 | |
| Predecessor | Cleveland Motor Plow Co |
|---|---|
| Successor | Oliver |
| Founded | 1916 |
| Founder(s) | Rollin H. White |
| Defunct | 1944 |
| Headquarters | Cleveland, Ohio, USA |
| Products | agriculture machinery tractor |
A Cletrac HG-31 at Scorton North Yorkshire 2009
Cletrac Inc. was a manufacturer of tractors for military and civilian use, was organized by ROLLIN H. WHITE as the Cleveland Motor Plow Co. in 1916, with capital of $6 million. White, a founder of the White Motor Company, had 10 years earlier formed this new firm to produce the crawler-type tractor he had developed for general farm use. First located at Euclid Ave. and Lamb, the plant later moved to 19300 Euclid Ave. Renamed Cleveland Tractor Co. in 1917, the company sold 40,000 tractors in the U.S. and 70 foreign countries during its first decade. In the early 1930s, the needs of the Civilian Conservation Corps. and public works projects kept the plant open, and by 1937 the firm, which employed 1,500 workers, enjoyed record tractor sales here and abroad. Two years later, the company introduced 3 new lower-priced tractors with 4-cylinder engines for use by the small farmer. The military application of Cleveland Tractor's products became dominant during World War II when the firm manufactured a new, high-speed tractor for hauling artillery. Although the company received a steady flow of orders, the low profit in defence work and the research costs for new products convinced company President White to sell the company to the 96-year-old Oliver Corp. of Chicago in 1944. Oliver invested $3.5 million in the aging plant to develop new products. However, Cleveland Tractor remained unprofitable until the Korean War revived its business. When White Motor Company took a 2-year option to buy the tractor plant and acquired exclusive rights to the Oliver name in 1959, Oliver renamed its Cleveland facilities Cletrac Inc. In 1961 White Motor bought the local Cletrac inventories, engineering designs, and machine tools and closed the plant, consolidating all production at a second plant in Charles City, Iowa.
Model Range[]
Cletrac M2 in U.S. Air Force colours at Kettering Steam Fair, fitted with front winch
1940 Cletrac 'The General' and B.F.Avery & Sons Co. equipment ad
| Model | Year(s) Produced | Horsepower | Engine Type | Misc Notes | Photo |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cletrac 15 | 1931–1933 | ||||
| Cletrac 20C | 1933–1936 | ||||
| Cletrac 20K | 1925–1932 | Cletrac | |||
| Cletrac 25 | 1932–1935 | ||||
| Cletrac 30A | 1926–1928 | Wisconsin | |||
| Cletrac 30B | 1929–1930 | ||||
| Cletrac 30G | 1935–1936 | ||||
| Cletrac 35 | 1932–1936 | ||||
| Cletrac 35D | 1934–1935 | ||||
| Cletrac 40 | 1928–1931 | ||||
| Cletrac 40-30 | 1930–1931 | ||||
| Cletrac 40D | 1935–1936 | ||||
| Cletrac 55 | 1928 | ||||
| Cletrac 55-40 | 1931–1932 | ||||
| Cletrac 80D | 1933–1936 | ||||
| Cletrac 80-60 | 1930 | ||||
| Cletrac 100 | 1927–1930 | ||||
| Cletrac A | 1926 | 31 hp (23 kW) | |||
| Cletrac AD | 1937- | 38 hp (28 kW) | Hercules | ||
| Cletrac AD2 | 1937–1940 | ||||
| Cletrac ADL | |||||
| Cletrac AG | 1936–1944 | ||||
| Cletrac AG-4 | |||||
| Cletrac AG-6 | 1944-? | ||||
| Cletrac B | 38 hp (28 kW) | ||||
| Cletrac BD | 1936-1956 | 2,456 built | |||
| Cletrac BD4 | 1936–1939 | ||||
| Cletrac BD6 | 1939-1956 | ||||
| Cletrac BDH | |||||
| Cletrac BG | 1937-? | ||||
| Cletrac BG4 | 1937–1939 | ||||
| Cletrac BG6 | 1939-? | ||||
| Cletrac BGH | |||||
| Cletrac BGS | 1944-? | ||||
| Cletrac BGSH | |||||
| Cletrac CG | 1936–1942 | ||||
| Cletrac DD | 1937-58 | 63 hp (47 kW) | Hercules | 13,890 built | |
| Cletrac DD4 | 1936–1939 | ||||
| Cletrac DD6 | 1939-1958 | ||||
| Cletrac DDH | |||||
| Cletrac DG | 1936-1956 | 46 hp (34 kW) | Hercules | 2,890 built | |
| Cletrac DG4 | 1936–1939 | ||||
| Cletrac DG6 | 1939-1956 | ||||
| Cletrac E | |||||
| Cletrac E-31 | |||||
| Cletrac E-42 | |||||
| Cletrac E-62 | |||||
| Cletrac ED-2-38 | |||||
| Cletrac ED-42 | |||||
| Cletrac EG-42 | |||||
| Cletrac EG-68 | |||||
| Cletrac EG-76 | |||||
| Cletrac EHG-62 | |||||
| Cletrac EHG-68 | |||||
| Cletrac EHG-76 | |||||
| Cletrac EN | |||||
| Cletrac F 9-16 Hi-Drive | 1920–1922 | ||||
| Cletrac FD | 1936-1944 | 113 hp (84 kW) | Hercules | 1,267 built | |
| Cletrac FD4 | 1936–1938 | 113 hp (84 kW) | Hercules | ||
| Cletrac FD6 | 1938-1944 | 113 hp (84 kW) | Hercules | ||
| Cletrac FDE | |||||
| Cletrac FDLC | |||||
| Cletrac FG | 1936-194? | ||||
| Cletrac FG4 | 1936–1938 | ||||
| Cletrac FG6 | 1938-? | ||||
| Cletrac The General | 1939-1942 | 19 hp (14 kW) | Hercules | 
| |
| Cletrac The General GG | 19 hp (14 kW) | Hercules | |||
| Cletrac H | 1917–1919 | 
| |||
| Cletrac HG | 1939-1944 | 18 hp (13 kW) | Hercules | 15,864 built | |
| Cletrac HG-31 | 1931-? | Hercules |
| ||
| Cletrac HG-42 | 1939-? | Hercules | 
| ||
| Cletrac HG-68 | 1939-? | Hercules | |||
| Cletrac HGF | |||||
| Cletrac HGR | |||||
| Cletrac K (15-25) | 1926 | ||||
| Cletrac K20 | |||||
| Cletrac MG1 | |||||
| Cletrac MG2 | |||||
| Cletrac MG3 | |||||
| Cletrac R | 1916–1917 | ||||
| Cletrac W | 1919–1932 | ||||
| Cletrac W 12-20 | 12 hp (8.9 kW) | ||||
| Cleveland Motor Plow 20 crawler | 16 | ||||
| Cleveland Tractor M2 | 1941-? | 137 hp (102 kW) | Hercules |
|
Preserved machines[]
These are not common machines in the UK and most of the imported ones were military models, brought in by the USAF in the war.
- A Cletrac M2 (shown above), this machine can be seen at shows in the midlands.
See also[]
- Oliver
- White Farm Equipment
- Shows and Meets - Events featuring vintage machinery and/or modern tractors and plant.
- Clubs Listing - clubs relating to collecting Vintage machinery.
References[]
- Cleveland history
- Tractor & Machinery Magazine, for some model numbers and build Quantities.
External links[]
- Cletrac specs and info - enthusiasts web site
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