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Private company

Ditch Witch

Brand of trencher machines

Ditch Witch, a trade name of Charles Machine Works, is an American brand of underground utility construction equipment, principally trenchers, which has been in operation since 1949. It is the leading subsidiary of Charles Machine Works, headquartered in Perry, Oklahoma. Charles Machine Works has been, since 2019, a subsidiary of The Toro Company.2 Wikipedia text CC BY-SA 4.0

Last updated Oct 21, 2026.

Overview

1902Founded1

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Charlie and Ed Malzahn
Photo: Steve Roop, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons4

Ditch Witch, a trade name of Charles Machine Works, is an American brand of underground utility construction equipment, principally trenchers, which has been in operation since 1949. It is the leading subsidiary of Charles Machine Works, headquartered in Perry, Oklahoma. Charles Machine Works has been, since 2019, a subsidiary of The Toro Company.2

The story

In 1902, Carl Frederick Malzahn, a German immigrant seeking to escape the harsh winters of Minnesota, moved his family to Perry, Oklahoma, and opened the Malzahn Blacksmith Shop with his sons, Charlie and Gus. The sons took over the business in 1913 and renamed it Malzahn Brothers' General Blacksmithing. The business prospered, and several years later, with the advent of an oil boom, it began specializing in repairs for the nearby oil fields. After Gus died in 1928, Charlie renamed the business Charlie's Machine Shop. In 1944, Charlie persuaded his son, Edwin "Ed" Malzahn (July 3, 1921 – December 11, 2015), by then an Oklahoma A&M (now Oklahoma State)-trained mechanical engineer, to join the business.

From Wikipedia’s article on Ditch Witch, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.3

Products and brands

  • trencher

Listed on Wikidata.1

Timeline

  1. 1902Founded Founded1

Sources

The numbers on this page point here. Each one links to the record it came from.

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