[Farmall] Farmall Digest, Vol 112, Issue 5

[dean at vinsonfarm.net]

Hi Lee, glad to see you're still on the list.  I hope my earlier comment that
"Red Tractors 1958-2013 didn't really go into the causes of IH's decline" didn't
come across as a negative--more like the purpose of the book was to primarily to
cover the tractors rather than the corporation.   I'm still happily working
through my copy--there's sure a ton of material there!

Dean Vinson
St Paris, Ohio


> On January 6, 2014 at 12:50 PM Lee Klancher <lklancher at mac.com> wrote:
>
>
> Hey guys,
>
> First, Happy New Year to y'all. I lurk on this list and get it digested
> so I'm not the quickest to respond. There's a lot of knowledgable people
> on it--it's an amazing resource.
>
> Roberto, you are correct that the Axial Flow Combine played a big role
> in keeping CIH afloat. We didn't cover combines, so that wasn't
> discussed, but the financial impact was big. The impact of the Magnum
> was huge as well. While I think most people recall how bad the farm
> economy was in the 1980s, I was struck by how bad the farm economy and
> the heavy equipment business was into the mid-1990s. Big businesses were
> failing and being merged on a regular basis. I found a terrific Harvard
> study of this that showed all the large companies going out of business
> at that time.
>
> I was also struck by how short-sighted the CIH management was in the
> 1980s. Killing the 2+2 and 50 series was an ego move that put red paint
> on that high-horsepower Case line of machines that were long in the
> tooth, in a market that was most interested in high-horsepower
> machinery. Combine that with the worst farm economy since 1933 and you
> are looking at the strong possibilty of complete failure.
>
> Also, bear in mind that Tenneco had the CIH division up for sale
> throughout much of the 1990s. Dana Mead later admitted he had the
> company on sale for one dollar, and couldn't find a taker.
>
> The only reason the company didn't fold or run into the same debt
> problems that killed IH is that Tenneco was flush throughout the late
> 1980s and early 1990s. Their oil holdings were making bank for a while,
> and then provided cash when sold off. And the head of Tenneco was a farm
> boy and had a soft spot for agricultural business.
>
> So my opinion is that without the Magnum (and the Axial Flow), CIH
> wouldn't exist as it is today. A number of the IH folks from the 1980s
> who stayed with CIH through the 1990s say the same thing. Of course,
> they were all jacked about the 25th Anniversary so that might have
> colored their glasses a bit.
>
> Oh, and BTW, A Corporate Tragedy is an interesting resource if tough
> sledding to read. As was pointed out, our book doesn't answer all the
> questions of why IH failed, but we did look very hard at that and try to
> give readers an idea (if you read the chapter introductions you'll get
> some good information on that front).
>
> Marsh put her book together from a mix of resources she had at hand and
> did it fairly quickly. After putting together our book, we believe she
> made one key miscalculation. McCardell was not the problem. He didn't do
> a good job with labor, that's true, but he did a great job with product.
> The IH engineering crew was creating patents at an unprecedented level
> under his tenure, as he poured money into R&D and brought good talent
> in. He was hand-picked by Brooks McCormick, and Brooks both had a
> significant influence on him and was very sharp. McCardell's move
> spending money on research was the right move--IH just got unlucky with
> market timing and was overwhelmed with a debt load that started in the
> 1950s by Fowler McCormick's quest to expand into every market under the
> sun at the expense of their core market--ag.
>
> Anyway, way longer than I intended.
>
> Hope everyone is well and has a great New Year.
>
> Cheers,
> Lee Klancher
>
>
> On 1/6/14, 11:00 AM, farmall-request at lists.antique-tractor.com wrote:
> >
> > Today's Topics:
> >
> > 1. Re: What tractor is this ?? (Jim Becker)
> > 2. Re: What tractor is this ?? (Michael Schmudlach)
> > 3. Re: What tractor is this ?? (Bob Currie)
> > 4. Re: What tractor is this ?? (lmfree at ptd.net)
> > 5. Re: What tractor is this ?? (Roberto Rivero)
> > 6. Re: What tractor is this ?? (Mike)
> > 7. Re: What tractor is this ?? (Roberto Rivero)
> > 8. Re: What tractor is this ?? (Tommy Wilson)
> > 9. Re: What tractor is this ?? (jtchall at nc.rr.com)
> > 10. Re: What tractor is this ?? (jtchall at nc.rr.com)
> > 11. Re: What tractor is this ?? (Charlie V)
> > 12. Re: What tractor is this ?? (Roberto Rivero)
> > 13. Re: What tractor is this ?? (Bob Currie)
> > 14. Re: What tractor is this ?? (jtchall at nc.rr.com)
> > 15. Re: What tractor is this ?? (Roberto Rivero)
> > 16. Red Tractors 1958-2013 (dean at vinsonfarm.net)
> > 17. Re: Red Tractors 1958-2013 (Roberto Rivero)
> >
> >
> > ----------------------------------------------------------------------
> >
> > Message: 1
> > Date: Sun, 5 Jan 2014 12:17:28 -0600
> > From: "Jim Becker" <mr.jebecker at gmail.com>
> > Subject: Re: [Farmall] What tractor is this ??
> > To: "Farmall/IHC mailing list" <farmall at lists.antique-tractor.com>
> > Message-ID: <B7E984EA54054D21B5AD6AC0EE61697F at JimDesktop>
> > Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed; charset="UTF-8";
> > reply-type=original
> >
> > Well, "monument" has several meanings, anything from a grave marker to a
> > survey marker. A USA "national monument" is a big deal but other monuments
> > can be much less grand, including a pedestal for about anything. We even
> > have "monument" type signs in commercial areas.
> >
> > If you go to Google Images and search for "russia tractor monument" you find
> > a lot similar to this one. Many of them seem to be things like "first
> > tractor" in whichever town it is in. One appears to be the same model as
> > this one and indicates first Russian made tractor. By the way, if you just
> > search for "tractor monument" what you get is still heavily loaded with
> > Russian pictures, but some other interesting pictures show up.
> >
> > Jim Becker
> >
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: Roberto Rivero
> > Sent: Sunday, January 05, 2014 10:37 AM
> > To: Farmall/IHC mailing list
> > Subject: Re: [Farmall] What tractor is this ??
> >
> > May be in that place, with the high level of snow they must have in
> > winter,
> >
> > that is the only way you can see the tractor in winter season.[?][?]
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > 2014/1/5 E. John Puckett <ejpuckett at centurytel.net>
> >
> >> Maybe we in the U.S. and other areas consider the definition of monument
> >> differently. It is not unusual to see a tractor or a something similar
> >> in fornt of a dealer that has been in business for many years setting on
> >> a brick or stone base like that. Whne we think monument we think of
> >> something important to be remembered or honored, not just a base to
> >> support something.
> >>
> >> On 1/4/2014 10:15 PM, Roberto Rivero wrote:
> >>> John really donot know why the monument, but in the link of Jim Becker
> >>> there is another tractor a 1530 thoug on a monument too.
> >>>
> >>> Thakyou to all for the answers, this list is very special, i recived
> >> lot
> >>> of answers in no more than 30 minutes, here i have learnt many thins
> >> about
> >>> mecanic and common sense, alon the years reading your posts.
> >>>
> >>> I begun 2014 year in good condition yesterday i receibed the book IHC
> >> Red
> >>> tractors from 1985 to 2013. nice work.
> >>>
> >>> I wish a happy and prosperous 2014 year for all the IHC people, and
> >> thanks
> >>> again for the answer, (The video is very good and interesting too)
> >>>
> >>>
> >>> 2014/1/5 <jtchall at nc.rr.com>
> >>>
> >> _______________________________________________
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> >>
> >
> >
>
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