verification . please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources . unsourced material may be challenged and removed . november 2012 learn how and when to remove this template message massey ferguson limited type subsidiary of agco industry agriculture founded 1958 headquarters duluth georgia us products agricultural machinery consumer and commercial equipment financial services tractors website masseyferguson.com a standard tread 1 1948 massey harris 20 a massey ferguson mf 3660 tractor from the early 1990s massey ferguson 6490 from the mid 2000s decade massey ferguson limited is an american owned major manufacturer of agricultural equipment until recently based in brantford ontario canada . massey transferred its headquarters to buffalo new york in 1997 before it was acquired by agco new owner of former competitor allis chalmers . the current business was formed by the 1953 merger of farm machinery manufacturers massey harris of canada and britain s ferguson company under the new name massey harris ferguson . in 1958 the name was shortened to massey ferguson . today massey ferguson is only a brand name used by agco but its machinery remains a major seller around the world . contents 1 history 1.1 massey harris company limited 1.2 sawyer massey 1.3 wallis gas tractor and wider influence 1.4 military contracts 1.5 massey harris ferguson 1.6 massey ferguson 1.6.1 sunshine australia 1.6.2 landini 1.6.3 perkins 1.6.4 ebro of spain 1.6.5 activities in germany 1.6.6 conrad black take over 1.6.7 renamed to varity 1.6.8 fermec sale 2 models 3 today 4 agricultural equipment currently marketed 4.1 tractors 4.1.1 united states 4.1.2 europe 4.2 combine harvesters 4.2.1 united states combines 4.2.2 european combines 4.2.3 combine headers 4.3 hay equipment 4.3.1 mowers and conditioners 4.3.2 rakes and tedders 4.3.3 round balers 4.3.4 square balers 4.4 self propelled windrowers 4.5 manure spreaders 4.6 planters 4.7 loaders 4.8 backhoes 4.9 telehandlers 4.10 implements 4.10.1 dozer blades 4.10.2 snow blowers 4.10.3 rotary brooms 4.10.4 landscape rakes 4.10.5 box blades 4.10.6 post hole digger 4.10.7 grader blades 4.10.8 rear discharge finish mowers 4.10.9 rotary cutters 4.10.10 turf flex finish mowers 4.10.11 mid mount finish mowers 4.10.12 rotary tillers 4.11 agtv 4.12 grounds care 4.12.1 gasoline ride on mowers 4.12.2 professional mowers 5 product images 6 licensees 7 see also 8 references 9 sources 10 external links history edit massey ferguson was founded in 1847 in newcastle ontario by daniel massey 2 as the newcastle foundry and machine manufactory . to begin with it made some of the world s first mechanical threshers at first by assembling parts from the united states but eventually designing and building their own equipment . daniel s eldest son hart massey renamed the enterprise the massey manufacturing co. and moved it to toronto in 1879 where it soon became one of the city s leading employers . the massive collection of factories consisting of a 4.4 hectares 11 acres site with plant and head office at 915 king street west now part of liberty village became one of the best known features of the city . massey expanded further and began to sell its products internationally . through extensive advertising campaigns he made it one of the most well known brands in canada . a labour shortage throughout the country also helped to make the firm s mechanized equipment very attractive . massey harris company limited edit massey harris company logo c. 1952 graphics generated in 1891 massey manufacturing merged with a. harris son & co. ltd to become massey harris company limited 2 3 and became the largest agricultural equipment maker in the british empire . massey harris made threshing machines and reapers as well as safety bicycles introducing a shaft driven model in 1898 . 4 in 1910 it acquired the johnston harvester company located in batavia new york making it one of canada s first multinational firms . 2 massey harris s early tractor models included the 20 horsepower massey harris gp 15 22 1930 36 5 25 horsepower massey harris pacemaker 1936 39 6 35 horsepower model 101 1938 42 7 massey harris pony model 20 model 81 and model 744 . grain harvesting was revolutionized by massey engineer tom carroll in 1938 with the world s first self propelled combine 2 the no. 20 . but it was too heavy and expensive for extensive mass production . however it served as a guide for the building of the lighter and less costly no. 21 which was tested in 1940 and put on sale in 1941 . the massey harris no. 21 combine was commemorated with a canada post stamp on june 8 1996 . 8 e.p. taylor one of c.d. howe s dollar a year men joined the board of directors in 1942 and eric phillips joined management in 1946 . the final generation of massey harris tractors were introduced immediately after world war ii these included the 25 horsepower m h 22 series 9 the 35 horsepower m h 33 series 10 the 45 horsepower m h 44 series 11 and the 55 horsepower m h 55 series . 12 in 1952 the m h 22 was replaced by the m h 23 mustang . in 1955 the 30 horsepower massey harris 50 was introduced after the merger that created massey harris ferguson . it was based on the ferguson to 35 and was also produced as the f 40 for ferguson dealers . the mh 50 was available in several configurations utility high crop utility or row crop with a choice of single tricycle or wide adjustable front ends . in 1956 the m h 33 was replaced by the mh 333 the m h 44 was replaced by the m h 444 and the m h 55 was replaced by the m h 555 . these tractors commonly known as the triple series were mechanically similar to their predecessors but featured new styling which included a slightly different hood design chrome trim on the grill and hood and a different color scheme . they were also available with power steering live pto and hydraulics . the massey harris triple series tractors remained in production until 1958 . sawyer massey edit in a complex turn of events the massey family turned to steam engine builder l.d. sawyer & company of hamilton ontario and started a line of steam tractors . these engines were quite successful and were built in a number of sizes . the 25 horsepower was popular and the expanding prairie provinces clamoured for big breaking engines . massey also experimented with tandem compound engines . sawyer massey lasted only until 1910 when the firm was wound down and massey went into oil engines . sawyer massey and massey harris were two separate companies both managed by the massey family . wallis gas tractor and wider influence edit a 1928 wallis massey began experimenting with oil engines about 1910 with engines such as the bulldog . however success came only later in the 1920s with the wallis line of tractors which was purchased by the firm . in the 1930s it introduced the first self propelled combine harvester . 2 massey harris also produced one of the world s first four wheel drive tractors . hart massey s sons charles walter chester and fred became closely involved in the business and eventually took over its operations . they were however the last generation of masseys to run massey harris . other members of the family went on to other accomplishments vincent massey became governor general of canada and raymond massey became a noted actor in american films . the massey family used its fortune to improve the city of toronto and many institutions such as the university of guelph university of toronto upper canada college crescent school appleby college massey hall and metropolitan united church were partially financed by the masseys . military contracts edit during and after world war ii massey harris undertook a number of contracts to produce tractors tanks and self propelled artillery vehicles for the u.s. military . 2 vehicles produced by massey harris include the following m5 stuart light tank 250 m5s and 3 530 m5a1s built 13 m24 chaffee light tank m41 howitzer motor carriage self propelled artillery built on m24 chassis 14 m44 self propelled howitzer 250 built in early 1950s on m41 walker bulldog tank chassis m36 jackson tank destroyer m19 gun motor carriage self propelled anti aircraft artillery vehicle 300 built i 162 military tractor built for the u.s. army 25 built i 244 military tractor built for the u.s. air force u.s. navy and u.s. army corps of engineers in 1955 and 1956 . i 330 military tractor built for the u.s. navy 6 built massey harris ferguson edit in 1953 massey harris merged with the ferguson company to become massey harris ferguson before finally taking on its current name in 1958 . 2 massey ferguson edit the name was shortened to massey ferguson in 1958 . they tried to consolidate the two dealer networks and product lines . its television and radio advertising featured an upbeat jingle with a male chorus singing he s a get up early keep em rollin massey ferguson kind of a man . but the company soon began to decline financially . facing increasing international competition in the 1960s the firm began to struggle . sunshine australia edit in 1955 massey purchased the australian manufacturers of sunshine harvesters h.v. mckay pty limited . hugh victor mckay had invented the stripper harvester in 1884 the first machine to combine the functions of reaping threshing and winnowing grain from a standing crop . mckay later established a manufacturing base at ballarat and then transferred to braybrook junction where he took over the braybrook implement company works and renamed it the sunshine harvester works after the harvester s brand name . residents of braybrook junction subsequently voted to change the name of the suburb to sunshine after the harvester in 1907 . by the 1920s the h.v. mckay pty limited was running the largest implement factory in the southern hemisphere covering 30.4 hectares 75 acres and were leading the international agricultural industry through the development of the world s first self propelled harvester in 1924 . in 1930 the h.v. mckay pty limited was granted exclusive australian distribution of massey harris machinery . the company was then renamed h.v. mckay massey harris pty ltd. throughout world war ii h.v. mckay massey harris exported over 20 000 sunshine drills disc harrows and binders to england to facilitate the increase in food production . in the 1950s the h.v. mckay was progressively sold off to massey ferguson . manufacturing ended in 1970 and the last section sold off and demolished in 1992 . the former bulk store factory gates and clock tower the pedestrian footbridge factory gardens and head office complex are all listed on the victorian heritage register . landini edit in 1959 massey bought 100 % of landini based in italy . landini has built many models for massey over the years especially vineyard and crawler models . massey sold 66 % to argo spa in 1989 some to iseki later on and the final portion was sold to argo in 2000 . perkins edit in 1959 perkins engines of peterborough england was purchased perkins having been the main diesel engine supplier for massey ferguson for many years . 2 in 1990 massey ferguson took over dorman diesels of stafford and merged it with perkins to form perkins engines stafford ltd. in the 1980s perkins purchased rolls royce diesels ltd to form perkins engines shrewsbury ltd. perkins was sold off in 1998 by then owner lucasvarity to caterpillar inc. who were a major customer for their smaller and mid sized engines ; caterpillar was a major producer of large diesel engines for static and mobile application . 15 ebro of spain edit in 1966 massey purchased 32 % of the spanish tractor and auto company ebro or motor