verification . please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources . unsourced material may be challenged and removed . september 2011 learn how and when to remove this template message charles machine works type private industry construction equipment founded perry oklahoma u.s. 1902 1902 founder edwin malzahn july 3 1921 december 11 2015 headquarters perry oklahoma elverta u.s. products trenchers directional drilling machines website ditchwitch.com charlie and ed malzahn with an early ditch witch . ed malzahn riding an early ditch witch trencher . the ditch witch rt120 ride on trencher ditch witch jt60 horizontal directional drill the ditch witch fx60 vacuum excavator ditch witch a company of charles machine works is an american brand of underground construction equipment which has been in operation since 1949 . the company is based in perry oklahoma . innovation of ditch witch machines started in the 1940s when a compact trenching machine was created to replace the pick and shovel for installation of some residential services . the ditch witch organization specializes in the design and manufacture of underground construction equipment . the company is a source for trenchers vibratory plows horizontal directional drilling systems drill pipe downhole tools vacuum excavation systems fluid management systems and mini skid steers . history edit in 1902 carl frederick malzahn a german immigrant seeking to escape the harsh winters of minnesota moved his family to perry oklahoma and opened a blacksmith shop with his sons charlie and gus . the business prospered and several years later with the advent of an oil boom it became charlie s machine shop specializing in repairs for the nearby oil fields . ed malzahn july 3 1921 december 11 2015 charlie s son learned from his elders the process of adapting a business to meet changing demand . in the late 1940s he began to apply his mechanical engineering degree to a device that he believed would be in great demand once it was produced . at the time the process of installing residential utility services electric gas and plumbing lines involved slow tedious pick and shovel labor . malzahn s idea was to create a compact trencher that would dramatically reduce the time and effort of this process . working together ed and his father spent months in the family machine shop creating the prototype of what would be known as the dwp which stood for ditch witch power . the first production trencher rolled off the assembly line in 1949 . it was the first mechanized compact service line trencher developed for laying underground water lines between the street main and the house . the dwp paved the way for the creation of the compact trencher industry which today produces all types of equipment for efficiently installing any type of underground utilities including water sewer and gas lines ; and telecommunications catv and fiber optic cables . ditch witch remains a leader in the industry it essentially created . still based in perry oklahoma the company designs and manufactures a wide variety of high quality underground construction equipment trenchers vibratory plows horizontal directional drilling systems drill pipe downhole tools vacuum excavation systems fluid management systems and mini skid steers all bearing the ditch witch name . the company s expansive campus contains a 30 acre 120 000 m2 manufacturing plant as well as training testing research and product development facilities . it employs more than 1 300 people . the ditch witch compact trencher has twice been named one of the 100 best american made products in the world 1 by fortune magazine . in 2002 american society of mechanical engineers . 2 references edit 1 fortune 100 best american made products in the world 1998 2 president susan h. kemp awarded the ditch witch organization a bronze plaque designating the dwp as a historical mechanical engineering landmark . wikimedia commons has media related to ditch witch . external links edit wikimedia commons has media related to ditch witch . company website encyclopedia of oklahoma history and culture ditch witch voices of oklahoma interview with ed malzahn . first person interview conducted with ed malzahn founder of ditch witch on april 14 2011 . original audio and transcript archived with voices of oklahoma oral history project . retrieved from https en.wikipedia.org w index.php title ditch witch & oldid 743668783 categories construction equipmentamerican companies established in 1949companies based in oklahomamanufacturing companies of the united stateshidden categories articles needing additional references from september 2011all articles needing additional referencescommons category with page title same as on wikidata navigation menu personal tools not logged intalkcontributionscreate accountlog in namespaces article talk variants views read edit view history more search navigation main pagecontentsfeatured contentcurrent eventsrandom articledonate to wikipediawikipedia store interaction helpabout wikipediacommunity portalrecent changescontact page tools what links hererelated changesupload filespecial pagespermanent linkpage informationwikidata itemcite this page print export create a bookdownload as pdfprintable version in other projects wikimedia commons languages e tina edit links this page was last modified on 10 october 2016 at 17 07 . text is available under the creative commons attribution sharealike license ; additional terms may apply . by using this site you agree to the terms of use and privacy policy . wikipedia is a registered trademark of the wikimedia foundation inc. a non profit organization . privacy policy about wikipedia disclaimers contact wikipedia developers cookie statement mobile view