Cable excavators are still used today to dig particularly deep pits.

This piece of machinery is in full working order. The original Porsche diesel engine was replaced with a Deutz diesel engine when it became difficult to obtain spare parts. The roller has a three-speed hydraulic transmission and hydraulically assisted steering. Behind the right rear wheel there is a hydraulically lowered device to which a tool could be attached to tear up asphalt. The blue paint and red trim was the original colour scheme selected by the lender. The roller was christened Emil, after the owner’s son. On loan from the collection of Dipl.-Ing. Alexander Lerch, Hamburg.