TRACTOR TRIVIA and other interesting stuff 4/11/2024

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Milwaukee Hay Tool Company

 

The International Harvester Company was formed in 1902 with the merger of McCormick Harvesting Machine Company and Deering Harvester Company, and the acquisition of Milwaukee Hay Tool along with other farm machinery companies.

Milwaukee Hay Tool was an obvious choice for the creation of the world’s largest agricultural conglomerate. They manufactured products used by farmers that were not offered by the other companies within IH, had a very extensive dealer network as well as holding several patents.

Company founder William Gutenkunst began his business career repairing and rebuilding of sewing machines. Observing operations on the family dairy farm he began making improvements on existing devices and inventing others. Some people make a better mouse trap, Gutenkunst made a better hay fork. From there he and younger brother Charles made improvements to the family corn husker and then designed and patented a much better husker.

Removing animal waste from the dairy barn was a daily chore that had a lot of room for improvement, The brothers devised a tracked device they called a litter carrier that lessened the work needed to clean the barn. Both the corn husker and litter carrier caught on quickly and the brothers moved to a larger facility with a foundry. The Milwaukee Malleable & Grey Iron Works was established in 1899 as a part of Milwaukee Hay Tools. They not only made their own parts in house but also the iron works began supplying castings to heavy machinery and other farm equipment manufacturers.

The product line continued to expand including ensilage shredders, hay-carriers, improved swivel-sling hay carriers, and cable-track carriers; hanging hooks for steel and wood tracks; rafter brackets, harpoon forks, grapple forks and derrick hay-forks; Standard wagon slings; pulleys and pulley blocks and conveyors; wire stretchers, tackle hoists, cattle stanchions, ornamental iron-fence pickets, virtually anything made of iron the farmer could need.

By 1902 they had become an attractive acquisition target for the newly formed International Harvester Corporation. The Milwaukee brand name lived on under IH control and the dealer network established by Milwaukee Hay Tools now had access to all of International Harvester’s product line.

When the “Trust Busters” forced International Harvester to divest itself of some product lines Milwaukee Hay tools was one of brands that was severed in 1918.