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The Massey Manufacturing Company of Newcastle, Ontario and A. Harris & Sons of Brantford, Ontario were pioneer Canadian agricultural implement makers with roots stretching back to 1847 and 1857 respectively. Tools from Massey and Harris had broken sod, planted seed, brought in harvests and fed not just folks at home but made Canada the breadbasket of the entire British Empire. Mechanical marvels, the masterful power of these agricultural tools over the soil lured countless millions of immigrants to a better life in the New World. Massey and Harris built quality products that proudly played an enormous part in Canada's growth from a colony to a nation. Massey brought home a pair of Gold Medals from the Paris Universal Exhibition in 1867. It was given the distinction of manufacturing the "world's greatest harvesting machine." The two firms merged in 1891 rather than continue a thirty-year rivalry and escalate the bitter "Binder War" that erupted when the Brantford and Toronto Light Binders were introduced in 1889. Secure in the position of being the largest agricultural implement manufacturer in the British Empire, the new combine promptly set out to absorb other companies that would compliment and further add to the product line. Massey-Harris promptly began to broaden the field, including the manufacture of tillage equipment, manure spreaders, stationary engines and wagons. The company expanded beyond the Empire to take on the world. In 1910, Massey-Harris moved boldly into the United States. With the purchase of gasoline engine manufacturer Deyo-Macey in New York State, M-H became one Canada's first multinational industries. Primarily because farm labour disappeared during the Great War, the first tractor to bear the Massey-Harris name appeared in 1918. The conglomerate grew again in 1927 when it spent $2.4 million for the J.I Case in Racine, Wisconsin. Despite fielding a solid product, the Case concern was floundering. When it became clear that it was not going to turn the corner, plans were made to close the factory, ship the machinery to Toronto and build tractors domestically. Fortunately for the folks in the Badger State, a new manager was able to stem the flow of red ink. The introduction of the self-propelled combine in 1938 contributed mightily in making the Racine operation a lucrative one. Ever encircling the globe, by 1939, only 25 percent of Massey-Harris' business came from North America. With the advent of war in September 1939, the agricultural giant turned to building weapons of war as well as continuing to manufacture essential farm machinery on a limited basis. J.I. Case bought the Nash plant in Racine and began turning out Sherman M-5 tanks for the Allied armies. Massey-Harris' massive 1944 Harvest Brigade, using 500 self-propelled combines, was world news. Peace came in 1945 two years later the company marked its centennial. Not standing pat on a century of achievement, Massey-Harris grew once again with the $16 million purchase of Britain's Harry Ferguson Inc. in October 1953. Because of the high profile and prestige associated with the ingenious Ferguson hydraulic lift and implement draft control system, the corporation changed its name from Massey-Harris-Ferguson, Limited to Massey-Ferguson Limited in 1958. Detroit replaced Racine as the American headquarters. The multinational combine might be entering its 111th year but it was not an old-thinking company grazing on yesterday's pastureland. Company employees engaged in high-tech engineering, sophisticated product research, made use of state-of-the-art manufacturing and avant-garde marketing techniques. Advertising had always been prominent and became even more so, now. With such aggressive strategies, M-F was able to gain mightily on John Deere and International-Harvester, its main competitors. The Toronto-based company greatly expanded its Detroit tractor plant in 1958. Now, workers were capable of building 250 tractors a day. Company publicity wasn't shy to boast that the Motor City plant was one of the most advanced industrial factories in the world. While the tractors might be made in the United States, spokesmen were quick to point out that to folks at home that Massey-Harris was a Canadian company with a "truly international outlook. The Detroit plant was just one of sixteen it owned in Canada, the USA, the United Kingdom, France, West Germany and Australia. "Over 23,000 employees in these factories manufacture a complete line of farm and light industrial equipment that reaches markets in over 135 other countries." Products began carrying the new Massey-Ferguson brand name in 1957. The company did not only have a new corporate moniker, it prepared a whole new generation of tractors, too. Between 1956 and 1960, one tractor after another bowed to the public. MF35 was the lightweight in the family and did not join the lineup until 1960. At least it would be until the even small MF25 appeared. The MF35 weighed in at 3,200 pounds and used the Perkins 3A 152-cubic inch, four-cylinder diesel mill. It had a drawbar horsepower of 33.02. Weighing in at 4,485 pounds, the MF65 appeared in 1958. When powered by the Perkins diesel four-cylinder, vertical L-head, 203-cubic inch engine its drawbar capacity was 42.13 horsepower. The liquid propane version used the Continental G-176 as its power plant. It weighed a hefty 4,185 pounds and had a drawbar capacity of 38.15 horsepower. The MF85 appeared in 1959. The gasoline version used the Continental E-242 four-cylinder mill and had a drawbar rating of 52.36 horsepower. No lightweight, the MF85 weighed in at 5,737 pounds. It was also available to run on diesel fuel or liquid propane. Also appearing in 1959 was the mighty MF88. Available only with the Continental HD277 four-cylinder engine, it ran on diesel fuel. It boasted a drawbar horsepower of 53.25 and weighed in at a very hefty 6,600 pounds. The gasoline version weighed 6,200 pounds. Finally, the MF25 appeared in 1962. It was the baby of the family and was small enough to be classified as a garden tractor. Imported from M-F's factory in Beauvais, France, it used the Perkins A4 107 diesel engine. The huge gamble in new products paid of for Massey-Ferguson. By 1962 it would take the Number One spot in worldwide tractor sales and hold onto it for decades to come. Captions: 01: Workers at the Massey-Ferguson plant in Detroit, Michigan were turning a new tractor every two minutes in 1958. 02: Engines are prepared for installation into new Massey-Ferguson tractors. Continental and Perkins diesel were the mills of choice at MF. 03: Here the chassis of a new MF is being spray-painted. 04: The new Massey-Ferguson symbol replaced the Massey-Harris-Ferguson logo, created in 1953. The company boasted it was the largest manufacturer of tractors and self-propelled combines in the world. 05. Wheels are mounted and power steering hydraulic lines are inspected at this MF station. 06: No stone is left unturned. These inspectors check and adjust the complete hydraulic system using an 800-pound piece of test equipment that simulates field conditions. by James Mays |
