[AT] Oliver's decline was Nice Tractor Day

[HERBERT METZ]

Homer and Gertrude were good friends; both very accomplished. Assets to any endeavor they pursued.  Herb(GA)


> On November 13, 2019 at 7:51 AM Mark Johnson <markjohnson100 at centurylink.net> wrote:
> 
> 
> I should add: Long timers on the list will recall that Homer Donagher of 
> Linton, Indiana was VP of Foreign Sales for Oliver at the time of the 
> White acquisition. Homer was of the opinion that Oliver should have been 
> buying White, instead of the other way around.
> 
> He was forced into retirement at age 60 and the had a 12+ year career as 
> a teacher (which is how I knew him) and school principal.
> 
> I think he holds the record for 'number of times retired' as he more or 
> less formally retired at least 4 times that I know of.
> 
> Mark J
> 
> On 11/13/2019 6:40 AM, Mark Johnson wrote:
> > White Motor bought out Oliver sometime in the early 1960s.
> >
> > Mark J
> >
> > On 11/12/2019 12:10 PM, Cecil Bearden wrote:
> >> Did White Motor Corp own both Oliver and Moline from the start, or 
> >> did White take them over later.  IMHO, Moline, while a dependable 
> >> tractor, was the most difficult tractor to ever work on.  Extra 
> >> bolts, special bolts, such as Torx headed bolts recessed in from the 
> >> back side of a flange, just very awkward to work on and work with.  I 
> >> had a 5 star and a G1000, and grew up with an R, Z, and a U series.  
> >> Big awkward heavy tractors as opposed to Oliver that were big, heavy, 
> >> but fairly easy to operate, and easy to work on.   Dad & I installed 
> >> a clutch in the 1950 in a day without splitting the tractor.  We 
> >> didn't even move the radiator.  Pulled the engine and then set it 
> >> crossways over the big cast iron belly frame and pulled the 2 speed 
> >> off the engine and changed the clutch.  I hope to get the 1850 
> >> running again.   It was a good baler tractor before we got a cab 
> >> tractor.
> >> Cecil
> >>
> >> On 11/12/2019 11:40 AM, deanvp at att.net wrote:
> >>> James,
> >>>
> >>> I really don't know. I haven't researched that. But there is a 
> >>> possibility that it might have diverted financial resources that 
> >>> could have been better used in the Agricultural market.
> >>>
> >>> Dean VP
> >>> Snohomish, WA 98290
> >>>
> >>> -----Original Message-----
> >>> From: AT <at-bounces at lists.antique-tractor.com> On Behalf Of James Peck
> >>> Sent: Tuesday, November 12, 2019 9:15 AM
> >>> To: Antique Tractor Email Discussion Group 
> >>> <at at lists.antique-tractor.com>
> >>> Subject: [AT] Oliver's decline was Nice Tractor Day
> >>>
> >>> Did the acquisition of Cletrac help or hurt?
> >>>
> >>> Dean VP AT List Member <deanvp at att.net>; IMHO, Oliver could have 
> >>> owned the tractor market given they had to financial resources to 
> >>> make the marketing push. In my home county there was only one Oliver 
> >>> dealer whereas John Deere and I/H had a dealer in every town over 
> >>> 2,000 population.  The Oliver's in the field were clustered around 
> >>> that one dealer. Dealer support was probably more important to the 
> >>> farmers than the actual tractor.  Oliver was a leader in many 
> >>> innovations that JD and I/H followed with more marketing muscle. I 
> >>> know there was a kind of under the table relationship between JD and 
> >>> Oliver since Waterloo and Charles City were not that far apart 
> >>> geographically. I suspect there was quite a bit of industrial 
> >>> espionage that occurred in the local bars, homes and churches. But…. 
> >>> Oliver was a technology leader. I don’t know how much the fact that 
> >>> the engines were not Oliver designed would have limited them.  But 
> >>> they just didn’t have the financial resources to compete after JD 
> >>> announced the New Generation tractors.  How that development was 
> >>> kept secret in the for several years is somewhat of a feat all by 
> >>> itself. The decision to develop the NG tractors was made in 1953. An 
> >>> expected 5 year development program. But it wasn’t quite ready in 
> >>> 1958 so there was a two year delay in the announcement of the NG 
> >>> tractors.  Had there not been the delay the 30 series two cylinder 
> >>> JD tractors would never have existed. Strangely JD became the 
> >>> largest producer of Agricultural tractors in the US in 1958 
> >>> overcoming I/H largely due to the x60 series tractor fiasco.  I/h 
> >>> owned the tractor market and snatched defeat from the jaws of 
> >>> victory.  I/H management’s bad decisions overwhelmed a good product 
> >>> line. In the time period between 1950 and 1955 I/H owned on average 
> >>> roughly 31% of the tractor market. JD’s market share during that 
> >>> same period averaged only 14%.   It just proves that poor management 
> >>> can always overcome good products. . Here is a chart of the overall 
> >>> tractor market. The market fell apart after 1951. The void after 
> >>> WWII had been filled.
> >>>
> >>> _______________________________________________
> >>> AT mailing list
> >>> AT at lists.antique-tractor.com
> >>> http://lists.antique-tractor.com/listinfo.cgi/at-antique-tractor.com
> >>>
> >>> _______________________________________________
> >>> AT mailing list
> >>> AT at lists.antique-tractor.com
> >>> http://lists.antique-tractor.com/listinfo.cgi/at-antique-tractor.com
> >>
> >> _______________________________________________
> >> AT mailing list
> >> AT at lists.antique-tractor.com
> >> http://lists.antique-tractor.com/listinfo.cgi/at-antique-tractor.com
> > _______________________________________________
> > AT mailing list
> > AT at lists.antique-tractor.com
> > http://lists.antique-tractor.com/listinfo.cgi/at-antique-tractor.com
> _______________________________________________
> AT mailing list
> AT at lists.antique-tractor.com
> http://lists.antique-tractor.com/listinfo.cgi/at-antique-tractor.com