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Keeping Current With 64th
by Jason Hasert


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AGCO has a long tradition in farm equipment, including classic as well as modern brand names.
AGCO is a combination of Allis-Chalmers, Deutz-Allis and AGCO-Allis heritage
Gleaner is a famous combine brand that makes up part of the AGCO name: Allis-Gleaner Company
AGCO's White brand includes WFE (White Farm Equipment), Oliver, Minneapolis-Moline and Cockshutt
Massey Ferguson is an AGCO brand
AGCO builds Massey-Ferguson combines and tractors
Scale Models and Ertl have offered a variety of 1/64 AGCO heritage 4wds.
In December 2001 AGCO acquired the Caterpillar Challenger Tractor Line. Scale models makes the 1/64 tracked Challenger MT765 and Ertl offers the wheeled MT665 tractor.
Ertl and Mini-Toys have offered 1/64 Hesston farm toys. Today Ertl id offering both Hesston and Challenger Hay Tools
Ag-Chem is an AGCO brand. Ertl's first Ag-Chem 1/64 model was the 1254 Row Gator released in December 2000.
Today AGCO offers three main 1/64 tractors through Ertl: The AGCO DT225, Massey-Ferguson 8280 and Challenger MT665
 
All tractor companies have origins of interest. The most popular brands are AGCO, Case-New Holland and John Deere. Over the next three issues we will look at the history of the big three tractor companies through toys.

Up first is AGCO. The AGCO brand name stands for Allis-Gleaner Corporation. The company owns more brand names in the farm equipment industry than any other. Modern names under the AGCO umbrella include AGCO, Massey-Ferguson, Challenger, Fendt, Gleaner, Ag-Chem, Spay-Coupe. Wilmar, Sunflower, Hesston, New Idea. Brands of the past include Allis-Chalmers, Deutz-Allis, Agco-Allis, Massey-Harris, Oliver, Minneapolis-Moline, Cockshutt, White, WFE, AGCO-White and AGCO-Star. 

AGCO’s history is spread out over generations of farm equipment brands, mergers, and acquisitions. Through Scale Models and Ertl 1/64 toys we will explore the general modern history of the company from 1970-2005.

AGCO was created in 1990 by a management buy out lead by Robert Ratliff President and CEO of Deutz-Allis and four other executives. Robert Ratliff was hired by Deutz to help turn around the money losing Deutz-Allis farm equipment division. Deutz-Fhar purchased the 84 year old Allis-Chalmers brand in 1985. The new brand became Deutz-Allis. Early on AC orange tractors were re-decaled Deutz-Allis. Once the orange stock was depleted spring green German built Deutz tractors replaced the AC orange. The spring green color change devastated the company in a short four years. By 1990 Deutz-Allis dealers were struggling to sell Deutz-Allis tractors to long time Allis-Chalmers customers who wanted orange. Robert Ratliff was hired to turn around Deutz-Allis but he saw the problem was too deep. The company was bought out by its own management and the Allis-Gleaner Company was formed. The new AGCO company changed its colors back to orange and changed the tractor line name to AGCO-Allis. 

In 1991 AGCO had two big buys when it took over Hesston and White.  AGCO acquired the Hesston Corporation from Fait .  The Hesston acquisition was made possible because Fiat had just purchased the Ford Motors  FORD/New Holland Agricultural division.  Fiat under United States monopoly laws could not own the Hesston and New Holland hay equipment lines.  AGCO picked up a 50% share of Hay & Forage Industries (H&FI) that produced Hesston hay tools.   Case owned the other 50% of H&FI to produce CaseIH hay equipment.  AGCO would take control of 100% of H&FI when Fiat acquired CaseIH.  

White tractors had its beings in the early 1960's when the semi truck White Motor Company purchased the Oliver Corporation, the Canidain Cockshutt Company and Minneapolis-Moline .   White offered green, red and yellow tractors as separate divisions through 1969 when they were folded into a single entity under White Farm Equipment.  Oliver, Cockshutt and Minneapolis-Moline  were offered through 1974 with White name printed on the sheet metal of each brand.  In 1975 the three brands were replaced by silvery gray paint and the White name.   The new contemporary Field Boss tractor line looked to the future with no signs of the past.  During the 1970's White Motors fell into hard times due to poor truck sales.  White filed chapter 11 bankruptcy and sold the agricultural division to TIC Investment Corporation of Dallas Texas.  TIC renamed the tractor line WFE.   Another land lord took over White in 1985 when TIC filed bankruptcy.  The Chicago based Allied Corporation took over WFE and returned the White name to the tractor line.  New Idea was an Allied product and soon the ag equipment division was called White-New Idea.  In 1989 Deutz-Allis contracted with White-New Idea to build large horse power tractor power trains and cabs.  This relationship continued when AGCO formed from Deutz-Allis.    AGCO wanted more control of tractor production and in June 1991 Allied sold the White tractor line to AGCO.  The White-New Idea equipment line up joined AGCO in 1993.  AGCO-White tractors remained in production through 2000.  In 2001 AGCO consolidated the AGCO-Allis brand and AGCO-White brand into the AGCO brand.  The new AGCO tractors were Allis Orange with White silver decals highlighting two great tractor traditions.

AGCO took on the rights to the Massey Ferguson brand in 1993.  Massey-Ferguson is one of the best selling tractor brands world wide.  With the acquisition, AGCO had three solid tractor lines with AGCO-Allis, AGCO-White and Massey Ferguson.  In addition to AGCO Gleaner combines AGCO now had a new line of Massey-Ferguson Combines.
In 1995 AGCO re-entered the 4wd tractor market with the AGCO-Star brand.  This new name encompassed 26 years of 4wd heritage dating back to the 1969 White Plainsman, Oliver and Minneapolis-Moline 4wds.  The AGCO-Star was the first 425hp 4wd on the market and was painted in White silver and was decaled in AGCO-Allis orange.  The tractors design came from Massey-Ferguson 4wd engineering.

The year 2000 saw AGCO take over the well known chemical application company AG-Chem.  The Ag-Chem line opened up AGCO to fertilizer CO-OP's, custom applicators and large farmers.  Famous machines such as the Row-Gator and Terra-Gator offered AGCO a new equipment offering to add to its already well established hay & forage, tillage, planting and harvesting line. 

The most recent AGCO brand addition came in December 2001 with the purchase of the Caterpillar Challenger tractor line.  The tractor world was shocked when AGCO announced it would be taking over Challenger tractor production.  Caterpillar first introduced rubber tracked tractors in 1986.  The Challenger tractors built a strong reputation as a new option in the high horse power 4wd and 2wd row crop classes.  The Caterpillar Challenger line was turned over to AGCO so that CAT could focus on construction and so that an expanded line could be made available to CAT ag dealers.  AGCO expanded Challenger beyond tracks to include yellow painted AGCO/Massey-Ferguson wheeled tractors,  Massey-Ferguson combines and Hesston Hay Equipment.

AGCO has a rich history that includes many brands popular with 1/64 farm toy collectors.  Both Ertl and Scale Models have offered a wide variety of AGCO toys over the years.  Ertl offered 1/64 Allis-Chalmers toys from the 1970's through the 1980's.  Both Ertl and Scale Models offered Deutz-Allis and AGCO-Allis 1/64 replicas. Scale Models offered 1/64 White tractors through the 1980's and 1990's.  Ertl only produced a few White toys in the 1990's.  Ertl has produced several 1/64 Gleaner combines from 1986-1998.  Scale Models and Ertl have both offered 1/64 Massey-Ferguson combines.  Ertl and Scale Models have produced Massey-Ferguson 1/64 tractors at different times.  Ertl/Min-Toys have produced 1/64 Hesston hay equipment from 1984 to the present.  From December 2000 through March 2003 Ertl offered AG-Chem toys in 1/64. Today Ertl is offering modern AGCO, Massey-Ferguson and Challenger toys as well as classic Oliver, Minneapolis-Moline and Cockshutt tractors. Scale Models offers the modern 1/64 tracked Challenger as well as classic White 4wds from Minneapolis-Moline, Oliver and Plainsman.

There is a great selection of 1/64 AGCO toys from 1970-2005.  Almost all of them can be purchased from $3-$25.  Collectors are hoping to see more classic and modern AGCO toys in 2005 and beyond.  Items that are in the works from Ertl are a 1/64 Gleaner R-75/R-65 combine and a new1/64 classic range of White heritage 4wds.  Scale Models has a great range of 1/16 AGCO tractors that 1/64 collectors hope to see in their favorite scale.