The HCEA Archives

The Historical Construction Equipment Association is honored to be the only organization designated by the Associated Equipment Manufacturers, the leading heavy equipment industry trade association, as an official archive for the construction equipment industry. The HCEA Archives provides a service to manufacturers, users, historians and collectors of construction, dredging and surface mining equipment and to the general public by preserving, indexing and cataloging, and making available for public research from a central location a comprehensive collection of archival materials for all three industries.

Like the Museum, the Archives exists for the sake of public education. Its role is to both preserve the records that document the history of the construction, dredging and surface mining equipment industries and to make those records available for public research.

Typical researchers include owners and operators who still use older machinery in their daily business; authors of books and of trade journal and newspaper articles; producers of television programs; and personal uses such as restoration of antique machinery, the design and building of scale models, school projects and family history. We have been honored to serve researchers from throughout the United States and Canada and as far away as Japan, Spain, Italy, Argentina, Russia and Australia.

The Archives’ collections are stored in a climate-controlled 2,200 square foot building on the Museum grounds. The building also houses the HCEA’s offices, and will be expanded in the future to meet the need for additional space for the Archives’ collections.

The Archives is staffed by archivist Thomas Berry, who brings a lifetime of study of the heavy construction equipment industry to his position.

The Archives Collections

Using the Archives

Donating to the Archives

Sale of surplus sales literature