The Story of How Massey Ferguson Sold More Tractors Worldwide Than Everyone Else

Massey Ferguson’s story began in a humble tool shed in Ontario! Daniel Massey decided to start the production of farm implements in 1847. He was good at it and the business was growing fast. The combined hand rake mower was a major innovation. Massey focused on harvesting tools and the high quality he offered was the reason for their display at the 1867 Paris Industrial Exhibition.

The Rise

Massey joined forces with the other big Canadian farm equipment manufacturer in 1891, this the Massey-Harris Limited was born. The continuous development resulted in a groundbreaking invention – the three-point hitch was introduced in 1926. It is still used in the manufacturing of every tractor on the market today. Massey-Harris’ first tractor was launched four years later The company was able to show their first ever self-propelled combine ин 1938 – it was designed and built entirely by the company’s engineers.

The company showed a massive support to their government and spent the years during WWII manufacturing tanks, fighter bomber wings, gun mounts, as well as ambulance and troop carrier body shells. After the war ended, the company opened their new plant in Coventry, England, which happened to be the biggest tractor manufacturing plant in the world at that time.

The Most Important Merge

In 1953 Massey-Harris and the Ferguson company merged and the new company was rebranded as Massey-Ferguson five years later.

Perkins and Landini were among the important acquisitions made by Massey-Ferguson, both of which happened in 1959. Perkins was sold to Caterpillar nearly 30 years later.

The company introduced a four-wheel drive tractor in 1969 which was one of the first of its kind worldwide, equipped with a diesel V8 engine.

The first ever Massey-Ferguson compact tractor was launched in the end of the 70s, and the three-point hitch became electronic around the same time. Meanwhile, the company bought the Eicher tractor company – a German producer of small tractors. The deal was sealed in 1973. The next year was marked by the acquisition of Hanomag which proved to be a mistake as Massey-Ferguson lost a quarter of a billion dollars in just five years. Eventually, they sold Hanomag.

The self-propelled combine produced by the company was awarded as one of the top 100 most important contributions to the world of mechanized agriculture by the Equipment Manufacturers Institute.

The Technological Advantage

An important step for the company was their technological advantage achieved with the introduction of the Datatronic Massey and Massey Autotronic Systems in 1987. They were offered exclusively by Massey-Ferguson to enhance tractor control. All combines produced by the company were equipped with GPS-positioning five years later, making precise yield mapping in the process of harvesting a reality.

The company adopted the CVT (Constantly Variable Transmission) technology four years after that and called their new transmission the Massey Dyna-6. Its successor, the Massey Dyna CT, is still in production and it is among the most advanced in the world.

The rotary combine introduced in 1997 became a symbol of reliability and high performance. The machines’ development and progress was not affected by the economical ups and downs Massey Ferguson had to go through during the 80s and 90s. In fact, some of the most successful models such as the Massey-Ferguson 6100 and 8100 series were launched in the middle of the 90s.

Hesston and Massey Ferguson began working together and their combined effort resulted in the brand new hay equipment line in 2006. Just four years later, the draper header equipped with a flexible cutter bar was shown, which was the first of its kind. The RB silage baler and the Massey-Ferguson 9250 DynaFlex combine featuring a flexible cutter bar was launched which proved to be perfect for harvesting small grains. The Massey Ferguson WR9900 also proved to be a market success. The new Massey RazorEdge series mower conditioners are an important innovation as well.

Massey Ferguson is proud of the fact that there are more tractors produced by them than by any other manufacturer in the entire world. Today, the brand has a lot to offer. The product range includes tractors of all sizes fit for various purposes, as well as combines, windrowers, draper and disc headers, mowers, balers, rakes, planters, loaders and many other types of agricultural machinery.

More info at: http://www.masseyferguson.us.