A giant electric rope shovel has left its home in Milwaukee to reside in Nevada.
Weighing over 1 million pounds and standing five-stories tall, the P&H 2100BL recently completed a 1,700-mile journey to Komatsu’s Elko campus, where it will serve as a monument to mining equipment history as well as a public attraction.
The shovel’s previous home was outside P&H Mining Equipment’s manufacturing plant in Milwaukee, now owned by Komatsu.
Pawling and Harnischfeger was formed in 1884 in Milwaukee by Alonzo Pawling and Henry Harnischfeger to design patterns for casting industrial components, and it soon began a series of crane innovations. Those innovations continued through the decades, and the brand was acquired in 2017 by Komatsu, which continues the legacy in the production of P&H electric rope shovels and draglines.
Most Sought-After Shovel
The P&H 2100BL that now stands in Elko was manufactured in 1979. It started out in a Kentucky coal mine where it worked for three years, then moved to an iron ore mine in Michigan, according to a Milwaukee Journal Sentinel article in 2012.
It worked for about 20 years and sat idle for 10, according to a Milwaukee Magazine article in 2014. The shovel was bought in 2011 by Joy Global and restored. It resided at P&H Mining Equipment’s plant in Milwaukee to serve as a monument. At the time, P&H was a subsidiary of Milwaukee-based Joy Global Inc., which Komatsu acquired in 2017.
The shovel is about 75 feet long and has a capacity of 30 tons. Though small by today’s mining shovel standards, it was a popular model during its peak in the early 1970s. “At the time, it was the most sought-after large mining shovel,” says Tom Barnes, product support director for Joy Global’s surface mining division, as quoted by Milwaukee Magazine.
“Significant Monument”
The old shovel now greets visitors in Elko at Komatsu’s service center for haul trucks, hydraulic shovels, electric rope shovels and other mining support equipment. The center opened in 2019 and was expanded in 2023 with a 50,000-square-foot warehouse. In all, Komatsu says it has spent $57 million to build and expand the facility.
“The P&H 2100BL electric shovel is a remarkable piece of engineering,” says Tom Suess, Komatsu vice president and general manager for U.S. mining distribution. “Its journey from Milwaukee to Elko marks a significant moment in our company's history.”
As for Milwaukee, Komatsu Mining Technologies opened its global headquarters on 58 acres in the city’s Harbor District in 2022. There, visitors are greeted by a P&H 4100A electric rope shovel weighing 2.5 million pounds – more than twice as heavy as the 2100BL – and a 2,500-horsepower, 850,000-pound Komatsu 830E electric-drive haul truck.
Visitors to Komatsu Mining Technologies' global headquarters in Milwaukee are greeted by a P&H 4100A electric rope shovel weighing 2.5 million pounds and a 2,500-horsepower, 850,000-pound Komatsu 830E electric-drive haul truck. Komatsu
