Rich heritage of Massey Ferguson
Massey Ferguson is one of the oldest global agricultural brands from the family of the American corporation AGCO. Today its equipment is sold in 140 countries through a dealer network of over 5,000 companies including AgroCentre. Let's look back in history to understand why people love Massey Ferguson machines and who stood behind its creation.
The company's name emerged from two names - Daniel Massey, a Canadian farmer by birth, and Harry Ferguson, an Irish engineer. Alanson Harris, owner of a foundry in Canada, also contributed to the creation of the brand.
Massey Ferguson’s history began in 1847 when the innovative farmer Daniel Massey opened a workshop in Newcastle to manufacture and repair farming tools. As they say, in this very workshop the first mechanical thrashers were made. International success came first in 1867 when Massey’s harvesting machines won two gold medals at the National Exhibition in Paris. In 1879 the company moved to Toronto. At the time, its production area already exceeded 4 ha. Invention of an automatic binder became a major event in those years, and in 1889 it was named the Best Harvesting Machine in the World.
In 1891, the Massey firm merged with A.Harris, Son &Co. Ltd. The first jointly developed product of Massey-Harris was a reaping and thrashing machine that cut, thrashed and cleaned crops, delivering the grain into a bin. It boasted the unprecedented performance of covering up to 6 ha in a day. This invention became an important step towards the first self-propelled combine harvester.
The manufacture of a new machine bearing the MH20 serial number in 1938 initiated a real revolution in harvesting. The product was called a “combine harvester.” Three years later Massey-Harris improved on its invention. The new MH21 model had a head of two sizes. It was lighter, more compact and much cheaper It later became the best-selling combine harvester in the world.
Real success and recognition in the tractor industry came in 1953 after acquisition of the English firm Harry Ferguson Ltd. which was founded by Harry Ferguson. The three-point linkage for towing gear (1926) had been one of the major inventions of the company founder, Harry Ferguson.
Following the merger, the company was renamed Massey-Harris-Ferguson. The shortened name of Massey Ferguson appeared in 1958. The memory of the third founder is gently kept in the brand logo - three triangles symbolizing the heritage of Daniel Massey, Harry Ferguson and Alanson Harris.
By the mid-1960s, the company had 26 enterprises in 9 countries. In 1962, it introduced the Multi-Power gearbox which made it possible to increase or decrease speed using a dashboard switch without any clutch pedal. And in 1976 the PowerFlow head was developed to minimise grain losses.
In 1991, the company pioneered “the space age” of agriculture when it brought out a combine harvester equipped with the first GPS-based harvest-mapping system.
By the early 1990s, the Massey Ferguson dealer network became the largest among global manufacturers of agricultural equipment.
Massey Ferguson tractors and combine harvesters have been pictured on banknotes and stamps in Canada, Ireland and Ethiopia.
In 1994, all Massey Ferguson assets and dealerships were taken over by the AGCO Corporation. This union became a milestone in the brand history and led to further innovations.
Today, AgroCentre supplies AGCO farm equipment (Challenger, Fendt and Valtra) to the Russian market. It helps farmers to familiarise themselves with Massey Ferguson quality. The wide line-up of products, ranging from tractors and harvesting machines to loaders, allows the farmer to choose a machine which suits his needs best. The company's philosophy was laid down more than a century ago and remains in effect today. The goal is not just to make machines but to ensure that its clients are confident in the reliability, high performance, quality service support and maximum comfort of Massey Ferguson equipment.