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After WWII some companies refused to sell equipment to Japanese farmers. Allis-Chalmers dealers did not hesitate to sell to these farmers so many farms to this day still have an Allis-Chalmers tractor in Oregon.

In 1931, it acquired Advance-Rumely of La Porte, Indiana, mostly because Merritt wanted the company’s network of 24 branch houses and about 2,500 dealers, which would greatly increase Allis-Chalmers’s marketing and sales power in the farm equipment business. Also in 1931, the corporation’s electrical equipment business expanded via acquisition when Brown, Boveri & Cie, in a financial pinch because of the Depression, sold its U.S. electrical operations to Allis-Chalmers. After 1931 Allis-Chalmers was the licensee for U.S. sales of European products of Brown, Boveri & Cie.Another Scottish immigrant family, the Dickson family, came to Canada and the U.S. in the 1830s. By 1852, they had organized a small machine shop and foundry (Dickson & Company) in Scranton, Pennsylvania. In 1856 Thomas Dickson became its president, and in 1862 the firm incorporated as the Dickson Manufacturing Company. By 1900 they were building boilers, steam engines, locomotives, internal combustion engines, blowers, and air compressors.

Allis-Chalmers originally developed their pull-type “all-crop harvester” as their solution for growers to harvest their crops beginning in 1933. In 1955, Allis-Chalmers acquired the Gleaner Baldwin/Gleaner Manufacturing Company and its line of self-propelled combine harvesters.

In Haycraft’s history of the construction equipment business (2000), he expressed the view that Allis-Chalmers relied too heavily for too long on partnering with auxiliary equipment suppliers, and acquiring them, instead of investing in in-house product development. In his view, this strategy limited the company’s success in this business, and it eventually had to spend the development dollars anyway. Buescher’s comments about the Buda acquisition and the need for subsequent improvement of its designs seem to corroborate this view. However, the topic is multivariate and complex; elsewhere in his memoir, Buescher presents a viewpoint in which investing in research and product development is an expensive move that often does not pay off for the innovator and mostly benefits competitor clones.Allis Chalmers manufactured several lines of medium voltage switchgear, such as the HF and MA lines. The HF line competed with the General Electric “AM” Magneblast line of vertical-lift medium-voltage switchgear. The MA line was a competitor of the ITE “HK” line of horizontal-racking medium-voltage switchgear. Allis-Chalmers was a U.S. manufacturer of machinery for various industries. Its business lines included agricultural equipment, construction equipment, power generation and power transmission equipment, and machinery for use in industrial settings such as factories, flour mills, sawmills, textile mills, steel mills, refineries, mines, and ore mills. Immediately at the war’s end, in 1945–1946, Allis-Chalmers endured a crippling 11-month labor strike. Buescher was convinced that the corporation never entirely recovered from the effects of this strike. This seems debatable given the various successes that Allis-Chalmers did have during the next 30 years, including prosperity in the farm equipment business in the 1950s and 1960s. But it certainly gave competitors a chance to grab market share.

In 1990, Deutz-Allis was sold to its management and became Allis-Gleaner Corporation (AGCO). Tractors began selling under the AGCO-Allis name and were again painted Persian Orange. The AGCO brand of orange tractors was produced until 2011 when AGCO announced that it was phasing out the brand. Allis Chalmers marketed a full line of Industrial and Power House equipment, including turbo generators and medium voltage switchgear. In the 1920s through the 1960s AC Power House and Industrial equipment was competitive with industry giants like General Electric and Westinghouse. As early as the 1920s AC was manufacturing multi MVA hydro-electric generators and turbines, many of which remain in service today (Louisville Gas & Electric Ohio Falls units 1–8, 8MW low head turbines and Kentucky Utilities Dix Dam units 1–3, 11MVA 300 RPM generators). In 1928, Henry Ford canceled U.S. production of the Fordson tractor. This disrupted the business of many firms: farm equipment dealers who sold Fordsons and aftermarket equipment builders whose attachments were designed to mount on Fordsons (for example, the Gleaner combines of the 1920s mounted on Fordsons, and many Fordson industrial tractors used aftermarket attachments). Many of these firms formed a conglomerate in 1928 called the United Tractor & Equipment corporation. United arranged a deal with Allis-Chalmers to build a tractor to substitute for the now-missing Fordson. Around 1930, the United conglomerate collapsed. The reasons that various authors have given have been disagreements between its investors, the onset of the Great Depression, and the fact that Ford Motor Company Ltd of England, which was continuing the Fordson line independently of the U.S. Ford company, began exporting new Fordsons to America. The United tractor became the Allis-Chalmers Model U.

The first model introduced in 1947 was called the “Roto-Baler” and the fore-runner of modern round balers, albeit with much smaller bales. The Roto-Baler had a production run from 1947-1964 and then again from 1972-1974. Allis Chalmers also built many small square baler models.

In 1959, a team led by Harry Ihrig built a 15kW fuel cell tractor for Allis-Chalmers which was demonstrated across the US at state fairs. This was the first fuel-cell-powered vehicle. Potassium hydroxide served as the electrolyte. The original AC fuel cell tractor is currently on display at the Smithsonian.Edward P. Allis was an entrepreneur who in 1860 bought a bankrupt firm at a sheriff’s auction, the Reliance Works of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, which had been owned by James Decker and Charles Seville. Decker & Seville were millwrights who made equipment for flour milling. Under Allis’s management, the firm was reinvigorated and “began producing steam engines and other mill equipment just at the time that many sawmills and flour mills were converting to steam power.” Although the financial panic of 1873 “caught Edward Allis overextended” and forced him into bankruptcy, “his own reputation saved him and reorganization came quickly,” forming the Edward P. Allis Company. Leffingwell said, “He set out to hire known experts: George Hinkley, who perfected the band saw; William Gray, who revolutionized the flour-milling process through roller milling; and Edwin Reynolds, who ran the Corliss Steam Engine works.” Allis died in 1889, but under his sons (Charles Allis and William Allis) and the other principals, the firm continued to prosper, and by 1900 it had grown to become one of America’s largest steam engine builders. World War II caused Allis-Chalmers, like most other manufacturing companies, to become extremely busy. As happened with many firms, its civilian product lines experienced a period of being “on hold”, with emphasis on parts and service to keep existing machines running, but its war materiel production was pushed to the maximum of productivity and output. In the late 1930s through mid-1940s, Allis-Chalmers made machinery for naval ships, such as Liberty ship steam engines, steam turbines, generators, and electric motors; artillery tractors and tractors for other army use; electrical switches and controls; and other products. Allis-Chalmers was also one of many firms contracted to build equipment for the Manhattan Project. Its experience in mining and milling machinery made it a logical choice for uranium mining and processing equipment. Allis-Chalmers ranked 45th among United States corporations in the value of wartime military production contracts. In 1965, Allis-Chalmers acquired Simplicity for its line of lawn and garden equipment. Also in that year, the nuclear reactor SAFARI-1, a research reactor built by Allis-Chalmers, went into operation.

Former marketing executive Walter M. Buescher (1991) said that Allis-Chalmers “was a conglomerate before the word was coined.” Whether or not it is literally true that Allis-Chalmers predated the sense of “conglomerate” meaning a widely diversified parent corporation, Buescher’s point is valid: Allis-Chalmers, despite its common theme of machinery, was an amalgamation of disparate business lines, each with a unique marketplace, beginning in an era when consolidations within industries were fashionable but those across industries were not yet common.

The managing director of the new company was Charles Allis, his brother William was chairman of the board, and William J. Chalmers was deputy managing director. Shortly after the merger was completed, a new factory was built in an area west of Milwaukee that was then known as North Greenfield. In 1902, with this new factory, the locale was renamed West Allis, Wisconsin.Below is a gallery showcasing some of the models that Allis-Chalmers produced throughout its history, most of which are painted in their distinctive orange paint.

In May 1975, the company closed its 20-acre, 78-year-old Pittsburgh North Side factory that employed close to 1,100 full-time and produced both distribution and instrument control transformers.In 1959, Allis-Chalmers acquired the French company Vendeuvre. Also in 1959, it acquired Tractomotive Corporation of Deerfield, Illinois, which it had been partnering with as an auxiliary equipment supplier for at least a decade.

In 1955, the company acquired Gleaner Manufacturing Company, which was an important move for its combine harvester business. Allis was the market leader in pull-type (tractor-drawn) combines, with its All-Crop Harvester line. But acquiring Gleaner meant that it would now also be a leader in self-propelled machines, and it would own two of the leading brands in combines. The Gleaner line augmented (and later superseded) the All-Crop Harvester line, and for several years Gleaner’s profits made up nearly all of Allis-Chalmers’ profit. Gleaners continued to be manufactured at the same factory, in Independence, Missouri, after the acquisition.In October 1937, Allis-Chalmers was one of fourteen major electrical manufacturing companies that went to court to change the way labor unions excluded contractors and products in the building trades through the union use of the “Men and Means Clause”. The action of Allis-Chalmers and others eventually resulted in the U.S. Supreme Court decision of June 18, 1945, that ended certain union practices that violated the Sherman Antitrust Act.

In 1960, the U.S. government uncovered an attempt to form a cartel in the heavy electric equipment industry. It charged 13 companies, including the largest in the industry (Westinghouse, General Electric, and Allis-Chalmers), with price fixing and bid rigging. Most feigned innocence, but Allis-Chalmers pleaded guilty. Although one motive for the forming of cartels is so that amply profitable firms can try to become obscenely profitable, it did not apply in this instance, according to Buescher; rather, his view of the attempt at a heavy-electrical cartel was that it was a desperate (and foolish) attempt to turn red ink to black ink among fierce competition.As had also been true of the 1900–1920 period, the Roaring Twenties were a favorable time for consolidation and even conglomeration throughout the business world. It was also a time of strongly continuing mechanization on North American farms. At Allis-Chalmers, the 1920s brought yet more tractors, such as the 18-30, the 12-20, the 15-25, and the United tractor/Model U. In 1926 Falk hired Harry Merritt, who would be a senior executive in Allis-Chalmers’s tractor business for many years. Merritt had worked in the sales and marketing of various brands of farm and construction equipment, most recently Holt, when Falk hired him away. Walter M. Buescher, who worked under Merritt, credited Merritt with turning around Allis-Chalmers’s ailing farm equipment business and transforming it into the main profit center for the parent corporation. He said, “Some say that General Falk pulled Harry Merritt into Milwaukee to liquidate the ailing tractor division. Others say that he was brought in to breathe new life into the moribund and unprofitable operation. Even if the first appraisal is correct, the second proved to be the way it turned out. […] After Merritt’s arrival, the profit picture changed. The farm equipment business proved to be a financial lifesaver for the corporation. […] From next to nothing in 1927, Merritt saw the percentage of farm equipment business go to just short of sixty percent of corporate sales.” In the 1980s and 1990s, a series of divestitures transformed the firm and eventually dissolved it. Its successors today are Allis-Chalmers Energy and AGCO.In the 1960s, the farm equipment, construction equipment, and heavy electrical industries were not as profitable for Allis-Chalmers as they had been in the 1930s through 1950s. Reasonable prosperity continued in the farm equipment line, but the economics of all the industries shifted toward greater uncertainty and brittler success for firms that didn’t become number one or two in a field. Allis-Chalmers was often number three or four, as Deere and International Harvester led in farm machinery, Caterpillar and Case led in construction, and Westinghouse and General Electric led in heavy electric markets. In the late 1960s, a trend of conglomeration flared, as mega-conglomerates like Ling-Temco-Vought, Gulf+Western, and White Consolidated Industries went on buying sprees. Several takeover attempts by those firms were made on Allis-Chalmers. It was during the same era and business climate that Tenneco acquired Case.The D series continued to be successful in the 1960s. The factory-installed turbocharger on the D19 was the first in the industry. It was soon followed by the 190 and the 190 XT, which was a direct competitor for the John Deere Model 4020 with 98 horsepower (factory rating).

The first Allis-Chalmers Company was formed in 1901 as an amalgamation of the Edward P. Allis Company (steam engines and mill equipment), Fraser & Chalmers (mining and ore milling equipment), the Gates Iron Works (rock and cement milling equipment), and the industrial business line of the Dickson Manufacturing Company (engines and compressors). It was reorganized in 1912 as the Allis-Chalmers Manufacturing Company. During the next 70 years its industrial machinery filled countless mills, mines, and factories around the world, and its brand gained fame among consumers mostly from its farm equipment business’s orange tractors and silver combine harvesters.In 1965, Allis-Chalmers built “Big Allis,” or Ravenswood No. 3, the biggest generator in New York. It is located in Queens, and has an output of 1000 MW. It is operational today.

By 1901 the principals of the Edward P. Allis, Fraser & Chalmers, and Gates firms had decided to merge their companies. Edwin Reynolds believed Allis could control the industrial engine business. In May 1901 the Allis-Chalmers Company was formed. It acquired Dickson’s industrial engine business. Dickson’s locomotive business was rolled into the new locomotive consolidation, the American Locomotive Company (ALCO).In 1903, Allis-Chalmers acquired the Bullock Electric Company of Cincinnati, Ohio, which added steam turbines to Allis-Chalmers’s powerplant equipment business line.

Author-photographer Randy Leffingwell (1993) aptly summarized the firm’s origins and character. He observed that it “grew by acquiring and consolidating the innovations” of various smaller firms and building upon them; and he continued that “Metal work and machinery were the common background. Financial successes and failures brought them together.”

In 1960, Allis-Chalmers built the first grate-kiln ore pellet plant at the Humboldt mine in Michigan. The company eventually built about 50 such plants.In 1977, to compete in the recently expanding market segment of compact diesel utility tractors (such as the Kubota line and the Ford 1000 and 1600 built by Shibaura), Allis-Chalmers began importing Hinomoto tractors with Toyosha diesel engines from Japan. They were rebadged with the Allis-Chalmers brand for U.S. sales. The 1950s were a time of great demand for more power in farm tractors, as well as greater capability from their hydraulic and electrical systems. It was also a decade of extensive dieselization, from railroad locomotives to farm tractors and construction equipment. In 1953, Allis-Chalmers acquired the Buda Engine Company of Harvey, Illinois. Allis wanted Buda for its line of diesel engines, because its previous supplier, Detroit Diesel, was a division of General Motors, whose recent acquisition of the Euclid heavy equipment company now made it a competitor of Allis-Chalmers for construction equipment business. The Buda-Lanova models were re-christened the “Allis-Chalmers Diesel” engine line. Diesel engineers were busy during the following years updating and expanding the line. With the combining of the constituent firms, Allis-Chalmers offered a wide array of pyrometallurgic equipment, such as blast furnaces and converters for roasting, smelting, and refining; ore milling equipment, various kinds of crushers and pulverizers, including stamp mills, roller mills, ball mills, conical mills, rod mills, and jigging mills; cyanidation mills and other concentration mills; hoisting engines; cars, including skip cars, slag cars, and general mine cars; briquetting plants; and the pumps, tanks, boilers, compressors, hydraulic accumulators, pipes, valves, sieves, and conveyors needed within these products. Like other firms that build capital equipment for industrial corporations, it also supplied consulting, erecting, and training services, such as helping a mining company to design a plant, to build its buildings and set up its machinery, and to teach the employees how to use and maintain it.Allis-Chalmers Energy was a Houston-based multi-faceted oilfield services company. The company provided services and equipment to oil and natural gas exploration and production companies, both domestically and internationally. It became Archer in 2011 after it merged with Seawell, another oil services/energy company.In 1928, Allis-Chalmers acquired the Monarch Tractor Company of Springfield, Illinois, thus adding a line of crawler tractors. In 1929, it acquired the La Crosse Plow Works of La Crosse, Wisconsin. The La Crosse Plow Works had a good-quality plow and various desirable implements, which now expanded the Allis-Chalmers implement line. Also in 1929, Harry Merritt was in California when the bright orange California poppy blossoms inspired him to think about the use of bright colors in marketing. Brightly colored things that can be seen from far away had potential in farm equipment marketing. He soon changed the paint color of Allis-Chalmers’s tractors to Persian Orange, the available paint color that he felt most closely resembled the California poppy’s color. Thus began the tradition of orange Allis-Chalmers tractors. Various competitors would follow suit over the next decade, as International Harvester switched to all-red (1936), Minneapolis-Moline switched to Prairie Gold (late 1930s), and Case switched to Flambeau Red (late 1930s). John Deere already had a distinctive color scheme with its bright green and yellow.

In 1933, Allis-Chalmers introduced its Model WC, its first-generation row-crop tractor, which would become its highest-selling tractor ever. In 1937, its lighter and more affordable second-generation row-crop, the Model B, arrived, and also became a top seller. Its All-Crop Harvester was the market leader in pull-type (tractor-drawn) combine harvesters.In 1988, Allis-Chalmers sold its American Air Filter filtration business (with 27 production facilities internationally and sales into 100-plus countries) for approximately $225 million to SnyderGeneral Corporation of Dallas, a leading global air quality control firm.

In 1932, Allis-Chalmers collaborated with Firestone to introduce pneumatic rubber tires to tractors. The innovation quickly spread industry-wide, as (to many farmers’ surprise) it improved tractive force and fuel economy in the range of 10% to 20%. Within only 5 years, pneumatic rubber tires had displaced cleated steel wheels across roughly half of all tractors sold industry-wide. Cleated steel remained optional equipment into the 1940s. Also in 1932, Allis-Chalmers acquired the Ryan Manufacturing Company, which added various grader models to its construction equipment line.

Edward P. Allis was an American businessman and a leading political figure for the Greenback Party in the mid to late 1800’s. In 1846 his first business venture was a leather company in Two Rivers, Wisconsin. He eventually sold out to his partners, and in 1860 he purchased a bankrupt iron products manufacturing company. Over time, the Edward P. Allis Company expanded into producing steam engines, and by 1900 the company had become one of the largest steam engine builders in America. Although Mr. Allis died in 1889, his sons, Charles and William Allis, continued to run the company.

Originally, the first Allis-Chalmers farm tractors were dark green. That changed in 1929 when Mr. Falk hired Harry C. Merritt as the Tractor Department Manager. Merritt had experience working in the sales and marketing of farm and construction equipment. While on a trip, Merritt saw the bright orange poppies blooming on the California hillsides, which inspired him to choose the color “Persian Orange” for the new Allis-Chalmers tractors. The Model “U” was the first tractor to feature the Persian Orange color scheme.

Over time, these signature orange tractors came to symbolize the reliability and innovation of the company, its sales methods and its products. From the time they began producing the orange colored farm equipment they became an image builder for Allis-Chalmers.By the time of Otto Falk’s death in May 1940, the Allis-Chalmers Manufacturing Company had established itself as the third largest producer of farm equipment. The entrepreneurial spirit and business savvy of these men, and countless others within the Alliis-Chalmers organization left an imprint on the world with it’s industrial machinery and farming equipment.

In May 1901, Frasier & Chalmers, the Edward P. Allis Company, and a third company, Dickson Manufacturing, merged their companies together to form the Allis-Chalmers Company. Dickson Manufacturing built boilers, steam engines, locomotives, internal combustion engines, blowers and air compressors.

Starting in 1949, the Model C was replaced by the Model CA, with greater power, allowing it to be rated as a two-plow tractor. The engine remained the same, but turned at a higher RPM and had a higher degree or compression, yielding 11 percent more power. It was provided with a new four-speed transmission, and power assist rear wheel adjustment was introduced. The CA was produced with single and narrow dual wheel front ends, and an adjustable wide front axle.

The Allis-Chalmers Model C was a small row-crop tractor manufactured by Allis-Chalmers from 1940 to 1949. It was developed from the smaller Allis-Chalmers Model B.

The Model B was too small to work two crop rows at once. Allis-Chalmers briefly adapted the Allis-Chalmers Model WC as the RC from 1938 to 1941, but it proved expensive, so the B was adapted with wider wheel spacing options, a larger engine, and additional fuel options. The Model C used the RC’s 125-cubic-inch (2,050 cc) Allis-Chalmers 4-cylinder engine, with gasoline and distillate fuel options. The C inherited the B’s three-speed transmission, power take-off and hydraulics.Die Dickson Manufacturing Company war ein Hersteller von Dampfmaschinen, Gebläsemaschinen, Kompressoren und Lokomotiven. Das Unternehmen wurde von Thomas Dickson 1856 in Scranton (Pennsylvania) gegründet. Der Bereich für den Lokomotivbau ging in der American Locomotive Company auf.1958 übernahm man S. Morgan Smith, einen Hersteller von Wasserturbinen, Pumpen u. ä. Um Zugang zum europäischen Markt zu bekommen, benötigte man eigene Fabriken innerhalb der EWG. Durch den Aufkauf des italienischen Baumaschinenherstellers Vender im Jahr 1959 erwarb man eine entsprechende Fabrik für die Baumaschinenproduktion. In den USA übernahm man in diesem Jahr mit der Tractomotive Corporation einen Hersteller von Planierraupen, mit dem man zuvor bereits zusammengearbeitet hatte. Ebenso kaufte man 1959 den Nukleartechnik-Bereich der American Car and Foundry Company. Nachdem man in den 1950er Jahren mit Brennstoffzellen experimentiert hatte, konnte man 1959 mit dem Allis-Chalmers-Brennstoffzellentraktor das weltweit erste größere Fahrzeug vorstellen, das mit einer Brennstoffzelle betrieben wurde.

1977 vereinbarte man, zukünftig Kleintraktoren von Toyosha in den USA zu vermarkten. Im selben Jahr gründete man gemeinsam mit Siemens das Joint-Venture Siemens-Allis, das im Januar 1978 den Betrieb aufnahm. Ziel dieses Joint-Ventures war die gemeinsam Herstellung und der Vertrieb von Produkten im Bereich Energietechnik (Elektromotoren, Schaltgeräte), nachdem bereits seit 1970 ein Lizenzabkommen mit Siemens in diesem Bereich bestanden hatte. Siemens kaufte von seinem Partner 1981 35 % an diesem Joint-Venture auf, bevor man 1985 die letzten 15 % erwarb.

1969 vereinbarte man mit dem britischen Gabelstaplerhersteller Lancer Boss Limited, dessen Schwerlaststapler in Nordamerika zu vermarkten, zur Ergänzung des eigenen Portfolios.Ab 1970 wurde von Allis-Chalmers mit der HD 41 die damals größte Planierraupe der Welt produziert, von der 1963 bereits ein Prototyp gezeigt worden war. Ebenso in diesem Jahr gründete man mit KWU ein Joint-Venture zur Herstellung von Dampfturbinen unter dem Namen Allis-Chalmers Power Systems. Ab 1970 bezog man von Renault Agriculture Traktoren für den US-Markt. Ab 1972 vertrieb man den Bearcat von Steiger als Allis-Chalmers 440, um einen allradgetriebenen Großtraktor anbieten zu könnte, bevor man 1976 mit dem 7580 ein eigenes Modell anbieten konnte. 1974 erwarb man die Fördertechnik-Sparte von Stephens-Adamson. Im selben Jahr brachte man den Bereich für Papiermaschinen in ein Joint-Venture mit Voith und den Baumaschinen-Bereich in ein Joint-Venture mit Fiat ein, das den Namen Fiat-Allis erhielt. An diesem Joint-Venture war Fiat anfangs mit 65 %, Allis-Chalmers mit 35 % beteiligt. Drei Jahre später erwarb Voith die Anteile von Allis-Chalmers an diesem Joint-Venture. Als die übriggebliebenen Geschäftsbereiche von Allis-Chalmers 1988 aus der Insolvenz entlassen werden konnten, entstand daraus Allis-Chalmers Energy, das als Dienstleister für Ölfirmen tätig war. Der Firmensitz befand sich in Houston, Texas. 2002 erwarb man Strata Directional Drilling und 2004 die Safco-Oil Field Products. Allis-Chalmers Energy wurde schließlich 2011 von Seawell aufgekauft. Nachdem die Gewinnmarge in den 1960er Jahren sehr niedrig geworden war und schließlich auch noch der Absatz einbrach, machte Ling-Temco-Vought 1967 ein Übernahmeangebot, dies lehnte das Management von Allis-Chalmers jedoch ab. So kam es zu einer eine Woche dauernden Übernahmeschlacht, an deren Ende Ling-Temco-Vought sein Angebot zurückzog. Ein Jahr später kam es zu einem weiteren Übernahmeversuch, diesmal durch White Consolidated Industries, die im Oktober 1968 30 % der Anteile an Allis-Chalmers von Gulf+Western erwarben. Gegen diesen Übernahmeversuch setzte sich der neue CEO David C. Scott zur Wehr und auch die Federal Trade Commission reichte eine Beschwerde beim Obersten Gerichtshof der Vereinigten Staaten ein, die dazu führte, dass White das Stimmrecht seiner Anteile verlor. So verkaufte White seine Anteile im Februar 1971 wieder.

Auf dem europäischen Markt konnte man 1960 mit der Übernahme des französischen Traktorenherstellers Vendeuvre, der zwei Fabriken in Frankreich betrieb, weiter expandieren. 1961 stellte man mit dem D19 den weltweit ersten Traktor mit von einem Turbolader aufgeladenen Dieselmotor vor. 1961 kaufte man den britischen Hersteller von Ballenpressen Jones Balers Ltd. aus Mold auf. 1962 zog man sich aus dem Geschäft mit Dampfturbinen zurück, fertigte aber weiterhin insbesondere im Werk in West Allis Teile für Dampfturbinen für die beiden früheren Konkurrenten General Electric und Westinghouse Electric. 1965 übernahm man mit Simplicity Manufacturing einen Hersteller von motorisierten Gartengeräten. Von Simplicity hatte man bereits seit 1961 Kleintraktoren und Schneefräsen bezogen und unter dem eigenen Markennamen verkauft.Allis Chalmers entstand als Allis-Chalmers Company 1901 durch den Zusammenschluss der vier Unternehmen Edward P. Allis & Company (Milwaukee), Fraser & Chalmers (Chicago), Gates Iron Works (Chicago) und der Dickson Manufacturing (Scranton). Geschäftsführer des neuen Unternehmens wurde Charles Allis, sein Bruder William wurde Vorsitzender des Board of Directors und stellvertretender Geschäftsführer wurde William J. Chalmers. Bereits kurze Zeit nach dem Zusammenschluss errichtete man eine neue Fabrik in North Greenfield, das aufgrund dieser Fabrik 1902 in West Allis umbenannt wurde. 1904 trat Charles Allis aufgrund einer Erkrankung seiner Frau von seinem Posten zurück. Im selben Jahr pachtete man die Bullock Electric Company, die man im Folgejahr aufkaufte. 1905 begann man mit der Herstellung von Dampfturbinen. Aufgrund wirtschaftlicher Schwierigkeiten musste das Unternehmen 1912 Gläubigerschutz beantragen. Als Insolvenzverwalter wurde Otto H. Falk bestellt. Die 1913 überstandene Zahlungsunfähigkeit wurde mit dem neuen Firmennamen Allis-Chalmers Manufacturing Company verdeutlicht, Vorstand des Unternehmens blieb Otto Falk.Die Edward P. Allis & Company entstand 1861, als Edward Phelps Allis die Reliance Works in Milwaukee erwarb. Das Unternehmen stellte Getreidemühlen, Mühlsteine und Sägemühlen her. Ab 1869 wurden auch Dampfmaschinen hergestellt. Nach Edward Allis’ Tod 1889 wurde das Unternehmen von seinen Söhnen Charles und William weitergeführt.Fraser & Chalmers wurde 1872 in Chicago von Thomas Chalmer und David R. Fraser gegründet. Das Unternehmen stellte überwiegend Bergbaumaschinen her. 1890 wurde in London eine Niederlassung gegründet.

Indem man die Patente von John Rust für dessen Baumwollernter lizenzierte, stieg Allis-Chalmers als dritter Hersteller neben International Harvester und John Deere in die Herstellung von Baumwollerntemaschinen ein. 1947 stellte Allis-Chalmers mit dem Roto-Baler einen Vorläufer der späteren Rundballenpresse vor, der bis 1967 hergestellt wurde. Ab 1949 bot Allis-Chalmers mit dem Modell G einen Geräteträger an.

Während des Zweiten Weltkrieges wurden überwiegend für den Krieg benötigte Maschinen hergestellt, wie etwa Raupen aus dem regulären Produktprogramm von Allis-Chalmers, aber auch Elektromotoren für U-Boote und extra entwickelte Fahrzeuge wie der M4, der M6 und der M7. Aber Allis-Chalmers war auch ein wichtiger Partner für das Manhattan-Projekt. 1978 übernahm man den Filterhersteller American Air Filter, an dem man zuvor schon mit 4,9 % beteiligt gewesen war. Diesen Bereich verkaufte man zehn Jahre später an Snyder General. 1980 übernahm man mit Hartman Metal Fabricators ein Unternehmen aus dem Bereich Lagertechnik. 1983 verkaufte man Simplicity an die Wesray Capital Corporation. Allis-Chalmers war ein US-amerikanischer Maschinenbaukonzern aus Wisconsin. Der Geschäftsbereich Landmaschinen (AGCO-Allis) war eine Marke der AGCO-Corporation, wird aber nicht mehr verwendet.

Als es 1960 zu einem Kartellverfahren gegen 29 Unternehmen der US-amerikanischen Elektro- und Kraftwerksindustrie (darunter Westinghouse Electric, General Electric, Square D, Cutler-Hammer, Allen-Bradley, Ingersoll Rand und H. K. Porter) und 45 Manager dieser Unternehmen wegen illegaler Preisabsprachen kam, bekannte sich Allis-Chalmers schuldig. Im anschließenden Verfahren wurden der Konzern und drei seiner Manager zu Geldstrafen verurteilt. 1931 wurde Advance-Rumely übernommen, ebenso erwarb man in diesem Jahr den Bereich für elektrische Schaltgeräte von der US-amerikanischen Tochter von Brown Boveri. 1932 erwarb man die Ryan Manufacturing Company, wodurch man die Produktpalette um Grader erweitern konnte. Im selben Jahr gab Otto Falk den Vorstandsposten an Max Babb ab, blieb aber weiterhin Vorsitzender des Board of Directors. 1933 wurde mit dem WC ein Traktor vorgestellt, der sich zu einem Bestseller entwickeln sollte; bis Produktionsende 1948 wurden 178.000 Stück davon verkauft. 1935 stellte man mit dem All-Crop eine Baureihe von gezogenen Mähdreschern vor. 1938 wurde mit der HD-14 die erste Raupe aus der neuen HD-Serie vorgestellt. Die Modelle der HD-Serie besaßen Dieselmotoren von Detroit Diesel anstelle der in den bisherigen Modellen verwendeten Benzinmotoren.[/su_high
light]Nach einem Management-Buyout im Jahr 1990 wurden zunächst weiter Deutz-Traktoren importiert, diese wurden jedoch wieder orange lackiert und unter dem Markennamen AGCO-Allis verkauft. Die folgenden, neuen Allis-Traktoren wurden bei Same eingekauft, deren US-Geschäft AGCO vorher schon übernommen hatte (bis 1998). Der Markenname AGCO-Allis wurde 2001 zugunsten der neuen Marke AGCO eingestellt.

1912 begann man bei Allis-Chalmers mit der Entwicklung von Traktoren. Bereits 1914 konnte das Unternehmen mit dem dreirädrigen Modell 10-18 seinen ersten Traktor vorstellen. 1915 schrieb man erstmals seit der Insolvenz wieder schwarze Zahlen. 1928 wurde mit dem Allis-Chalmers Model 6-12 ein Traktor mit zwei großen, angetriebenen Vorderrädern und zwei kleineren, gelenkten Hinterrädern vorgestellt. Dieser blieb jedoch nicht lange auf dem Markt, denn er stellte eine Patentverletzung des Universal Tractor der Moline Plow Company dar. In den 1920er Jahren kaufte Allis-Chalmers mehrere andere Firmen auf, u. a. 1926 Nordyke Marmon & Company, 1927 die Pittsburgh Transformer Company und 1928 die Monarch Tractor Company. Ab 1929 wurden die Traktoren orange lackiert. Im selben Jahr wurde mit der Produktion des Universal für die United Tractor and Equipment Corporation, eine Vereinigung von Fordson-Händlern, begonnen. Der Universal wurde bis 1930 sowohl von der United Tractor and Equipment Corporation als auch von Allis-Chalmers als Model U vertrieben. Das Model U wurde bis 1952 hergestellt, anfangs mit einem Continental-Motor und ab 1932 mit einem Motor von Allis-Chalmers.

Here’s the first 8050 Scott sold for Eugene. It was a nice tractor for sure, with about 6100 original hours on a working meter. Clean interior, straight sheet metal, and most all the options, too! Well worth the $34,000 hammer price!

The Farm Crisis was just picking up speed when A-C launched the tractors in Reno. By the time they actually got to dealer lots a few months later, it was as if the world had pretty much come undone. Unemployment was absurdly high, and inflation was through the roof. Interest rates got to nearly 21% during the early 80s!

Here’s the thing: The 8000 series and the worst of times kind of happened at the same time. If I’m being objective(ish) about this, these two stories need to be told together.Hi! I’m Ryan, and I love tractors. It doesn’t matter if it’s a showpiece, an oddball, or seen its share of life … if it’s unique and it’s listed by one of our auctioneer partners at Tractor Zoom, I’m going to show it off a little bit! This equipment is all up for auction RIGHT NOW so you can bid on it. I think it’s cool, and I hope you will too! This is Interesting Iron!

Inside, the cab was quite roomy and spacious. A-C’s marketing people touted that it had 38% more room and better visibility, too. Less blind spots are always nice.

UPDATE: This Allis-Chalmers 8050 sold for a whopping $36,000. It set a new record by $1,000, which incidentally was held by the last A-C 8050 the Leerhoff family consigned through Wrightz Auction Co. in December 2021.Allis was a heavily diversified company, and they had been since day one. They had business units involved in everything from farm and construction equipment to mining, power generation, and heavy electrical components, the whole works. Over time, they refined their focus and sold off or partnered with other companies. I feel like they were still stretched pretty thin. Furthermore, while they were always a competitor, they never really held the top spot in any of their areas of business. Quite frankly, it’s hard enough to build a mega-business to specialize in one product line, let alone a bunch of them.

When the first of the all-new 7000 series tractors rolled out of West Allis for the 1973 model year, dealers jumped in with both feet and pushed pretty hard. The Acousta Cab was a major development for Allis, as I believe it was their first true factory cab, and it was a pretty big selling point for those tractors.

The cab layout was simple and effective, and personally, I think it’s aged fairly well — at least as well as most anything else of the era. One thing I was surprised to learn is that there are a few guys who have adapted a buddy seat to these tractors. I’m fairly sure the seat in the one I saw came from a later-model Deere.Fortunately, the 8000 series didn’t carry that cab over. Instead, farmers got a great big new box to sit in. It had big doors — 40 inches wide at the beltline — and yes, I said doors (plural). As much as John Deere fans love to talk about their cabs being outstanding, it is more convenient to be able to get in the tractor from either side.

I talked to Scott Wright, the auctioneer who’s handling Monday’s sale, about this tractor a day or two ago. He told me this is probably one of the nicest Allis-Chalmers 8000 series tractors he’s ever sold. Incidentally, the only one that might have been nicer was a carbon copy of this one with a third less hours and a newer interior, and it belonged to the same farmer: Eugene Leerhoff. It sold last December at Scott’s end of the year consignment auction for $34,000, which is definitely in the top 5% to 10% of auction prices for these tractors.

When they debuted the 8000 series to their dealers in Reno in late 1981, they really put the spotlight on two major selling points to address those issues: the cab and a power front axle.

If I’m not mistaken, the Allis-Chalmers 8000 series tractors were the first ones available with MFWD, aside from about a hundred 220s. According to their marketing people, it made the tractor 20% more efficient in the field because it drastically cut down on slippage. It was definitely a popular option, too. I don’t know what the breakdown was across the model lineup as far as MFWD vs. 2WD sold, but when I checked in our Iron Comps database, about 70% of the records we have are for MFWD tractors.

At the end of the day, the stuff that needs attention on this 8050 is all pretty minor. Winter project-type/weekend-type stuff. All it really needs is a farmer to put it to work.When I talked with Scott, he’s hoping for $34,000 out of it like the last 8050 he sold for Eugene. I think that’s about right, too. While the tractor does have more hours on the frame, it only has 1,000 hours on a new motor.

In my opinion, the Allis-Chalmers 8000 series tractors were a good mid-range tractor — maybe some of their best. Certain models had their issues, that’s true, but overall, they were good machines. That said, they ALL suffered from one fatal flaw: bad timing. We’ll get into that in a minute, but let’s get the auction details out of this sweet A-C 8050 selling in a few days!

The 8000 series Allis was a fresh take on the 7000 series, with lots of features and enhancements, and one very major upgrade — the cab. Hit the photo to see more photos of this one as well as a link to bid on it. This is a pretty darn nice tractor!Allis-Chalmers seemed to hit its stride in the late 60s with the 100 Series tractors. The 190XTs sold like hotcakes, and when the 210 and 220 were added to the lineup as the big horses in 1970, they sold well too. Still, the line was getting a little long in the tooth, and dealers wanted a shiny new toy to sell so they could compete with Harvester’s 66-series and Deere’s Sound Gards.Honestly, I wouldn’t be terribly surprised if it went a little higher than Scott’s number. As many of you are well aware, wild and crazy things have been known to happen at live auctions. If two bidders start to get after it a little and there’s an internet bidder involved, who knows where it will end up. It will be a fun one to watch! I might do just that if I can sneak out of the office for part of the day!

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Anyway, to make a long story short, the 7000 series tractors sold throughout the 70s and into the early 80s. Back home in Michigan, I know there’s at least one or two families in my neck of the woods who farmed pretty exclusively orange when I was growing up. I’ll bet they still have one or two of these sitting in the shed.

Experience Ryan grew up on a fruit growing operation in West Michigan. Since moving to Iowa in 2002, he’s developed his marketing and communication skills in technology, commercial printing, and motorsports photography and social media. Since 2019, Ryan has built and managed Tractor Zoom’s social media channels, and really found his niche with storytelling. If you ask him, he’ll tell you that he gets paid to play with tractors on the internet all day. At the end of the day, Ryan believes that every tractor has a story to tell. Whether it’s entertaining, inspiring, or educational (or a combo of all three), there’s always a story to tell. Accomplishments Contributing author – John Deere Evolution Education BS in Elementary Ed. (Math & History) from Central Michigan University in 2002

For farmers, it was even worse. After a couple of very good years as far as yields go, grain exports tanked due to the Soviet embargo. While 1981 was the peak year in the 80s for grain exports, it would drop nearly 20% over the following two years and continue to slide until 1987 when Reagan lifted the restrictions. Furthermore, farmland values absolutely tanked for years (nearly 60%, depending on where you farmed in the Midwest), causing so many foreclosures that it’s painful to even think about.

Was Allis-Chalmers a good tractor?

In my opinion, the Allis-Chalmers 8000 series tractors were a good mid-range tractor — maybe some of their best. Certain models had their issues, that’s true, but overall, they were good machines. That said, they ALL suffered from one fatal flaw: bad timing.

The Acousta Cab design was a double-edged sword, as far as I’m concerned (and this is just me talking). Yes, they were quiet. They tested quieter than a Sound Gard, in fact.

It’s been very well-maintained, too. Eugene rattled off a list as long as your arm (including dates) of things that had been done to keep it in good shape. I tried to take notes but furious scribbling was of little use — I couldn’t keep up. However, here are the most recent important highlights, as far as I’m concerned: It’s got about 1,000 hours on a new motor (2015), new batteries just over a year ago, new filters and new seals on the injection pump this past May, and a new cable for the park pawl in June. The rubber is fairly fresh as well (The duals are pretty well worn, but they’ll hold air.). He also told me he’d had it repainted a few years ago.Honestly, this tractor has a lot going for it. It’s clean as a whistle. It’s in great mechanical shape. It’s got good rubber, and the interior is very clean as well. A cab kit wouldn’t hurt. I’m sure the foam could use replacement, and there’s a spot where the headliner is loose, but the seat isn’t super chewed up like you often see when it comes to tractors of this era. The A/C has been converted to R134a already, so you won’t have to mess with that either. It’s also got a full rack of 14 weights.

In summary, they really were good tractors — especially the 8050s, as it didn’t stretch the 426 beyond its limits. So long as they haven’t been beaten to death and have been relatively well-maintained, they’re still pretty solid workhorses today, too! (I’m sure I’ll get flamed for that 426 comment by some of the diehard Allis guys, but you guys all know good and well that they make 8.3 Cummins repower kits for a reason, and it isn’t because there’s a shortage of 426 blocks out there. Just saying.)

Furthermore, while the interior isn’t quite as perfect as the one from late last year, it’s got a full rack of weights and duals included in the sale. The December tractor didn’t have either of those things.

What year was the Allis-Chalmers CA made?

The Allis-Chalmers Model C was a small row-crop tractor manufactured by Allis-Chalmers from 1940 to 1949.

Like I said, the interior on this tractor is REALLY clean. The armrests could use attention, but it’s not like you need them in order to use the tractor.Title: Social Media Strategist & Interesting Iron, Tractor Zoom Resides In: West Des Moines, IA Hometown: Fremont, MI Education: Central Michigan University Expertise: Social Media, motorsports, and ag-related storytelling Summary  The Allis-Chalmers 8000 was a good tractor. It had a comfortable cab, tight turn radius, and was pretty powerful. It just launched during one of the worst periods in American history. At the end of the day (and this is just my opinion, take it with appropriate measures of salt), nothing could have saved that company. The Allis-Chalmers 8000 series could have been the greatest tractor on the planet — indestructible, powerful, affordable, with a cab that rode like a Lexus, and the outcome still wouldn’t have changed. They still would have ended up folding. The combination of the Farm Crisis plus the tenuous position that A-C held with the other business units… it was all too much. Nothing could have saved them. I say that with no judgment whatsoever.Eugene told me he’s the second owner of this 12-speed power shift 8050. He bought it at a farm auction in Cuba City, Wisconsin, in 1996. I believe he told me that at the time, it had 3,600 hours on it. Since then, it’s done lots of things at their farm — everything from snow removal to moldboard plowing. Most recently, it’s seen the most duty pulling a chopper for haylage. Honestly, the tractor has had an easy life over the past few years. That whole “worst of times” thing up above? That was real. Quite frankly, the Allis-Chalmers 8000 series tractors literally couldn’t have been launched at a worse time in American history. To me, they look awfully cramped. The Allis guys have all assured me I’ll fit (I’m a big guy.) and it won’t feel like that scene in Tommy Boy where Chris Farley puts on David Spade’s suit jacket. Someday I’m going to put their reassurances to the test. When I do, I’ll have somebody take a video of me getting in and out. I might look like a contortionist getting in (or not), but either way, it’ll probably be entertaining TikTok content!Here’s a 7000 series I wrote about back in November 2021. This one has a neat story behind it. Hit the photo to read it. Green Real Estate & Auction hammered this tractor home for $17,000, which I believe is the highest auction price in about twenty years! The 190XT was a terrific seller, but by the early 70s, dealers needed something new and snazzy to compete in the marketplace. Allis answered the call with the all-new 7000 series. Sidebar: Ever wonder how they make cabs look so huge in photos like that? It’s not Photoshop wizardry. It was all in the camera setup. The photographer who took that picture used a super wide-angle lens to make the cab look so wide and expansive. If you have a newer iPhone, you can do it, too. Try using the 0.5 lens next time you take a picture. It’ll do the same thing. I’m not an Android guy, but I’d imagine you could do the same thing with an Android.

Manages Tractor Zoom’s social media presence and email marketing Writes Tractor Zoom’s Interesting Iron blog Promotes diesel motorsports (mainly truck & tractor pulling) Avid photographer

It turns out Eugene is a third generation dairy farmer who’s in the process of slowing down a little. His sons Kurt and Kevin (and their families) have taken on most of the management duties of their 80-head milking operation and row crop acres, but Eugene still sets his alarm to 3 a.m. to help with morning milking.A-C’s top brass knew the market was evolving rapidly, and their competitors were continually freshening up designs and introducing new features to remain competitive. Allis hadn’t always done a lot of that. Not that they weren’t keeping up with Harvester and Deere, but they seemed to hang on to designs a little longer. Furthermore, farmers were starting to look for more comfort and efficiency in the field, as they were spending more time there than ever before. The list only includes the numbers of the first tractors produced in each year. Your serial should be somewhere between two numbers.Unless you happen to be the first person to own a tractor, your number will not appear on the list. Allis Chalmers Belarus CaseIH Challenger (a part of AGCO) Claas Deutz-Fahr Fendt Fiat Ford Hinomoto International Harvester Iseki J.I. Case John Deere Kioti (a part of Daedong) Kubota Lamborghini Landini LS Mahindra Massey Ferguson Massey Ferguson (a part of AGCO) McCormick Intl (a part of Argo) Mitsubishi New Holland Renault SAME Schluter Shibaura Zetor

Every tractor has a VIN number. The number is usually engraved below the driver’s seat. Tractor manufacturers put the number in different places on the tractor body.