 | |
| Predecessor |
Massey Manufacturing Co A.Harris, Son & Co |
|---|---|
| Successor | Massey Ferguson |
| Founded | 1891 |
| Founder(s) | Hart Almerrin Massey and Alanson Harris |
| Defunct | 1953 |
| Headquarters | Toronto, Ontario, Canada |
| Products | agriculture machinery tractor, combine harvester |
Massey-Harris 744D of 1949 fitted with a Perkins diesel engine
Massey-Harris Seed Drill at the Bath and Southwest Tractor show in 2009
Massey-Harris was started in Canada in 1891, created by the merger of the Massey & Harris manufacturing companies.
History[]
Massey Manufacturing Co.[]
The firm was founded in 1847 in Newcastle, Ontario by Daniel Massey as the Newcastle Foundry and Machine Manufacturers. The company began making some of the world's first mechanical threshers, first by assembling parts from the United States and eventually designing and building their own equipment. The firm was taken over and expanded by his eldest son, Hart Almerrin Massey, who renamed it Massey Manufacturing Co.. In 1879, Hart moved the company to Toronto, Ontario, where it soon became one of the city's leading employers. The massive collections of factories on King St. West became one of the best known features of the city. Massey expanded the company and began to sell its products internationally. Through extensive advertising campaigns he made it one of the most well-known brands in Canada. The firm owed much of its success to Canadian tariffs that prevented the larger American firms from competing in Canada.[citation needed] A labour shortage throughout the country also helped to make the firm's mechanized equipment very attractive. Further, the completion of the Canadian Pacific Railway (1885), and Toronto's direct connection to it via Nipissing Junction, near North Bay, ON. (1886) facilitated direct sales and distribution to the settlement of the western prairie provinces, a very large and expanding market.
A. Harris, Son & Co. Ltd[]
Alanson Harris, a farmer and mill owner, founded his implement business in 1857 at Beamsville, and was later joined by his son, John, in partnership in 1863. Using some good American designs, such as the Kirby mower and reaper, business flourished, and the company became keen competitors to the Massey company, moving to Brantford in 1872. During the 1880s, the "Brantford binder" became one of the firm's best-selling lines and in 1890, the Harris Co. introduced the open-end binder, a modification of the D.M. Osborne company design. Hart Massey, beaten for the first time in a technological advance, did not counter with his own technological change. Instead, he proposed a merger of the two companies. Alanson, perhaps recognizing after the death of his son in 1889 that this course was astute, agreed, and on 6 May 1891, Massey-Harris Company Ltd. was formally established.[1]
Massey Harris 201 (One of only 503 made) on the Massey Ferguson owners group Stand at the at the 2008 Newby Hall Vintage Show in Yorkshire.
The Merger Of Massey & Harris companies[]
The serial Nimber plate for a British Massey Harris tractor
In 1891, Massey merged with the A. Harris, Son & Co. Ltd. to become Massey-Harris Co. and became the largest agricultural equipment maker in the British Empire. In 1910, the company opened a factory in the United States, making it one of Canada's first multinational firms.
The Massey-Harris Company decided that they needed a tractor in their range, so in 1917, they introduced Bull tractors built in the U.S. and branded them as Massey-Harris for the Canadian market. When in 1919 the Bull Tractor Co. failed, Massey-Harris then sold tractors based on Parrett designs that were built over the border in Chicago.[2]
In the 1930s, they introduced the first self-propelled combine harvester. Massey Harris also produced one of the world's first four-wheel drive tractors. Hart Massey's sons, Charles, Chester, Walter, and Fred became closely involved in the business and eventually took over its operations. They were, however, the last generation of the Massey family to run the company. Other members of the family went on to do other accomplishments: Vincent Massey became Governor General of Canada and Raymond Massey became a noted actor in American films. The Massey family used their fortune to improve the city of Toronto, and many institutions, such as the University of Toronto, Upper Canada College, Crescent School, Appleby College, Massey Hall and Metropolitan United Church, were partially financed by the Massey family.
Between the two World Wars, Massey-Harris also opened factories in France and Germany. In 1930 they acquired a majority interest in H.V. McKay Pty. of Sunshine, near Melbourne, Australia. In 1946 Massey-Harris began producing mowers and hay machinery at Trafford Park, Manchester in the United Kingdom, (an industrial area now more famous for football as home to Manchester United and shopping at The Trafford Centre other neighbours included Ford and cereal maker Kellogs).
Imported 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 British division of the company Massey-Harris Ltd, had operations in Manchester, England and Kilmarnock, in Scotland.
J I Case Plow Works Company Take over[]
- Main article: Wallis
In 1928 after 2 years of negotiations to market Wallis tractors, built by the J.I. Case Plow Works of Racine, Wisconsin, USA. In 1928 Massey Harris bought the company, and gained a tractor to add to their line up. They then sold the J. I. Case Plow Co. name to the J. I. Case Threshing Machine Co., effectivly bring back together the Case company that had split years earlier. The Wallis tractor was then developed to form the Challenger and Pacemaker models in 1936.[3]
The Formation of Massey-Harris-Ferguson[]
- For more details of the merger, see Massey-Ferguson.
In 1953, the company merged with the Ferguson Company to become Massey-Harris-Ferguson, before finally taking on its current name in 1958. But the company soon began to decline financially. Facing increasing international competition and an agricultural sector diminishing in importance, the firm began to struggle. See Massey Ferguson for details post merger.
Model Range[]
- Equipment
- Massey-Harris 701 baler
- Massey-Harris binders
- Massey-Harris cultivators
- Massey-Harris seed drills
- Massey-Harris ploughs
Tractors[]
- See also: Wallis
| Model | Year(s) Produced | Horsepower | Engine Type | Misc Notes | Photo |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Massey-Harris 1 | built by Parrett in USA | ||||
| Massey-Harris 2 | Buda | built by Parrett in USA | |||
| Massey-Harris 2-44 4WD | |||||
| Massey-Harris 3 | built by Parrett in USA | ||||
| Massey-Harris 12-20 | built by Wallis in USA same as Wallis 12-20 |
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| Massey-Harris 15-22 4WD | built in Canada | ||||
| Massey-Harris 20 | 1946-1948 | 21 hp (16 kW) | built in Canada | 
| |
| Massey-Harris 20G | 1946-1948 | 21 hp (16 kW) | built in Canada | ||
| Massey-Harris 20K | 1946-1948 | 21 hp (16 kW) | built in Canada | ||
| Massey-Harris 20-30 | built by Wallis in USA same as Wallis 20-30 |
||||
| Massey-Harris 21 | 1952-1954 | 21 hp (16 kW) | Continental Motors | same as Massey-Harris Colt built in Canada |
|
| Massey-Harris 22 | 1948-1953 | Continental Motors | built in Canada | ||
| Massey-Harris 23 | 1952-1955 | 23 hp (17 kW) | Continental Motors | same as Massey-Harris Mustang built in Canada |
|
| Massey-Harris 25 | 1938-1940 | 41 hp (31 kW) | built in Canada | ||
| Massey-Harris 30 | 1946-1952 | 25 hp (19 kW) 33 hp (25 kW) |
Continental Motors | built in USA | 
|
| Massey-Harris 33 | 1952-1955 | Continental Motors | built in Canada | ||
| Massey-Harris 33 D | 1952-1955 | built in Canada | |||
| Massey-Harris 40 | built in Canada | 
| |||
| Massey-Harris 44 | 1946-1955 | Continental Motors | built in Canada | 
| |
| Massey-Harris 44D | built in Canada | ||||
| Massey-Harris 44 Diesel | Continental Motors | built in Canada | |||
| Massey-Harris 44 GS | Continental Motors | built in Canada | |||
| Massey-Harris 44 K | built in Canada | ||||
| Massey-Harris 44 LP Special | built in Canada | ||||
| Massey-Harris 44-O | Continental Motors | built in Canada | |||
| Massey-Harris 44-six | 1947-1950 | Chrysler | built in Canada | ||
| Massey-Harris 44 Special | 1953-1955 | built in Canada | |||
| Massey-Harris 44-V | built in Canada | ||||
| Massey-Harris 50 | 1955-1956 | Continental Motors | built in Canada | ||
| Massey-Harris 50 LP | built in Canada | ||||
| Massey-Harris 55 | 1947-1956 | Continental Motors | built in Canada | ||
| Massey-Harris 55 Diesel | Continental Motors | built in Canada | |||
| Massey-Harris 55 K | Continental Motors | built in Canada | |||
| Massey-Harris 55 LP Western Special | Continental Motors | built in Canada | |||
| Massey-Harris 81 | built in Canada | ||||
| Massey-Harris 82 | built in Canada | ||||
| Massey-Harris 101 | 1938-1939 | 26 hp (19 kW) | Continental Motors | built in Canada | |
| Massey-Harris 101 Junior | 1939-1946 | 20 hp (15 kW) | Continental Motors | built in Canada | 
|
| Massey-Harris 101 Super | 1939-1946 | 26 hp (19 kW) | Continental Motors | built in Canada | |
| Massey-Harris 101 Twin Power | 46 hp (34 kW) | Chrysler | built in Canada | ||
| Massey-Harris 102 | 1941-1945 | Continental Motors | built in Canada | ||
| Massey-Harris 102 Junior | 28 hp (21 kW) | Continental Motors | built in Canada | ||
| Massey-Harris 102 Senior | 38 hp (28 kW) | Continental Motors | built in Canada | ||
| Massey-Harris 103 | 1939-1946 | built in Canada | |||
| Massey-Harris 201 | 57 hp (43 kW) | Chrysler | Only 503 built, of this model some are in the UK built in Canada |
| |
| Massey-Harris 202 | 1940-1947 | 60 hp (45 kW) | Continental Motors | built in Canada | |
| Massey-Harris 203 | 1940-1947 | 64 hp (48 kW) | Continental Motors | built in Canada | |
| Massey-Harris 333 | 1956-1957 | 33 hp (25 kW) | Continental Motors | built in Canada | |
| Massey-Harris 444 | 1956-1958 | 42 hp (31 kW) | Continental Motors | built in Canada | |
| Massey-Harris 555 | 1956-1957 | 48 hp (36 kW) | Continental Motors | built in Canada | |
| Massey-Harris 555D | 48 hp (36 kW) | Continental Motors | built in Canada | ||
| Massey-Harris 744D | 1948-1958 | 46 hp (34 kW) | Perkins | built in England | 
|
| Massey-Harris 744 PD | 46 hp (34 kW) | Perkins | built in England |
| |
| Massey-Harris 744S | built in England | ||||
| Massey-Harris 745 | 51 hp (38 kW) | Perkins | built in England | 
| |
| Massey-Harris 745S | 52 hp (39 kW) | Perkins | |||
| Massey-Harris Challenger | 1936 | 
| |||
| Massey-Harris Colt (No. 21) | 1952-1954 | same as Massey-Harris 21 | |||
| Massey-Harris General Purpose 4WD | 1930-1936 | ||||
| Massey-Harris GSF Special | |||||
| Massey-Harris I162 | |||||
| Massey-Harris I244 | |||||
| Massey-Harris I244G | Air Force and Navy versions | ||||
| Massey-Harris I330 | |||||
| Massey-Harris Mustang (No. 23) | 1952-55 | same as Massey-Harris 23 | |||
| Massey-Harris Pacemaker | 1936 | 30 hp (22 kW) later 42 hp (31 kW) |
| ||
| Massey-Harris Pacer No. 16 | 1952-1956 | 16 hp (12 kW) | Continental Motors | ||
| Massey-Harris Pony No. 11 | |||||
| Massey-Harris Pony 811 | Continental Motors/Hanomag | built in France | |||
| Massey-Harris Pony 812 | Continental Motors | built in France | |||
| Massey-Harris Pony 820 | SIMCA | built in France | |||
| Massey-Harris Pony vineyard | |||||
| Massey-Harris The General | 19 hp (14 kW) | Hercules | built by Cletrac/ B.F.Avery & Sons Co. in USA |
|
UK Preserved Examples[]
- Massey-Harris 201
- Massey-Harris 203 - LRE 23? of A Theakstone of York seen at Newby Hall Vintage Gathering 2011
- Massey-Harris 744PD of 1949 EUX 811+ (seen at Cromford Steam Rally, with photo above) Immaculate looking.
- Massey-Harris 744 sn 2080 seen at Somerset Vintage & Classic Tractor Show(bath)
Massey-Harris/PML
Harvesters[]
| Model | Year(s) Produced | Horsepower | Engine Type | Misc Notes | Photo |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Massey-Harris Clipper combine | |||||
| Massey-Harris 21 combine combine | |||||
| Massey-Harris 21A combine | |||||
| Massey-Harris Super 26 combine | |||||
| Massey-Harris 35 combine | |||||
| Massey-Harris 60 combine | |||||
| Massey-Harris 80 combine | |||||
| Massey-Harris 82 combine | |||||
| Massey-Harris 90 combine | 
| ||||
| Massey-Harris 92 combine | |||||
| Massey-Harris Super 92 combine | |||||
| Massey-Harris 630 combine | |||||
| Massey-Harris 630 S combine | VW | ||||
| Massey-Harris 722 combine | |||||
| Massey-Harris 726 combine | |||||
| Massey-Harris 750 combine | |||||
| Massey-Harris 780 combine | mfg. by Sunshine | ||||
| Massey-Harris 780 Special combine | mfg. by Sunshine | 
| |||
| Massey-Harris 890 combine | |||||
| Massey-Harris 20 swather |
See also[]
Reference[]
- Wikipedia for base article, Expanded with Model details from other sources.
- Tractor & Machinery Magazine (T&M)
- Classic Tractor Magazine
External links[]
(Please add any relevant web sites here)
- The Unofficial Massey Harris Homepage - Canadian enthusiasts page - with Serial no. data & engine data.
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