Case Corporation
Industry | diesel engines |
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The Case Corporation was a manufacturer of
Case's
Name details
Founded by Jerome I. Case in 1842 as the J. I. Case Threshing Machine Company, the company operated under that name for most of a century, until 1928. In some of its advertisements the name was styled J. I. Case T. M. Co. for short. Another business founded by Jerome I. Case, the J. I. Case Plow Works, was an independent business. When the Plow Works was bought by Massey-Harris in 1928, the latter sold the name rights to the J. I. Case Threshing Machine Company, which reincorporated as the J. I. Case Company. That company, which became majority-owned by Tenneco in 1967 and a wholly owned subsidiary in 1970, was often called by the simple brand name Case.
In 1984, Tenneco bought International Harvester's agricultural equipment division and merged it into Case, and the farm equipment brands were combined as Case IH, although the corporation legally remained the J. I. Case Company. It continued as such until 1994, when Tenneco divested it as the Case Equipment Corporation. Case Equipment became Case Corporation and later Case LLC.
In 1999, Case LLC merged with
History
Founder
Jerome Increase Case (1819–1891) was born to a farming family in Williamstown, New York. As a young child, Case read about a machine that could cut wheat without people needing to use their hands. He developed an interest in agriculture at that point.
Case took small, hand-powered threshing machines to Wisconsin in 1842, where he improved the design and established a company to manufacture them. In 1843, Case moved the business to Racine, Wisconsin, in order to have better access to water power, and opened the Racine Threshing Machine Works. In 1863, Case partnered with three of his top employees, Massena Erskine, Robert Baker and Stephen Bull. Case was also involved in politics and horseracing. Over time, the company grew.[7]
Competition in the farm business
J. I. Case introduced an
Meanwhile, in 1871 the
In 1884, Case made a visit to a farm named after him in Minnesota upon receiving news that one of his thresher machines was not working. Infuriated by the fact that he could not fix the machine himself, he set it ablaze the next day, and sent the owner a brand new thresher machine upon return to Wisconsin.[8][9]
In 1890, the Case Company expanded to South America, opening a factory in Argentina. In 1891, the company's founder died. By this time the Case company produced portable steam engines to power the threshing machines, and later went into the steam traction engine business. By the start of the 20th century, Case was the most prolific North American builder of engines. These engines ranged in size from the diminutive 9 HP, to the standard 15, 25, 30, 40, 50, 65 HP and up to the plowing 75 and 80 HP sizes. Case also made the large 110 HP breaking engines with its notable two-story cab. Nine massive 150 HP hauling engines were made, in addition to steam rollers. Case engines were noted for their use of Woolf valve gear, feedwater heaters, and the iconic "eagle" smokebox covers. Case had built a total of 36,000 steamers by the time it switched to gas tractors in 1927.
By 1902, five major American agricultural manufacturing companies decided that a
Internal combustion tractors
By 1895, the Case Company had begun to produce gasoline engines. By 1899, the Case Company entered the Russian market.
In 1904, Case introduced the first all-steel thresher machine. Case sold their first gasoline
The advent of oil engines by the start of the 20th century, suggested a change on the horizon. From Froelich's first tractors to Hart-Parr products, oil tractors seemed the way ahead. Case hired Joe Jagersberger, and he tested a motor by racing in the 1911 Indianapolis 500. Case began production of the 30-60 oil engine in 1912. Case also produced kerosene tractors in the teen years, similar to the Rumely oil pulls. During World War I, Case's sales and demand grew dramatically in Europe. These increases were directly connected to the war; as many farm laborers became soldiers, each remaining farmer needed to become more productive, and machinery was the way to make this happen.
In 1919,
In 1927 the J. I. Case Company ceased building its legendary steam engines. Case steam engines, of which over 30,000 were produced, were painted in black with green machinery, while the gas tractors were painted grey. In 1939, Case changed its color scheme to Flambeau Red, with the excavators being a ruddy yellow. By 1929, Case had expanded to Australia, Mexico, Sweden, and other countries. Also that year, the J. I. Case Company produced its first crawler tractor. S and V tractors were introduced in 1940.
Automobile production
Automobiles produced by Case during the period 1911-1925/1927 include: the Case Jay-Eye-See Brougham (named for Case's horse) and Case Touring-Y.
Work in the Second World War
Case evolved as World War II arrived by becoming involved in the manufacturing of shells for the United States and allied forces military, as well as airplane parts for the
For the next 31 years, the company went through more globalization, becoming a well-known company in the agricultural markets of Australia, Japan, and other places. Many other companies joined Case during this period.
Modern mergers
In 1957, Case bought out the American Tractor Corporation (ATC). ATC was founded in 1950 and was a producer of small crawler tractors. Their production of dozers (marketed as Terradozers) and development of an integrated backhoe was of particular interest to Case. Case dropped the ATC name in 1959 only retaining the Terratrac name for the drive trains. This led to a hybrid tractor being rolled out of the Burlington Plant in 1957. This model, the 320 Construction King, would become synonymous in the United States to the name backhoe loader. Since then Case has released other models such as the T-Series which includes the 580T, 580ST, 590ST and 695ST. In 1998, a jury awarded a construction worker over $17million in damages after a defect in the design of the 580 backhoe led to him being crushed and being paralyzed from the waist down while operating the machine.[10][11]
In 1961, Case Corporation signed a deal with RyCSA and Metalúrgica Tandil (in Buenos Aires), to make Case tractors and agricultural implements under licence in Argentina. The models built were the 830[12] and the 831,[13] made until 1964 when RyCSA closed down.
1964 brought the acquisition of Colt Garden Tractors. This was the first garden tractor powered by 'Hy-Drive", a form of hydraulic propulsion that allowed for various heavy duty attachments and eliminated the need for transaxle drive belts. The Kern County Land Company, using oil money, bought the Case Company. In turn Kern County sold Case to Tenneco Company of Texas.
In 1972, Case bought the British tractor builder David Brown Ltd. In 1974, Case acquired most of the French construction equipment firm, Poclain.
In 1983, during purchase of International Harvester assets, Case sold its garden tractor division to Ingersoll Power Equipment. Ingersoll tractors would continue to carry the Case brand name until 1987.
In 1984, Case parent
When Case IH bought out Steiger in 1986 they also continued the Steiger branding, and still do today.
In 1996, Austrian tractor builder Steyr Tractor was purchased.
The Case Corporation joined with New Holland N.V. to become CNH (Case-New Holland), now
In Europe the merger with New Holland (including the former
See also
References
- ^ Statement of Brig. Gen. Donald H. Brooks, U.S. Marine Corps, Deputy Chief of Staff (Research, Development, and Studies), Department of Defense Appropriations for Fiscal Year 1972, pt. 3, p. 1088.
- ^ Statement of Maj. Gen. L. Metzger, U.S. Marine Corps, Deputy Chief of Staff (Research, Development and Studies), Department of Defense Appropriations for Fiscal Year 1971, pt. 3, p. 1110.
- ^ Army Major RDT&E, Procurement Contracts Exceed $280 Million Army Research and Development, v. 10, October 1969, p. 22.
- ^ Defense Industry Bulletin, April 1970, v. 6, p. 55.
- ^ Defense Industry Bulletin, August 1969, v. 5, p. 33.
- ^ Defense Industry Bulletin, October 1969, v. 5, p. 35.
- ISBN 978-0-87349-930-9.
- ^ Case IH History Overview. See the "1881 - 1892" section.
- ^ Jerome I. Case Biography on RitchieWiki. See the last paragraph of the "Jerome Increase Machinery Co. and Case Corp." section.
- ^ "Spinal Cord Injuries Case Study – Qualls v. Case Corporation". Archived from the original on 14 April 2013. Retrieved 28 August 2013.
- ^ "Qualls v. Case Corporation". 2 February 1998. Retrieved 28 August 2013.
- ^ Dl, Esteban (1 July 2016). "Pesados Argentinos: Case 830". pesadosargentinos.blogspot.com.ar.
- ^ Dl, Esteban (1 July 2016). "Pesados Argentinos: Case 831". pesadosargentinos.blogspot.com.ar.
- ^ "Find Your Steyr Tractor". Retrieved 15 August 2016.
Further reading
- Erb, Dave, Eldon Brumbaugh, and J. I. Case Company (1993). Full Steam Ahead: J. I. Case Tractors & Equipment 1842–1955. St. Joseph, Michigan: American Society of Agricultural Engineers. ISBN 0-929355-42-3.
- Stonehouse, Tom, and Eldon Brumbaugh (1996). J. I. Case Agricultural & Construction Equipment 1956–1994, Vol. 2. St. Joseph, Michigan: American Society of Agricultural Engineers. ISBN 0-929355-76-8.
- Wendel, Charles H. (2004). Encyclopedia of American Farm Implements & Antiques. Iola, Wisconsin: Krause Publications. ISBN 0-87349-568-3.
External links
- "International Harvester - Case IH History". company web site. Case IH. Archived from the original on February 23, 2011. Retrieved January 13, 2011.
- Case IH company web site
- parent group official web site