Finding aid for the Terex Collection

History of Euclid Company (1931-1954), Euclid Division of General Motors Corporation (1954-1968), Terex Division of General Motors Corporation (1968-1980), Terex I.B.H. (1981-1984), Terex (1984-1988)

Euclid Road Machinery Company (1931-1954), Euclid Division of General Motors Corporation (1954-1968), Terex Division of General Motors Corporation (1968-1980), Terex I.B.H. (1981-1984), Terex Corporation (1984-1988)

1931- Euclid Road Machinery Company incorporated, operating out of Euclid, Ohio.

1954- Euclid Road Machinery Company purchased by General Motors.

1955- Property was purchased in Hudson, Ohio as the site for a new factory, former Mid-City Airport. Mid-City Airport, (midway between Akron and Cleveland) opened in 1929 on land that was formerly a wheat field. It was begun by Thomas G. Lanphier, World War I pilot, and Henry Breckenridge, advisor to Charles Lindbergh. The Great Depression hurt plans to develop the airport, which was sold to Rudy Van Devere in 1939. The airport was used to train hundreds of military pilots during World War II. By 1956, 4,000 pilots used the airport, and the airfield covered 976 acres. At that time, Akron-Canton Airport had 1,100 acres.

In the mid 1950's, Hudson Ohio was facing a future of inevitable change due to industrial growth. Some residents felt this growth needed to be monitored in order to prevent undesirable changes. One large change which some residents were concerned about was the purchase of the Mid-City Airport by General Motors, who planned to build a large factory on the site. In 1955 Frederick Waring came up with the idea to have a community-wide land use survey to meet urban planning needs. The Hudson Village Council and Hudson Township Trustees approved the idea, and decided to create a five person team, known as the Hudson Development Committee, to carry out the survey. Frederick Waring became the Hudson Development Committee's public relations assistant. Ultimately, the Hudson Development Committee decided to stay neutral on the issue of whether or not General Motors should be allowed to build their factory, and construction of the Euclid plant went ahead as scheduled.

1957- Construction began on the Hudson Plant

1959- Hudson Manufacturing Plant completed and Factory Training School opened

1968- Federal antitrust suit (filed in 1959) settled, requiring sale of plants and certain assets acquired from the Euclid Road Machinery Company. The Euclid name, manufacture and sale of rear dumps, bottom dumps, and four wheel Prime Movers was relinquished in the U.S.A for a period of four years. Manufacture of Haulers continued in all plants outside the U.S.A.

Division name changed to Earthmoving Equipment Division- July, 1968

Product-identification brand name changed to "Terex", October, 1968

1973- 100,000 square foot expansion of the Hudson Plant begins.

1974- The "Terex Titan", the world's largest truck, is completed. Only one prototype is ever built. It is currently on display in Sparwood, British Columbia.

1979- Beginning of an economic recession which hurts the sales of construction equipment leads G.M. to lay off hundreds of workers.

1981- General Motors sale of Terex to I.B.H. goes into effect- January 1st

1983-1984- Terex IBH bankruptcy and sale of Terex Corporation- By this time, the Hudson factory, which in the late 1970's had employed over 1,100 people, was only operating with approximately 150 individuals.

1988- Terex Corporation announces the moving of its distribution warehouse to South Haven, Mississippi, and the immediate closing of its Hudson Plant.

1989- Walt Robbins, Inc. purchases the Hudson Plant from General Motors for $11 million, in order to renovate the property. Fabri-Centers of America Inc., another business which began in Cleveland, purchases property and moves its corporate headquarters and warehouse facilities to the Hudson plant.

1998- Fabri-Centers of America Inc. is renamed Jo-Ann Stores Inc. As of 2009, Jo-Ann Fabrics continues to own and operate this facility. Jo-Ann Fabrics is currently the largest fabric retailer in the United States.

Scope and Content

This collection contains documents related to the Euclid/Terex Company in Hudson, Ohio. The collection is divided into four series based on the originator of the records. These include the Hudson Planning Committee, the Euclid/Terex Company, the UAW Local 296, and local newspapers. Strengths of this collection include over 600 original Euclid/Terex photographs, as well as the largest known collection of Terextra newsletters.

The collection is divided into four series and five sub-series, as follows:

Restrictions on Use

There are no restrictions on this collection.

Restrictions on Access

There are no restrictions on this collection.

Other U.A.W. Local 296 papers covering the 1974-1976 time period are located in the Irving Bluestone Collection at the Walter P. Reuther Library in Detroit, Michigan.

Indexing Terms

The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.

Subjects:

Organizations/Corporations:

Preferred Citation

[SP T620], The Terex Collection

Acquisition Information

All documents and artifacts in the Terex Collection were donated to Hudson Library and Historical Society by individuals who either worked for the Euclid/Terex Corporation or were associated with it in some way.

Processing Information

The collection was processed by Kevin Gray in 2008.

Detailed Description of The Collection