NEW HOLLAND

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In October, 1895, the opening of a one-man repair shop on the edge of New Holland, Pennsylvania drew little attention. But this tiny shop, and its 26-year-old machinist Abe Zimmerman, were the birth of a company that would one day sell its machines on every continent. Zimmerman’s New Holland Machine Company would carve its niche in the 20^th century as an innovator of agricultural equipment. Included among the company’s early industry firsts are the portable feed mill in 1899, the freeze-proof cylinder tank engine in 1901, and the stone crusher in 1910. These machines and others like them propelled record growth for the company through the 1920’s, but then came the Great Depression. Like most companies during these difficult years, New Holland verged on the brink of failure, hammering out an existence with whatever foundry contract work could be found. But even as the company struggled to survive in the spring of 1937, a solution to its problems was being pulled through a field of early cut rye almost within sight of the factory. In 1940, New Holland introduced the revolutionary Nolt mobile pickup hay bailer. This product reestablished the company as a leader in agricultural equipment. What followed was a shift in direction towards hay and forage equipment, with improved forage harvesters, rakes, and spreaders. As the 1950’s approached, New Holland was poised to become the industry leader in grassland farming.  In the 1947 the Sperry-Rand corporation purchased New Holland to form a Sperry-New Holland Agricultural division with in the company.  During the 1960's New Holland made more innovative steps with the introduction of the haybine, (a mower that also conditioned hay) and an auto-matic bale wagon that picked up square bales from the field and delivered them to the farm in a nice neat hay stack. During the 1970's Sperry-New Holland was a farm equipment leader offering a top notch line of hay and forage equipment, the first rotary combine, farm stead machines like a skid steer loader and manure spreaders.  By 1975 Sperry-New Holland had grown to the 5th largest equipment company in North America behind John Deere, International Harvester, Ford Motors, J.I. Case and ahead of Allis-Chalmers, White Motors and Massey Ferguson.  In 1986 Ford Motors in an effort to expand to a full line Farm Equipment company purchased New Holland from Sperry-Rand to form Ford-New Holland.  In 1990 Ford Motors decided that its farm Equipment division was not a strong market for the company and decided it was no longer a good focus for resources.  Ford Motors worked out a deal with FIAT a well known Italian Automaker with interests in farming with its FIAT-Agri division that produced FIAT Tractors and Combines in Europe and Hesston tractors and hay equipment in the United States.  In the agreement between Ford and Fiat, Ford Motors exchanged Ford-New Holland for FIAT's European truck line.  FIAT under U.S. Justice Depart regulation had to sell its Hesston hay-line brand due monopoly concerns.  The Hesston Hay and Forage industries  was jointly owned by FIAT and J.I. Case. FIAT's 50% was share was sold to the newly formed Allis-Gleaner Corporation (AGCO). Just Nine years later FIAT and Case would cross paths again and have to sell the other 50% of Hesston to AGCO.  FIAT formed the New Holland NIV sPA in 1994.  Under its agreement with Ford FIAT could use the Ford name through 1995 and under a limited basis through 1998 on tractors. In 1995 New Holland offered is advanced tractor line the Genesis Tractor line which opened up new market share for the company.  In 1999 New Holland merged with Case Corporation under its parent company FIAT to form Case-Newholland. CNH global brought Case the #2 Agricultural Equipment maker together with New Holland the #3 maker to form the worlds largest equipment producer.  Today New Holland offers a strong product line under CNH sharing technology and common platforms with Case to produce industry leading products.

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