A CHRONOLOGICAL
HISTORY OF
HARVEY J. CRANE, JR.
AND HIS DEVELOPMENT OF THE FIRM THAT STILL USES HIS LAST NAME TO PROMOTE THEIR
PRODUCTS
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START OF THE BUSINESS
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| 1953 | CRANE ENGINEERING COMPANY
FOUNDED BY HARVEY J. CRANE, JR. AS THE SOLE OWNER. THE BUSINESS IS
LOCATED IN 500 SQUARE FEET, RENTED INSIDE HIS FATHERS GENERAL MACHINE
SHOP BUILDING.
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10 YEARS LATER
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| 1963 | CRANE ENGINEERING CO, INC. A CORPORATION IS FORMED AND HARVEY SELLS A 20% OWNERSHIP TO HIS HIGH SCHOOL FRIEND, DAVID SMITH, AND NAMES HIM AS SALES MANAGER. HARVEY CRANE RETAINS 80% OWNERSHIP. |
| 1963 | UNITED STATES PATENT NUMBER 3,108,580 IS ISSUED TO HARVEY J. CRANE, JR. (NEVER ASSIGNED TO THE CORPORATION) ON OCTOBER 29, 1963. THIS PATENT COVERS FOUR BASIC CLAIMS ON A MECHANICAL ROLLER TAPPET DESIGN. THIS "SHIELDED ROLLER" TYPE DESIGN IS USED BY O.E.M. MANUFACTURERS FOR THEIR HYDRAULIC ROLLER TAPPETS 17 YEARS LATER, (AFTER THE PATENT EXPIRES). |
| 1965 | HARVEY OUTGROWS HIS FATHERS SHOP AS 3,500 SQUARE FEET IS ALL HIS FATHER WILL RENT TO HIM. HE PURCHASES 8 LOTS IN HALLANDALE'S ONLY INDUSTRIAL ZONED AREA AND CONSTRUCTS 15,000 SQUARE FEET. HE MOVES 35 EMPLOYEES INTO THE NEW PLANT IN JANUARY OF 1966. THIS PLANT WILL EVENTUALLY BE ENLARGED TWICE, TO A TOTAL OF 35,000 SQUARE FEET. |
| 1965 | FIRST COMPUTER ANALYSIS PERFORMED ON A HARVEY CRANE DESIGNED "DRAWING BOARD" CAM, BY J. H. NOURSE OF YPSILANATI, MICHIGAN. |
| 1967 | FIRST CAM PROFILE DESIGNED ON
A COMPUTER BY HARVEY CRANE, USING A CAM DESIGN PROGRAM WRITTEN BY J. H.
NOURSE. THIS PROGRAM IS RUN OVER THE PHONE LINES ON A TIMESHARING
COMPUTER (COMSHARE, INC.) LOCATED IN ANN ARBOR, MICHIGAN.
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15 YEARS LATER
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| 1968 | HARVEY PURCHASED A NUMERICAL CONTROL MOORE JIG GRINDER FOR GRINDING MODEL/MASTER CAMS TO TEN MILLIONTHS LINEAR RESOLUTION AND 2 ARC SECONDS ANGULAR ACCURACY. HIS BANK WOULD NOT FINANCE THE $65,000 COST, AS HIS NET WORTH IS LESS THAN THE MACHINES VALUE! |
| 1968 | PURCHASED HIS FIRST NORTON CAM-O-MATIC FULLY AUTOMATIC CAMSHAFT GRINDER. IT REQUIRED MORE THAN 1 YEAR TO BECOME OPERATIONAL. |
| 1969 | FIRST "NON-SYMMERTICAL" HYDRAULIC FLAT TAPPET PROFILES DESIGNED ON A TIME SHARING COMPUTER BY HARVEY CRANE. |
| 1970 | HARVEY'S "HOMEMADE" CAM PROFILE ANALYSIS CAMSHAFT MEASURING MACHINE IS AUTOMATED. THE MEASURING TIME REQUIRED FOR 1 LOBE IS REDUCED FROM 5 HOURS TO FIVE MINUTES. |
| 1971 | FIRST EXTRA HIGH LIFT (.669" VALVE LIFT) ROLLER CAM PROFILE WAS DESIGNED. THIS 288 DEGREES OF DURATION AT .050" CAM LIFT AND .4460" CAM LIFT PROFILE WAS "RIDICULED" BY HIS COMPETITION AS "WOULD-NOT- WORK". IT BECOMES THE STANDARD OF THE DRAG RACING CAM INDUSTRY. |
| 1972 | HARVEY INTRODUCES "FIREBALL"
CAMS AT SEMA SHOW. ($48 LIST) THE NEAREST COMPETITION IS PRICED AT
$55.00 LIST!
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20 YEARS LATER
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| 1973 | HARVEY DESIGNS A NON SYMMETRICAL "NO-RAMP" EXTRA HIGH LIFT ROLLER PROFILE. THIS "NO-PULSE" OPENING RAMP IS ALSO RIDICULED BY FELLOW CAM DESIGNERS AS "BAD DESIGN" PRACTICE. LATER ALL DESIGNERS ADOPT THE SAME BASIC RAMP. |
| 1974 | UPON HARVEYS INSISTENCE, THE CORPORATION PURCHASED UNIVERSAL CAMSHAFT COMPANY, MUSKEGON, MICHIGAN. THIS IS THE ONLY SUPPLIER OF SAE 8620 STEEL BILLET ROLLER CAMSHAFTS TO THE HIGH PERFORMANCE INDUSTRY. |
| 1975 | A DATA GENERAL NOVA 2
COMPUTER IS PURCHASED FOR $60,000, AND THEN LOGGED OFF OF ALL TIME
SHARING COMPUTERS.
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24 YEARS LATER
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| 1977 | ON MARCH 4, 1977 HARVEY CRANE
CHOOSES TO STEP DOWN AS THE PRESIDENT AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER OF HIS
CORPORATION. HE STILL OWNS MORE THAN 70 PERCENT OF ALL THE STOCK. HE
DEVOTES HIS FULL TIME TO CAM ANALYSIS AND CAM DESIGN.
TWO MONTHS LATER, IN MAY, A NEW LINE OF
ROLLER CAMS ARE CONCEIVED BY HARVEY AND THE REVOLUTIONARY "HI-LOW
NO-POP" ROLLER CAM PROFILES ARE DESIGNED. A FULL SERIES OF PROFILES ARE
TOOLED WITH NEW NC PRODUCED MASTER CAM PLATES. 29 YEARS LATER (2006),
THEY ARE STILL USED FOR DRAG RACING CAMSHAFTS. |
| 1978 | HARVEY CONCEIVES THE NEW "TR" ROLLER PROFILE SERIES WITH "INVERTED" OPENING SIDE FLANKS. A COMPLETE LINE IS DESIGNED AND TOOLED FOR PRODUCTION. STILL USED FOR CIRCLE TRACK AND ROAD RACING ENGINES. |
| 1979 | FIRST HYDRAULIC ROLLER TAPPET CAM PROFILES DESIGNED. NO ONE BELIEVED HYDRAULIC ROLLERS WOULD WORK IN PERFORMANCE ENGINES. |
| 1981 | HARVEY CONCEIVES THE FAMOUS "HMV" SERIES (HYDRAULIC MAXIMUM VELOCITY) SERIES. THESE WERE THE FIRST "QUIET" CAMS WITH ONLY 56 DEGREES OF "HYDRAULIC INTENSITY". |
| 1982 | A NEW 85,000 SQUARE FOOT PLANT IS CONSTRUCTED IN DAYTONA BEACH, FLORIDA TO HOUSE THE MICHIGAN PLANT MACHINERY AND INVENTORY. 92 TRACTOR TRAILER LOADS ARE MOVED FROM MUSKEGON MICHIGAN TO DAYTONA BEACH IN DECEMBER. 10 PEOPLE ARE MOVED (THE OTHER 250 PLUS UNION EMPLOYEES ARE LAYED OFF) TO DAYTONA BEACH. 100 NEW PEOPLE ARE HIRED AND TRAINED TO PRODUCE HIGH VOLUME CAMSHAFTS. |
| 1982 | A CONTINUOUS PATH COMPUTER
CONTROLLED MOORE JIG GRINDER IS PURCHASED TO REPLACE THE NC (POINT TO
POINT) GRINDER. VAN NORMAN/BERCO MASTER CAM PLATES ARE NOW GROUND
DIRECTLY, WITHOUT THE USE OF MODEL CAMS.
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30 YEARS LATER
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| 1983 | HARVEY CONCEIVES THE "IR" ROLLER SERIES OF PROFILES. THESE HAVE INVERTED FLANKS ON BOTH THE OPENING AND CLOSING SIDES. A FULL SERIES IS TOOLED FOR PRODUCTION. THESE PROFILES HAVE 30 DEGREES OF MAJOR INTENSITY. |
| 1986 | THE HALLANDALE, FLORIDA PLANT IS CLOSED AND 55 EMPLOYEES ARE MOVED TO DAYTONA BEACH, FLORIDA. MORE PEOPLE ARE HIRED TO FULLY STAFF THE EXPANDED (TO 145,000 SQUARE FOOT) BUILDING. |
| 1986 | HARVEY CRANE TAKES HIS FIRST REAL VACATION, GONE FOR FOUR MONTHS ! |
| 1987 | HARVEY PIONEERS THE FIRST USE
OF IBM COMPATIBLE "PERSONAL" COMPUTERS FOR THE DESIGN AND ANALYSIS OF
CAM PROFILES.
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36 YEARS LATER
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| 1989 | HARVEY CRANE IS FIRED BY COMMITTEE OF 10 "OWNER OPERATORS" ON JANUARY 24, 1989. HE IS THE LARGEST INDIVIDUAL SHAREHOLDER WITH 17% OF THE STOCK. HARVEY HAS BEEN SELLING HIS PERSONAL STOCK TO THE ESOT PLAN. THESE SHARES OF HIS STOCK ARE THEN GIVEN TO THE EMPLOYEES AS AN ANNUAL BONUS. HE PLANS ON STARTING A NEW CAM MANUFACTURING COMPANY, BUT IS WARNED HE HAS A ONE YEAR "NON-COMPETE" CONTRACT. |
| 1990 | HARVEY CRANE FORMS A NEW CORPORATION. CRANE CAMDESIGN INCORPORATED IS BORN ON JANUARY 25, 1990. HIS CUSTOMERS WILL BE THE COMPETITORS OF THE COMPANY THAT STILL USES HARVEY'S LAST NAME TO PROMOTE THEIR CAMSHAFTS AND OTHER PRODUCTS. |
| 1999 | THE OFFICERS OF CRANE TECHNOLOGY GROUP, INC. (CTG) (THE NEW NAME OF HIS ORIGINAL CORPORATION) SENDS A REGISTERED LETTER TO HARVEY CRANE'S LAWYER THREATENING TO SUE IF THE NAME OF CRANE CAMDESIGN, INCORPORATED IS NOT CHANGED! THEREFORE HARVEY IS FORCED TO CHANGE THE LEGAL CORPORATIONS NAME TO harvey CRANE, Incorporated. OF COURSE, HE COULD "FIGHT IT", BUT THE LEGAL COSTS WOULD BE FAR HIGHER. |