Issue #22

Early in the twentieth century, Deere & Company was a well-known farm implement company. It manufactured a few product lines - including plows, cultivators and wagons - and sold them throughout the United States.

But the company was about to change. During 1910 and 1911 Deere & Company made a series of acquisitions and consolidated its businesses, creating a nearly full-line farm manufacturer and setting the stage for a future of growth.

The new organization, later known as the “modern” Deere & Company, began with a resolution passed at a January 1910 board of directors meeting. The move was intended to protect the company from potential purchasers by creating a new, consolidated business. Specific plans called for sales branches and several other related businesses to become part of the company and for Deere to acquire other manufacturers to increase its offerings.

Deere management spent the next two years carrying out the plans for growth.

The Moline Wagon Company came first in January, 1910, when its owner offered to sell the business to Deere. The two businesses had a long relationship – Deere branch houses had carried Moline Wagons since the 1880s. Considering that, and the wagon company’s proximity to the Deere headquarters in Moline, Ill., the purchase may have seemed logical.

Deere’s wagon line continued to expand with the acquisitions of the Fort Smith Wagon Company and the Davenport Wagon Company.

The Fort Smith Wagon Company had been building wooden wagons in Fort Smith, Ark., since 1903 and supplying Deere branch houses since 1905. Deere purchased a controlling interest in the company in 1910 and moved the operations to Moline 15 years later.

The Davenport Wagon Company had a similar history. The business began in Davenport, Iowa, in 1904. Several years later all Deere branches were selling the “Davenport Roller

Early Consolidation Helped Deere Serve Customers

Union Malleable Iron Company sand shovelers in 1918. Union Malleable was one of several businesses acquired by Deere during a period of expansion that began in 1910.

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Bearing Wagon.” Deere bought the company in 1911 and moved it to nearby Moline in 1917.

Corn shellers and portable elevators soon joined wagons in the expanding Deere product line. Marseilles Manufacturing Company had been producing these items since 1870 in Marseilles, Ill., a small town about 100 miles east of Moline. By the 1900s Marseilles’ corn shellers were among the most popular on the market – so popular that Deere stopped producing its own version in 1908 and began contracting from Marseilles.

Deere & Company took full control of Marseilles in 1910 and moved the business to East Moline, Ill.

Like the Moline Wagon Company, Dain Manufacturing was another natural fit for the Deere enterprise. Since the late 1800s John Deere branch houses had been selling Dain’s hay implements and tools. In 1910, Deere & Company purchased Dain and its facilities in Ottumwa, Iowa, and Welland, Ontario.

Joseph Dain, the company’s founder, continued to manage the business, and eventually became a key Deere & Company leader.

Just as Dain’s products became the foundation of Deere’s line of hay tools, the acquisition of Deere & Mansur launched the company’s planter line.

The Deere & Mansur Company was established in 1877 as a partnership between John Deere’s son, Charles, and Alvah Mansur, a Moline businessman who began working with John and Charles Deere in 1859. The operation initially produced the successful Deere Corn Planter, and by 1885 was also turning out stalk cutters, drills, seeders, and a hay rake.

The popular Syracuse Chilled Plow joined the Deere product line in 1911.

John Deere Wagons, seen here in 1924, have their roots in several acquisitions made during Deere & Company’s consolidation.

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See Consolidation on Page 5

While many Deere & Mansur products were sold through John Deere branch houses, the two businesses were completely independent until 1911.

Deere & Company also added manure spreaders to the line with the purchase of Kemp & Burpee. Founded in 1877, Kemp & Burpee manufactured one of the first practical manure spreaders in North America. Deere began selling the company’s Success Spreader in 1902.

In late 1910 Deere acquired the Kemp & Burpee business and moved the operation to Moline from Syracuse, N.Y.

Union Malleable Iron Company, a long-time Deere supplier, was also added to the company’s roster during the 1910-1911 consolidation. Union Malleable was founded in East Moline in 1872 to produce castings for John Deere.

From the early 1900s Union Malleable served as Deere’s key foundry supplier, but the relationship between the two companies seems to have been troubled, with Deere representatives

sometimes feeling that the company’s business was being taken for granted. Deere acquired Union Malleable in 1911 with the condition that the foundry would continue to do work for other customers, after Deere needs were met.

While many of the acquisitions Deere made during 1910-1911 could have been the logical next step in a long business relationship, Deere doesn’t seem to have had any interaction with the Syracuse Chilled Plow Company prior to acquiring it in 1911.

The Robinson Chilled Plow Company was founded in 1876 in Syracuse, N.Y., and changed its name to the Syracuse Chilled Plow Company three years later. By 1900 the company’s business was booming, thanks to a chilled plow that had become very popular throughout the eastern United States.

John Deere had manufactured a chilled plow since the late 1800s, but it hadn’t been successful. The addition of the Syracuse Chilled Plow allowed the company to replace it with a more popular model.

The chilled plow company remained in Syracuse and retained the same management.

Like the Syracuse Chilled Plow Company, the Van Brunt

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John Deere tractors are much more than a coat of green paint. For nearly a century the company’s well-known machines have been powered by engines that have earned a reputation of their own.

When John Deere entered the tractor business in 1918 it also acquired an engine manufacturer. The Waterloo Gasoline Engine Company can trace its roots back to 1892 when John Froelich mounted a gasoline engine on a steam engine chassis.

By 1899 the company that grew from that invention was producing stationary, portable, traction, farm, city and railway pumping gasoline engines from 1.5 to 28 horsepower. The largest model weighed in at 8,000 pounds – more than the shipping weight of a John Deere 830 Diesel.

The first engine branded as a “Waterloo Boy” was manufactured in 1905. In 1918, the same year Deere acquired the engine manufacturer, two new engines were introduced: the Model “H,” a flywheel engine that fired only when necessary to maintain an average speed, and the Model “K,” a kerosene burning throttle and governed engine available in several horsepowers.

The “H” was a success. A 1924 letter to the branch houses states, “We have one of the very best gasoline engines on the market with the Model ‘H.’”

The most popular of the Deere stationary engines, the Model “E,” was introduced in 1923. It replaced the

It’s What’s Inside That Countsaging Waterloo Boy line, and met new customer power demands. There were few changes to the engine during the next 20 years, but one modified version was available - the spark plug “E,” with a battery box and coil ignition instead of the traditional ignition system.

The “E” was also available for specialized applications. Deere made southern and northern “EP” enclosed engines for use in peanut and hay operations and the “EK” or kerosene throttle and governed engines for export outside the U.S.

Almost all early tractor or traction engine designs employed a stationary engine attached to some sort of frame and drive system – the engine was bolted to the drive train, and everything else was attached. A basic concept that can be traced back to early examples.

The link between the products meant that updated engines and new tractor models often came together. For example, the introduction of the Model “D” in 1923 lead to the Model “W” engine. The new power unit was introduced in 1925, and was essentially the same as the engines used in the 24-inch spoked-flywheel Model “D.” Limited sales led Deere to suspend production in January 1926.

The John Deere Type “W” No. 111 Stationary Engine was advertised to deliver “more power, for longer periods of time, at lower cost.”

A second “W” series was introduced in 1933, with the “WSP,” a specialized version, following in 1934. The “WSP” was available for pumping and other special applications. It required external water and fuel supplies and was outfitted with an oil cooler. By the end of 1934 the “W” and “WSP” names were changed to the “W No. 111” and the “W No. 113,” respectively.

1936 brought another modification. The “Cotton Gin W No. 111” had a special radiator screen to keep cotton particles out.

The “W” series remained in production along with the Model “D” into the 1950s. It’s not clear exactly when the last of the “W” series was built. Records end in 1952, but production may have continued into 1954.

Another tractor-engine relationship

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was seen with the “LU” series power units, essentially Model “LA” tractor engines. The “LU” came at the same time as the “LA” and the switch from the Hercules engine to the Model “L.”

Like tractors, John Deere’s new combines also had specialized engines that could be used in other applications. Produced from 1941 through 1946, the “LUH” engine was mounted inline on the combine. Production of the “LUC” engine, the crossmount combine power unit, began in 1945.

In addition to the engines that powered Deere’s tractors and combines, the company also built the “LUE” engine for hay presses and similar equipment from 1941 through 1945, and the “LUI” engine, the industrial power unit and predecessor to the “LUS” Stationary Power Unit, from 1941 through 1946. Production of the “LUS” began in 1945.

While the “LU” power unit series wasn’t produced after 1946, it was used in John Deere machines for the next six years, until the new four- and six-cylinder units were produced.

The introduction of four- and six-cylinder engines, mainly used in combines, brought a new level of complexity to John Deere’s engine line.

Each model’s name incorporated the factory it was used at, the series, cubic-inch displacement, and type of fuel it used. For example, the HA-92-G was used at Harvester Works in East Moline, Ill. It was part of the “A” series, was 92-cubic-inches, and ran on gasoline. The TB-92-N was also 92-cubic inches, but was used in Dubuque as part of the “B” series, and ran on natural gas.

While the names were complex, this configuration proved successful. The technology has advanced, but the engines produced today by John Deere Power Systems follow the same basic design as these early four- and six- cylinder inline diesel engines.

John Deere continues to manufacture and market a variety of sizes and types of engines. But, today, power isn’t the only thing that an engine needs to deliver. The impact on the environment is also a big concern.

Recently, John Deere Power System’s PowerTech PVX 6.8L above 130 kW (174 hp) and PowerTech PSX 6.8L engine have been certified by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and European Union (EU) as compliant with the Interim Tier 4 and Stage III B regulations. The PowerTech PSX and PVX 6.8L engines join the 9.0L engine models -- the first to receive EPA and EU Interim Tier 4/Stage III B certification early this year.

“The EPA and EU certification of our 9.0L engines was a tremendous milestone for JDPS. Now with the 6.8L engines certified, we believe it clearly demonstrates our commitment to offer the right technology at the right time,” said Doug Laudick, product planning manager for John Deere Power Systems. “We also remain committed to ensuring that our Interim Tier 4/Stage III B engines deliver performance, reliability, durability, and low operating costs that OEMs [original equipment manufacturers] and customers have come to depend upon. Our certified Interim Tier 4 engine lineup provides OEMs with emission reduction technologies that are paying off for the environment and their customers.”

Interim Tier 4/Stage III B emissions regulations began January 1, 2011, for 130 kW (174 hp) and above engines and require a 90-percent reduction in diesel particulate matter and a 50-percent reduction in nitrogen oxide (NOx) from previous Tier 3/Stage III A requirements.

John Deere met the challenge of Interim Tier 4/Stage III B regulations by adding an exhaust filter for reducing paticulate matter to the Stage II B engines. These engines will feature full-authority electronic controls, a 4-valve cylinder head, a high-pressure fuel system, single-variable geometry or series turbocharging, and an air-to-air aftercooling system.

“For Interim Tier 4/Stage III B, we’re not only looking at fuel economy, we’re taking into consideration total fluid consumption,” said Brian Brown, manager of worldwide marketing support for John Deere Power Systems.

John Deere Power Systems manufactures and markets 40-hp to 600-hp industrial diesel engines and 75-hp to 750-hp marine diesel engines, as well as drivetrain components for use in a variety of off-highway applications.

John Deere engines are still going strong

From us to you: A modern winter

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During the past few months I’ve found myself complaining about the weather a lot - often as I cleared the snow off of my driveway. While this seemed like an endless job during our snowy winter I usually only cursed my cold hands for a few minutes before I remembered that I don’t have it so bad.

When I was younger, I enjoyed helping my grandpa shovel the snow on his farm. I had to work much harder than my snow blower requires me to today. Occasionally, we’d take a break from our work and warm ourselves by the old pot belly stove in grandpa’s empty hog barn. Grandpa would always take advantage of this time to tell me about the winters of his childhood.

There were stories about trudging to school through deep snow, uphill both ways, of course. He would go on to tell me about balancing on barbed wire fences to walk home from school on dark winter evenings to keep from falling in the deep snow drifts.

Grandpa may have embellished these stories a bit, but I’m not sure my daughters will even be able to fabricate stories of winter hardships like those. Their experiences have been much different. I’m not sure if the winters have really gotten milder, or if we’re just better equipped to handle it today with conveniences including my John Deere snow blower and luxuries like seat heaters and remote starters for our cars.

My memories of grandpa’s stories stop me from dwelling on my freezing hands and remind me to appreciate my snow blower and the other tools available to me today, and, of course, be thankful that John Deere expanded its products beyond plows.

Keep your hand on the throttle and your plow in the ground.

Brian

Manufacturing Company of Horicon, Wis., also found a spot in the modern Deere & Company with no prior connection to the business.

In 1860, brothers Daniel and George Van Brunt began manufacturing seeders. Their machines’ unique design covered the seed with soil after it was dropped, preventing birds from eating it and solving a problem caused by the millions of passenger pigeons that populated North America at the time.

Business was slow in the beginning, but the new seeder became very popular before becoming part of the Deere line in 1911.

Throughout the year The Plowshare will mark the 100th anniversary of the consolidation with articles about several of these businesses. Stay tuned for more!

Consolidation from Page 2

The John Deere 4020 Tractor received the Top Tractor Model honor in the 2010 IRON Search Producers’ Choice Award voting.

The award recognizes the best tractor models as picked by the popular vote of producers, dealers, mechanics and tractor enthusiasts.

Online voting was open to IRONsearch.com’s more than 300,000 monthly equipment buyers and sellers from August through December last year.

Barry Nelson, media relations manager, Ag & Turf Division, accepted the award at a ceremony at the John Deere exhibit at Ag Connect Expo in Atlanta, Ga., in January.

John Deere built more than 184,000 4020 tractors from 1964 to 1972. “This classic tractor is still working on many farms throughout the United States and Canada today,” said Nelson.

John Deere 4020 Voted Top Tractor

An early 4020 with roll-gard.

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JOHN DEERE

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On display at the John Deere Pavilion: 1931 Model “D”An unexpected phone call 50 years ago has made collecting tractors a little more fun for Ed Wesemann, Hampshire, Ill.

“One day, out of a blue sky, the Oliver dealer in Hampshire called me up and said he had a customer buying a new disc and he wanted to trade in this old tractor on this disc,” said Wesemann, recalling the phone call that prompted his purchase of a 1931 John Deere Model “D.”

“He said he allowed him $50 in trade on this disk and that’s all he wanted for the tractor,” said Wesemann.

Wesemann brought the tractor home, but he didn’t have a use for it at the time. The machine sat for several years until Wesemann saw a similar tractor working at a plow day and was reminded of his Model “D.”

“I said I’m going to fix that tractor up so it runs good enough to plow,” said Wesemann of his plow day decision. “I’m not going to

paint it; I’m just going to use it as a farm tractor. I made up my mind I was going to do it.”

“I had the carburetor rebuilt, the magneto rebuilt, and put it all back together and cranked it over a few times and it started,” said Wesemann.

Wesemann soon tested his tractor at a plow day. “I plowed with it, and surprisingly enough, it had good power,” he said. “Every time I used it, it got better, and I didn’t do anything to the engine at all. The bearings and the rings, I never took those parts apart.”

In addition to the 1931 “D,” which Wesemann uses on his farm, he has a 1929 Model “D” on steel and a 1931 “GP.” These tractors have been restored and are driven in parades, but Wesemann prefers his unrestored tractor. “I get more fun out of this tractor than the other ones; this old piece of iron that was one step away from the junk yard,” he said.

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