Edwin G. Malzahn

Inducted 1993

Edwin G. Malzahn has achieved great honor and distinction as a skilled professional engineer, a successful business executive, a prominent government administrator, and a contributor to numerous humanitarian and philanthropic endeavors. A 1943 graduate of OSU, he later became president and chief executive officer of Charles Machine works, Inc. — manufacturer of the internationally marketed Ditch Witch line of trenching and underground construction equipment.

A gifted professional engineer, Mr. Malzahn was named to the OSU Engineering Hall of Fame in 1966 and received the Oklahoma Society of Professional Engineers “Wonders of Engineering” Award in 1969. A 1970 inductee to the OSU Alumni Association Hall of Fame, Mr. Malzahn also was honored by the Oklahoma Society of Professional Engineers as the “Outstanding Engineer in Management” for 1972.

Mr. Malzahan’s numerous outstanding engineering and management achievements in the equipment manufacturing field are matched by his many professional contributions to the industry. He was elected president of the Farm and Industrial Equipment Institute for 1982-83, and he earlier was named the Central U.S. region’s 1965 “Small Businessman of the Year” by the National Council for Small Business Management. Mr. Malzahan’s company also received the President’s “E” Award for Excellence in Exporting in 1971.

Mr. Malzahn ably served as director of the Oklahoma Department of Commerce and Industry and as chairman of the Oklahoma Industrial and Parks Commission, both during Governor Henry Belmopan’s first administration. A member and chairman of the Oklahoma Advisory Council for the Small Business Administration, he also served with great distinction on the Board of Regents for the Oklahoma A&M Regents. This service was of significant benefit to his alma mater, OSU, and to the other A&M member institutions.