Massey-Harris Tractors. The Massey-Harris Company was formed in 1891 when The Massey Manufacturing Co. and A. Harris & Son merged. The Massey-Harris Company became involved with tractors in 1917 when they introduced U.S. made Bull tractors branded as Massey-Harris to Canadian farmers. When the Bull Tractor Co. failed in 1919 Massey-Harris sold tractors based on Chicago made Parrett designs. The next U.S. built tractor marketed under the Massey-Harris brand name was the Wallis 20-30 made by J. I. Case Plow Co. of Racine, Wisconsin. In 1928 Massey-Harris purchased the Racine factory and sold the J. I. Case Plow Co. name to the J. I. Case Threshing Machine Co in the same year. Between the two World Wars Massey-Harris opened factories in France and Germany, in 1930 they acquired a major interest in H. V. McKay Co. of Sunshine near Melbourne Australia. In 1946 Massey-Harris began producing mowers and hay machinery at Trafford Park, Manchester U.K. Canadian built 44 and 55 tractors were sold by the U.K. branch of the company until the 744 PD went into limited production at Manchester in 1948. The Massey-Harris and the Ferguson organisations merged in 1953, initially both makes continued to be marketed under their original brand names. Shortly after the introduction of the Massey Ferguson 65 tractor in 1957 the Massy-Harris brand name was phased out, the last tractor to carry the Massey-Harris name in the United Kingdom was the 745S last produced in 1958. |
|
|