Robert McCulloch
Robert Paxton McCulloch (born May 11, 1911 in St. Louis , Missouri , † February 25, 1977 in Los Angeles , California ) was an American entrepreneur. He became known as a manufacturer of McCulloch chainsaws and with the acquisition of the London Bridge , which he had rebuilt in the city of Lake Havasu City , Arizona , which he founded .
biography
His grandfather, John I. Beggs, established the family fortune by building Thomas Edison's urban power plants around the world , manufacturing streetcars, and being the founder of Milwaukee Utilities . McCulloch and his two siblings inherited his grandfather's fortune in 1925.
McCulloch graduated from Stanford University . He married Barbra Ann Briggs, whose father was Stephen Foster Briggs of Briggs & Stratton . His first engagement as an entrepreneur was the McCulloch Engineering Company , based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin . There he manufactured racing cars and compressors. In the early 1930s, he sold the company to BorgWarner for $ 1 million .
McCulloch then founded McCulloch Aviation , the company name of which he renamed McCulloch Motors Corporation in 1946 . The company produced small internal combustion engines.
Chainsaws
McCulloch established himself in the niche chain saw market . The first chainsaw to bear his name was made in 1948. It was used to fell trees, but also to saw large blocks of ice out of frozen lakes. The following year McCulloch revolutionized the market with the first lightweight one-man chainsaw.
In the 1950s, he founded the McCulloch Oil Corporation , which was involved in oil and gas exploration, as well as land development and geothermal energy.
Despite the market leadership of its competitor Evinrude , McCulloch Motors will continue to be involved in marine engines for the next decade. The search for a suitable test site led him to Lake Havasu . McCulloch acquired 14 square kilometers of land on the shore at Pittsburgh Point. In 1963, he finally bought a previously vacant piece of desert that would later become Lake Havasu City. At the time, this was the largest single country acquisition in Arizona to date . The cost per acre was less than $ 75.
To initiate the growth of the newly founded town, McCulloch opened a factory for the manufacture of chainsaws there in 1964. Within two years it became three plants with around 400 employees.
Today, the McCulloch brand, under which other power tools for the garden are offered in addition to chainsaws, belongs to the Swedish Husqvarna group.
Acquisition of London Bridge
In 1968 McCulloch was looking for a unique attraction for his city that brought him to London. In the early 1960s it became clear that London Bridge, built in 1831 by John Rennie senior , was slowly sinking into the Thames. The City of London had decided that a new bridge should be built. Instead of tearing down the existing bridge, it was decided to auction it off.
When McCulloch placed his bid for the auction, he doubled the estimated cost of demolishing the structure, which would have been $ 1.2 million. This resulted in the price of 2.4 million US dollars. To that he added $ 60,000, one thousand dollars each for each year of his age at the estimated time the bridge would be rebuilt. This bid won him the bid; there were hardly any bidders.
It took three years to complete the project. The structure was demolished piece by piece, every part was marked. The granite blocks were initially stored at the Surrey Commercial Docks and then shipped via the Panama Canal to Long Beach, California . From there they were transported by truck about another 500 kilometers by road. The bridge was rebuilt exactly according to the numbered markings. Desert sand was piled under the arches of the bridge to support it during construction.
The rebuilt attraction was officially inaugurated on October 10, 1971 with a grand celebration that was attended by the Lord Mayor of London .
With the acquisition of the bridge, McCulloch accelerated his development plan by increasing the number of flight connections into the city. At that time the airport was on an island. The free flights to Lake Havasu continued until 1978. It has been reported that there were a total of 2,702 flights during this period, bringing in 37,000 potential buyers.
A popular rumor has it that McCulloch mistakenly assumed he was buying the much more imposing Tower Bridge . At the time, the London Council carried out intensive marketing in order to offer the London Bridge for sale internationally. Ivan Luckin, who sold the bridge as a member of the council, always emphasized that he negotiated honestly.
World records
- Worlds Largest Antique - The London Bridge , Lake Havasu City, Arizona
- World's Largest Water Feature - Fountain Hills, Arizona
Company formation
- McCulloch Motors Corporation
- McCulloch Aircraft Corporation
- McCulloch Oil
- McCulloch Properties
- Paxton Automotive
City foundations
swell
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d e f Bobbi Ann Johnson Holmes Holmes: Lake Havasu City History . In: Havasu Magazine . Robeth Publishing LLC. Retrieved December 17, 2006.
- ↑ a b Grelle White: How London Bridge was sold to the States . In: This is Local London . Newsquest media group. March 27, 2002. Retrieved January 14, 2009.
- ↑ Archived copy ( Memento of the original from October 31, 2006 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Archived copy ( Memento of the original from July 22, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ [1]
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | McCulloch, Robert |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | McCulloch, Robert Paxton (full name) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American entrepreneur |
| DATE OF BIRTH | May 11, 1911 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | St. Louis , Missouri |
| DATE OF DEATH | February 25, 1977 |
| Place of death | Los Angeles , California |