To accommodate their export business, the Ellicott brothers built a warehouse and wharf at Pratt and Light Streets on the Baltimore harbor.
To maintain the wharf's water depth, and continue to bring in ships, the Ellicotts commonly utilized horse drawn scoops to remove sediment from the harbor.
To initiate the program, the Maryland state senate purchased ten Mud Machines from the Ellicott brothers.
Shortly thereafter, horses were replaced by steam engines on the Mud Machine crafting the first power driven dredge in the US.
Their cutter dredges can be used for a variety of applications including coastal protection, sand mining, and land reclamation.