Birth of machinery giant Minneapolis-Moline

Picking up where the article in the newsletter left off...

In the early 1950s, Minneapolis-Moline bought B.F. Avery Company of Louisville, Kentucky, which traced its roots back to 1825. With its line of smaller tractors and southeastern dealer network, the Avery products complemented the M-M line. During the Korean War, Minneapolis-Moline again built artillery shells, and produced militarized versions of their already successful industrial tractors. Diesel versions of the Models U and G were made.

After that war Minneapolis-Moline reaffirmed its position as a design pioneer by introducing its Uni-System. The Uni-Tractor was a front-drive chassis, which was engineered to host a wide variety of harvesting machines including a corn picker-sheller, combine, baler, and forage harvester. This machine offered farmers that opportunity to own a self-propelled harvester without the extra cost of multiple engines and drives. The Uni design was later sold to New Idea.

In the 1960s Minneapolis-Moline also exchanged equipment with Massey-Ferguson. This included the Minneapolis-Moline Models GBD, G-VI, and G-705/6, which were cosmetically changed into Massey tractors. Also during the 1960s Minneapolis-Moline expanded their offering of construction equipment and manufactured crawlers, backhoe-loaders, forklifts, and paving machines.