Massey Harris .... who supplied their parts ???

I came across an old memory stick in my desk and found this article on it. I think it might have been from some Massey Harris club or magazine over ten or twelve years ago. Here it is, interesting stuff. I suspect a lot of manufacturers were the same way, they just assembled a tractor from outside vendors although the company itself did design the tractor, the suppliers just made what they were asked to make I guess. Anyways, here ya go ....

How Massey Harris Tractor's Were Made

Did you know that the Massey Harris plant in Racine, Wisconsin (where most Massey Harris tractors were made from the 1930's through 1958) was an assembly plant only and not a factory where any parts were actually cast, machined or manufactured? Many outside suppliers or vendors were accessed to provide parts to build the Massey Harris tractors. Here is a listing of at least some of the major suppliers that Massey Harris used in manufacturing it's line of tractors during production in 1947. Although this type of outsourcing was not uncommon, Massey Harris probably was one company that used outsourced parts almost exclusively as compared to some other tractor lines.

1. Cast tractor frames - Chicago Hardware Foundry (North Chicago, Illinois)
2. Pressed steel tractor frames - A.O. Smith Corporation
3. Transmission cases - Standard Foundry Co. (Racine, Wisconsin)
4. Engines - Continental Engine Co. (Muskegon, Michigan)
5. Powerlift gears - Rochester Gear Works (Rochester, Michigan)
6. Steering gears - Saginaw Steering Gear Division of General Motors (Saginaw, Michigan)
7. Ring gears - Milwaukee Forge and Machine (Milwaukee, Wisconsin)
8. Steering Wheels - Sheller Manufacturing Co. (Portland, Indiana)
9. Grilles, hoods, fenders, gas tanks - Johnson Sheet Metal Works (Richmond, Indiana)
10. Transmission gears - Double Diamond Gears (Richmond, Indiana)
11. Lights - K.D. Lamp Division of Noma Electric (Cincinnati, Ohio)
12. Paint - Sherwin Williams Co. and Tousey Varnish Company (both of Chicago, Illinois)
13. Wheels - French and Hecht Co. (Davenport, Iowa)
14. Differential Cases - Belle City Malleable Iron Works (Racine, Wisconsin)
15. U-Joints - Borg Warner
16. Clutch facings and brake linings - Raybestos Corporation
17. Governors - Pierce (Anderson, Indiana) and Novi Co.
18. Bearings - Torrington, Timken, Hyatt, Rockwell, Bower, and New Departure
19. Ball joints - J.J. Tourek Manufacturing Co. (Chicago, Illinois)
20. Air cleaners - Donaldson Manufacturing Co. (St. Paul, Minnessota)
21. Belts - Gates Rubber Co.
22. Disc brakes - Lambert Disc Brakes (St. Joseph, Michigan)
23. Dash gauges (Rochester Manufacturing Co. (Rochester, New York)
24. Oil filters - Purolator Co.
25. Carburetors - Marvel Schebler and Zenith
26. Decals - Meyercord Co. (Chicago, Illinois)

Mufflers....Nelson Muffler Corp. A lot of companies used those suppliers.
Ben

Yes they did Centash ..... some of the bigger outfits though probably made at least some parts themselves I suspect. Same thing with car and truck components nowadays, not sure how much of anything would be made by Ford, GM, etc. in a new car or truck.

There is something to be said for getting all your parts from vendors. You don't have to keep an inventory of material used to make the parts. You don't have to pay for machinery or upkeep on machinery and you don't have to pay for that floor space for the process of manufacturing the parts, not to mention the extra employees needed to run the machinery and make the parts.

Remember that Henry Ford even purchased land in South America and tried to grow rubber trees to make his own tires? That turned out to be a big flop.

every company uses out side suppliers. the local foundry by me makes stuff for Deere, Case New Holland, Agco . no way could any one company supply all the parts they need

Kid works in a BIG welding shop and make all kinds of stuff for Deere and Agco and Case and lots of short line co.Was just at the Massey plant in Jackson Minn only thing they do is put all the parts together

Outsourcing was always a common practice in heavy equipment manufacturing. At one point 50 years ago, GM was 70% internal sourced and Chrysler was 30% internal sourced. Internal sourcing needed huge investments in engineering, buildings, tools and manpower. But the company also got the profits from those products. Outsourcing was fast, easy and low investment, but someone else got the profit from the part. Complex parts with low volume are very expensive to engineer and build and that is why Massey Ferguson always used outside engines. The problem with total outsourcing is that the product can lose it's identity. If it is just a bunch of parts that anyone can buy, what makes it special? Peterbilt and Kenworth face this challenge. Mack had their own unique engines, like Deere. Remember how Oldsmobile owners rebelled when their Rocket v8 turned out to be a Chevy v8. Think about what drives your brand loyalty, engine? transmission? styling? GM is no longer 70% internal. Most of the auto industry uses electrical components made offshore (like all our electrical appliances and toys). Cross border trade is now the norm. If you had a list of currently USA manufactured major products I bet you would find that a lot of your list of suppliers would now be offshore. Bringing the manufacturing of those parts back is a slow and costly, probably years and $ trillions.
Durable equipment manufacturing is a complex and costly undertaking.

First machine shop i worked at made sprockets and gears. Made a lot for AGCO, badger, Miller, Meyer, Gruett, Arcticat, as well as a few other companies.

Donovan from Wisconsin