During World War I, the American Expeditionary Force, recquisitioned 125 cranes mounted on motor trucks for use on the docks in France to unload material from ships. At that time, no such units were being produced commercially, in fact had not even been thought of, and the AEF had to settle for what was available. In 1919, the Thew Company introduced the world's first highly mobile rubber-tired crane. It became an instant success.