SMTA Manufacture location

Wicksfield · Apr 24, 2018

I posted a few days ago about the differences with a Louisville M. News to me is that I learned M's were made in Rock Island and not Chicago. I have a buddy with an SMTA and is now wondering where it was made. Can you guys fill me in?

Thanks for your response.

fastfarmall · Apr 24, 2018

The Rock Island Plant, in Illinois.

kent@junction · Apr 24, 2018

Thought they were all built in Louisville in 1954 only?

DR. EVIL · Apr 24, 2018

Yep, ALL Super M-TA's built in 1954 at FARMALL PLANT in Rock Island, Illinois. Just 50 Super M's built at Louisville from parts shipped daily from Farmall while Farmall built 300+ tractors a day. No other models built at Farmall built anywhere else. The Cub Cadet, Cub Farmall, Cub LoBoy, A, B, & C built at Louisville. The W-9 & WD-9, Supers, 600/650 started production at IH's Milwakee Plant and were later trasferred to IH Libertyville, the Hough construction tractor plant.

Just because the serial number plate said International Harvester, Chicago, Illinois, that never meant things were actually built there.

fastfarmall · Apr 24, 2018

Chicago, PO Box 6, was the corporate headquaters,I think the building is still standing, You know for sure DR; ?

Jim Becker · Apr 24, 2018

In 1937, Harvester moved into their new building at 180 N Michigan Avenue. That building is still in use. At that time, they vacated their old building at 606 S Michigan Avenue. Although IH used the street number 606, you will find the building today has the street number 600. It is also still in use.

DR. EVIL · Apr 24, 2018

The address I saw most frequently downtown Chicago for corp. offices was 400 South Michigan Ave. The building looks to still be there via Google Earth but hard to tell where they really were, they leased so many floors and the building didn't say IH. There was another different older address but I can't find anything with that address on it.

I know in the 1980's they moved to about 5-6 floors of the Suburban National Bank building on the east edge of Woodfield Mall just off Golf Road in Schaumberg, Ill. My Boss and neighbor at Farmall got promoted/transfered to Corp. Purchasing and I went up to visit him one day when I was at a job interview in Chicago.

And they moved at least one more time before the Tennaco buy-out. They had an address in a different suburb.

FARMALL had two addresses. 500-42nd Street Rock Island, and 4201-5th Ave. Rock Island. One was office building mailing address, other was plant shipping address, but after all these years I'm not sure which one was which.

George 3 · Apr 24, 2018

(quoted from post at 01:29:12 04/25/18) The address I saw most frequently downtown Chicago for corp. offices was 400 South Michigan Ave. The building looks to still be there via Google Earth but hard to tell where they really were, they leased so many floors and the building didn't say IH. There was another different older address but I can't find anything with that address on it.

I know in the 1980's they moved to about 5-6 floors of the Suburban National Bank building on the east edge of Woodfield Mall just off Golf Road in Schaumberg, Ill. My Boss and neighbor at Farmall got promoted/transfered to Corp. Purchasing and I went up to visit him one day when I was at a job interview in Chicago.

And they moved at least one more time before the Tennaco buy-out. They had an address in a different suburb.

FARMALL had two addresses. 500-42nd Street Rock Island, and 4201-5th Ave. Rock Island. One was office building mailing address, other was plant shipping address, but after all these years I'm not sure which one was which.

-----------------------------------------------------------------
My understanding from all the IH literature I have is that sometime in the early 1960's they moved their headquarters from 180 North Michigan to 401 North Michigan, 60611. That is the last address they had before the buyout from Tenneco.

Jim Becker · Apr 24, 2018

The IH Annual Reports list 180 N as the company address through 1964. After that, they list 401N, reflecting a move to the Equitable Building in '65. The '85 report (Navistar) still shows that address. I didn't look for anything beyond '85. By then, farm equipment was part of the CaseIH merger headquartered in Racine. The Equitable building is still there but no longer under that name.

By the way, 401 N Michigan is very near the location of the original Chicago McCormick reaper factory that burned in the great fire.

sflem849 · Apr 25, 2018

I forgot, where was the Milwaukee plant?

Jim Becker · Apr 25, 2018

Tempting to say "Wisconsin". How about 1714 West Bruce Street. Google maps shows some old buildings there, some look a bit like this picture.

https://www.wisconsinhistory.org/Records/Image/IM7585

SMTA Manufacture location

Wicksfield

Member

fastfarmall

Well-known Member

kent@junction

Member

DR. EVIL

Well-known Member

fastfarmall

Well-known Member

Jim Becker

Well-known Member

DR. EVIL

Well-known Member

George 3

Member

Jim Becker

Well-known Member

sflem849

Well-known Member

Jim Becker

Well-known Member

Similar threads