from the early 1990s.]]
is a major
Agricultural Equipment manufacturer. Originally started in
Canada it became one of the country's largest industrial concerns in the 1960s. A series of financial difficulties led to the company downsizing and being broken up, before what was left of the original firm disappeared in the 1990s. Today the company exists only as a brand name used by
AGCO , but remains a major seller around the world.
The firm was founded in
1847 in
Newcastle, Ontario by
Daniel Massey as the . The company began making some of the world's first
Mechanical Thresher s, first by assembling parts from the
United States and eventually designing and building their own equipment. The firm was taken over and expanded by his eldest son
Hart Almerrin Massey who renamed it the '''Massey Manufacturing Co.''' and in
1879 moved the company to
Toronto where it soon became one of the city's leading employers. The massive collections of factories on King St. West became one of the best known features of the city. Massey expanded the company and began to sell its products internationally. Through extensive advertising campaigns he made it one of the most well known brands in Canada. The firm owed much of its success to Canadian
Tariff s that prevented the larger American firms from competing in Canada. A labor shortage throughout the country also helped to make the firm's mechanized equipment very attractive.
In became
Governor General Of Canada and
Raymond Massey became a noted actor in American films. The Massey family used their fortune to improve the city of Toronto, and many institutions, such as the
University Of Toronto ,
Upper Canada College ,
Appleby College ,
Massey Hall and Metropolitan United Church, were partially financed by the Masseys.
In
1953 , the company merged with the
Ferguson Company to become , before finally taking on its current name in
1958 . But the company soon began to decline financially. Facing increasing international competition and an agricultural sector diminishing in importance, the firm began to struggle.
In 1955, Massey purchased the Australian company Sunshine. Founded in 1915 by Hugh Victor McKay, they had tie-ups with Massey Harris for several years before MF outright bought them. The Sunshine name faded into history.http://www.ytmag.com/articles/artint208.htm
In 1959, Massey bought 100% of
Landini , based in
Italy . Landini has built many models for Massey over the years, especially vineyard and crawler models. Massey sold 66% to ARGO in 1989, some to Iseki later on, and the final portion was sold by
AGCO in 2000. ARGO and
AGCO still provide models to one another.http://www.landini.it
In 1966, Massey purchased 32% of the Spanish tractor and auto company Ebro, or Motor Iberica. Ebro had previously built Ford tractors under license, but now began building models for Massey, and Massey models under license. Massey sold its interest to Nissan in the 1980s.http://website.webcenter.lycos.de/www.fomcc.de/spanien.htm
Starting in 1969, Massey Ferguson started producing a line of
Snowmobiles by the name Ski Whiz. The snowmobile line sold until 1977, when sales declined.
In the
1970s , Massey Ferguson came under the control of
Conrad Black . During the late 1970s, production was relocated to a new large facility in
Brantford, Ontario . In
1978 Massey Ferguson was the first to introduce an electronic three-point hitch on a tractor.
In 1973, Massey purchased the German company Eicher, and many Massey-licensed Eichers were built. They later sold their interest, and Dromson now owns the company. They now build specialized tractors for vineyards and such.
In
1981 , Black arranged a government bail-out for the collapsing company and sold it to a group of investors who reorganized it as
Varity Corporation. In the mid 1980s, Varity spun off several money-losing divisions into an entity called
Massey Combines . Massey Combines became insolvent soon after, and its assets were re-acquired by Massey Ferguson.
In 1992, a management buyout of MF industrial created the company Fermec which finally ceased trading in 2001 when it was swallowed up by Terex. This encompassed all construction equipment from Massey. It was purchased by J.I.Case in 1997.http://www.fermec.com
Despite some of the companies' hardships, Massey Ferguson was selling 25% more tractors than its nearest competitors at this time. In
1994 , the farm equipment divisions of
Varity were sold to the American
AGCO Corporation who continue to use Massey-Ferguson as a product line. In August 1996,
Varity merged with
Lucas Automotive to become
LucasVarity .
After a series of mergers and take-overs, the remains of
LucasVarity were taken over by the US company
TRW . Since 1962, Massey Ferguson has been the world's leading tractor brand, this may be likely due to the fact that Massey began to sell global earlier than the rest of its competitors. Currently, there are more Massey tractors than any other, worldwide.
Massey Ferguson (under control by
AGCO Corporation ) have developed a wide range of agricultural vehicles and have a large share in the market across the world especially in
Europe . The first truly wholesale tractor was the Massey Ferguson TVO which was quickly replaced by the Diesel 20. Proceeding the Diesel 20 came the Massey Ferguson 35 (a Ferguson design) and later 35X. These
Tractors were massively popular and sold across the
UK and
Ireland in particular.
Several other editions of tractors came later, but the next huge seller was the MF135, widely popular because of its reliability and power compared with other tractors at the time. Other tractors came that changed the image of tractors forever. These included the MF 145, 148, 150, 165, 168, 175, 178, 185 and 188. Later came the MF 565, 568, 575, 578, 585, 588,590, 595, 599 (500 series). From the early 80s came the 200 series tractor, which included the MF 240, 245, 250, 255, 260, 265, 270, 275, 278, 280, 285, 290, 299.
In the mid
'80s the short-lived 600 series was released. This included the 690, 690T, 695, 698 and 699. The reason for poor sale was due to poor looks and cab awkwardness compared to its predecessors. In the late '80s, one of the greatest selling tractors of all time was released- the 300 series Massey Ferguson. Excellent power, simplicity of cab, high range of
Gears and components made the MF 300 series a roaring success especially in
Europe . The range included the MF 390, 390T, 393, 394, 395, 398, and the most powerful and popular
Massey Ferguson 399 . Ranging from 72HP to 104HP, there was nothing this tractor could not do for a farmer of that time and still to this day.
Currently it is the most highly sought after
Farmer 's tractor in the
World leading it to be very expensive in comparison to other tractors of the same
Specifications . Tractors that came after the 300 series included the 4200 range, the 4300
Range and presently the 5400 range. MF produced many tractors in between that were aimed at a more
Niche Market including "
Datatronic " and "Dynashift/Powershift" machines. These included the 3600 (early 90s), 3000 (early to mid 90s), 3100 (mid 90s), 6100 (late 90s), 6200 (late 90s/early 2000s), 8200 (late 90s/early 2000s), 6400(present), 7400(present) and 8400(present).
AGCO/Massey factories build tractors for
Challenger ,
Iseki and
AGCO .
Massey Ferguson has become famous amongst sports fans in
Spain , thanks to an advertisement regularly run on the radio program
Carrusel Deportivo . In it, the host
Pepe Domingo Castaño relates its many qualities and awards before singing a
Corrido about the tractor.
- http://www.masseyferguson.com/agco/mf/inte/products/harvesting/160.htm [MF 163F - MF 169V
series]
