Ditch Witch, a trade name of Charles Machine Works, is an American brand of underground utility construction equipment, which has been in operation since 1949. It is the leading subsidiary of Charles Machine Works, headquartered in Perry, Oklahoma. Charles Machine Works is itself a subsidiary of Toro Company, the latter acquiring them in 2019.
Innovation of Ditch Witch machines started in the 1940s when a compact trenching machine was created to replace the pick and shovel for installation of underground residential utility services.
The Ditch Witch organization specializes in the design and manufacture of underground construction equipment. The company is a source for trenchers, vibratory plows, horizontal directional drilling systems, drill pipe, downhole tools, vacuum excavation systems, fluid management systems, and mini skid steers. Because of its extensive experience in construction of subterranean structures and systems, CMW and Ditch Witch have been called, "The Underground Authority.
In 1902, Carl Frederick Malzahn, a German immigrant seeking to escape the harsh winters of Minnesota, moved his family to Perry, Oklahoma, and opened the Malzahn Blacksmith Shop with his sons, Charlie and Gus. The sons took over the business in 1913 and renamed it Malzahn Brothers' General Blacksmithing. The business prospered, and several years later, with the advent of an oil boom, it began specializing in repairs for the nearby oil fields. After Gus died in 1928, Charlie renamed the business Charlie's Machine Shop. In 1944, Charlie persuaded his son, Edwin "Ed" Malzahn (July 3, 1921 - December 11, 2015), by then an Oklahoma A&M (now Oklahoma State)-trained mechanical engineer, to join the business