Beautifully engraved certificate from the Parkersburg-Aetna Corporation issued in 1963. This historic document was printed by the Columbian Bank Note Company and has an ornate border around it with a vignette of an allegorical woman sitting in a chair with a background consisting of factories, ships, trains and oil derricks. This item has the printed signatures of the Company's President and Secretary and is over 41 years old.
Certificate Vignette Parkersburg Aetna Corporation developed the idea of using a water brake as an auxiliary brake for rotary drilling rigs in 1929. The water brakes were trademarked in 1933 as Hydromatic® brakes and produced and sold in West Virginia until 1958. In 1958, the Hydromatic® brake product line was transferred to Parkersburg Rig and Reel in Coffeyville, Kansas. The Coffeyville plant mainly manufactured oilfield pumping units, bolted tanks and Hydromatic® brakes until 1966. In 1966, Parkersburg Rig and Reel ceased manufacturing oilfield pumping units and bolted tanks and became Parmac, Inc., a subsidiary of Maloney Crawford Tank.