1831 - Cyrus Hall McCormick invented the mechanical reaper.Many feel the trouble started long before 1984, as the company over-extended its ability to manage and provide capital for participation in multiple industries. The breakup of International Harvester Company did not happen suddenly, however. His comment to son Bob? “The sleeping giant is dead.” IH dealer Fran Read heard the shocking news on the radio that Tenneco had purchased the International Harvester farm equipment division. “I felt like I lost my family,” said Larry Smith of O’Neil’s Farm Equipment in Binbrook, Ontario, when he learned that Tenneco had purchased International Harvester’s farm equipment division. Strong sentiments were expressed during some of these interviews. Every one of them was sold by a dealer somewhere, yet dealers go unmentioned in the various books about IH history.Interviews were conducted throughout the U.S., Canada and Sweden, and include discussions with former IH and Case IH company personnel involved in the transition.ĭealers and their farmer customers voiced their recollections about the merger, ranging from shock and despair to optimism for the future. Harvester built over 5 million tractors prior to 1984. Dealers are the lifeblood of a manufacturer. It’s a way of life, and owners often invest everything they have. Case), with IH dealers and customers weighing in with their opinions.īeing a dealer is more than a job. The Breakup examines the reasons International Harvester failed in 1984 (and its merger with J.I. Released in the spring of 2019, The Breakup is now in its second printing and is available from Heritage Iron magazine. In total, Wallem (an IH executive and later a dealer himself) interviewed 28 North American dealers, with first-person accounts of the events that transpired. What follows is a small portion of the book’s content, in the author’s own words. After a quick read of the 192-page book and the novel examination of the tumbling of the farm equipment giant from the equipment dealers’ perspective, we requested permission to share an excerpt of the book’s content with Farm Equipment subscribers. Editor’s Note: An autographed copy of The Break-Up by Paul Wallem was lent to me by machinery dealer consultant George Russell during a visit to our offices in July 2019.
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