After nearly 30 years, the first Brokk sold in the United States has made its way back home to Monroe, Wash. In 1983, the first batch of Brokk machines arrived in America: three Brokk 250s, sold by Roland Johansson, the original U.S. distributor for Brokk. Over the next three decades, one of these machines made its way all around the country before landing back in Brokk’s hands.
“When we received the machine here in Monroe, we knew it was one of the original Brokks built because of the decals on the boom,” Lars Lindgren, Brokk’s president said. “The serial plate further confirmed this fact, and we were able to start looking into the adventures this machine had.”
Lindgren and his crew quickly went to work uncovering the history of the Brokk 250. They discovered that making the initial trek across the Atlantic ocean from Sweden wasn’t an easy task for this unit.
“Due to some complicated importation rules during the early eighties, the only way to get the machines into the United States quickly and easily was to disassemble them in Sweden,” Lindgren explained. “The machines would then enter the U.S. as spare parts, and be reassembled.”
These machines were each given a unique serial number, so that the company knew they were the ones being sold in the United States. The number 910 046 was significant both because 910 is the telephone prefix for Skelleftea, Sweden, the company’s hometown, and 046 is Sweden’s country code. The number not only revealed that it was the first Brokk sold in the U.S., but also helped map out where the machine had been – which included hopping from California to New York to Hawaii before eventually heading back to Monroe.
“We are very pleased to have the machine back in our hands,” Lindgren said. “It allows us to give our employees a glimpse into the past, but most of all, it’s concrete evidence of how well our machines are built.”
After nearly 30 years of demanding demolition work, the Brokk is still in working condition – a further testament to the machine’s remarkable durability.
