Massey Ferguson – tales of its legacy and its future

Naturally, for a corporation with robust Irish roots, Massey Ferguson has an enthusiastic following in Eire, so any occasion that attracts its followers collectively is sure to be effectively supported.

This was actually the case earlier this month when Michael Ford and his daughter, Marie, who personal and run The Farm at Grenagh, Co. Cork, held a heritage night in honour of the producer’s previous and current achievements.

Open farm

Michael Forde is well-known on the planet of traditional tractors as an enthusiastic collector of Massey Ferguson machines, and never simply the tractors, he additionally has a ardour for the implements and the Ferguson system as an entire.

He homes his rising assortment at Grenagh, the place he has established a museum and farm customer centre created not solely to point out off his assortment, but in addition deliver farming into the lives of children who could not have been introduced up within the countryside.

Nonetheless, the main target of the night was firmly on the crimson and gray of maybe probably the most iconic tractor model on the market.

Viewing the gathering of tractors was a serious a part of the night with double the anticipated numbers turning as much as benefit from the occasion and reminisce over the tractors and the times that many would have spent driving them.

A meal having been served, three audio system took to the ground, every to provide some account of the previous and current of the corporate from three totally different angles, and it’s to Michael’s credit score that he invited such a complimentary trio alongside.

An uncomfortable match

First to deal with the group was John Burron who has written an excellent deal on the historical past of Massey Ferguson and works to collate and doc info on the corporate’s roots because it turns into out there.

The theme of his speak was the union of Massey Harris and Ferguson tractors, and whereas Harry F. most popular to speak of it as a merger, John made it fairly clear that it was an entire sell-out to the Canadians who indulged Mr. Ferguson, and the pleasure of his crew, through the use of the identical time period.

No matter it was referred to as, the wedding was not the happiest at first with the 2 foremost figures, James Duncan, CEO of Massey Harris, leaving quickly after the occasion, whereas Harry Ferguson himself fell undervalued and in addition left the next yr.

But the antagonism went deeper nonetheless, for there was one thing of a stand-off between the sharp suited managerial fashion of Massey Harris and the extra rustic tweeds of the Ferguson firm.

An deadlock which simmered on effectively into the Seventies, and even into the Nineteen Eighties in accordance with these throughout the firm.

Massey Ferguson enters the doldrums

Regardless of the issues within the boardroom there may be no doubting the success of the corporate throughout that period with the 100 collection breaking all information and the five hundred collection constructing upon it, though the only doored cabs on these weren’t at all times well-liked with clients.

Nonetheless, turmoil lay forward as equipment gross sales took successful within the Nineteen Eighties and it was throughout these trickier years that Scott Campbell joined the corporate and was instantly set to work on advertising the brand new vary of combines which Massey Ferguson had simply began shopping for in from Sampo and Dronningborg.

His expertise and skill was such that he rose to grow to be head of selling for Europe and the center east. Though he has now retired from the corporate and is lively in different spheres, he stays well-known all through the business for his power and enthusiasm.

Each these have been on full show as he briefly took us by means of the troublesome years of late final century and up till the current day, together with his time with AGCO.

AGCO enters Europe

This was an extremely attention-grabbing interval, each for Massey Ferguson and agriculture as an entire, as farms and tractors grew greater, however fewer in quantity.

We are able to solely hope that his unmatchable expertise and lots of anecdotes are set down in print for future generations to review.

Scott was with the corporate in the course of the AGCO buy and famous that it was the unique intention of AGCO, which was then new to the European tractor scene, to create one tremendous model for all its equipment.

Fortunately, this didn’t come to go and we now have three vibrant and distinct corporations competing with one another below one umbrella, and there’s no doubt that they do compete, and drive the event of tractors ahead, to the good thing about us all.

Sean McAvoy rounded off the night with a take a look at the Beauvais plant in France and a fast information to the way it operates.

Massey Ferguson manufacturing unit

Given the vary of fashions and variety of choices for every, the variety of combos out there is huge, but the manufacturing unit manages to deliver collectively the varied elements for each Massey Ferguson, and different manufacturers, in a managed and environment friendly method.

Though remaining tight lipped on the main points, Sean did recommend that we are able to anticipate some main information on the Massey Ferguson vary at this yr’s Agritechnica; the corporate is holding its powder dry till then.

He additionally peered into the long run slightly additional and prompt that we are going to see autonomous machines working in tandem with manned tractors, and that AGCO Energy was readying itself to cope with a a lot wider number of fuels going ahead.

It was this final level which provoked a full of life dialogue on the deserves of AdBlue, and different fuels basically, with it being agreed that there isn’t any certainty as to what’s going to emerge because the dominant gas over the subsequent few years, solely that batteries are unlikely to be concerned.