TRACTOR TRIVIA and other interesting stuff 2/10/2024

[953 nut 55,228]

THE RISE OF THE INTERNATIONAL HARVESTER CORPORATION

 

International Harvester traces its roots to Cyrus Hall McCormick, a great industrialist during the 19th century and the son of a farm machinery inventor. Although Cyrus McCormick’s father failed commercially, Cyrus Jr. followed in his father’s footsteps and developed a successful farm machinery company.

At twenty-two years of age, the second generation McCormick invented a better reaper for harvesting grain and got a patent on it three years later. This success milestone prompted him to continuously improve his reapers by adding elements that enhanced the machine’s efficiency.

In 1837, economic panic befell America. Martin Van Buren,  the President at that time, would later note that the crisis resulted from the ease of credit access and rampant speculation. This led to a widespread lack of employment, economic depression currency devaluing, bank failures, and financial failures.

Economic difficulty saw the company take a financial loss driving the business into bankruptcy. This would also see Cyrus Hall McCormick take seven years to repay his debt; luckily, this was not the end of his story.

In the 1840s, he discovered a bigger niche for his machines on large farms out West in Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois, prompting him to move his business to Chicago.

While in Chicago, he improved his machines, added other agricultural products, and expanded his factories. Cyrus and his brothers mastered the art of marketing and distribution within this industry as they had over 10,000 dealers, further making the business grow.

After surviving the 1837 economic panic with great difficulty, they had to battle the rising number of competitors.

Deering, Milliken, and company, whose inventions leapfrogged the McCormick machines, led to intense competition for the farmer’s money. By the 1890s, both the McCormick’s and Deering’s had big factories, and both competed for dealers and farmers, which strained the McCormick Harvesting Machines Company.

The fierce competition led to the 1902 merger between the McCormick Harvesting Machines Company, the Deering Harvesting Company, and three other companies to avert the awaiting tragedy. This merger gave rise to the International Harvester Company.

           

Edited February 10 by 953 nut

[ebinmaine 67,492]

That merger put true intelligence and reason to the phrase, 

If ya can't beat em, join em. 

 

 

[ri702bill 8,319]

Something like "United we stand, divided we fall" ??

Edited February 10 by ri702bill