Before 1870 cranes were fixed to a position, except for some which were fixed on railway tracks which gave some restricted movement. Steam-powered cranes were shown by Appleby Brothers at Paris in 1867 and Vienna in 1873. In 1922, Henry Coles, manager of Appleby Corp., began producing truck-mounted cranes marketed under the name "the Petrol Electric Lorry Crane." In 1939 the Coles had been acquired by Steel and Co. Ltd. of Sunderland.



Major steps in development included the adopton of the IC engine in 1922 and the invention of telescopic jibs. Before 1960 cranes carried additional booms with them to increase height, which increased operating costs. In 1959 crane expert R.H.Neal, hydraulics specialist F.Taylor, and design director Bob Lester integrated all three and modernized cranes. The Coles Hydra Speedcrane appeared in 1962, further modified with the 10-ton fully telescopic hydraulic boom in 1966, followed in 1968 by the 30-ton "Husky" military versions with four-wheel drive. In 1972, Steels was forced to merge with the Acrow Group, losing some of their most valuable employees, including Don Hassel and Johnny Johnson who started a new manufacturing processes plant. With backing from the British Crane Hire Corporation they acquired a small factory unit and ordered every single element of their product from subcontracted suppliers. In 1976 the Cosmos team had created a 25-ton crane which brought together several state-of-the-art developments.