Machinery giant Case IH is heralding a year of celebrations to mark its 175th anniversary.
Jerome Increase Case established Racine Threshing Machine Works in 1842 to build a machine to speed up the separation of grain after harvest and in 1869 manufactured the first steam engine horse drawn ‘tractor’ used to power other machines.
A self propelled traction engine followed and the company became the world’s largest producer of steam engines by 1886.
In 1902, five companies merged to form the International Harvester Company in Chicago, Illinois.
The company produced its first harvester in 1915 and in 1923 introduced the Farmall, the world’s first row-crop tractor.
Providing greater productivity, reliability and safety, it was a revolutionary unified system of tractors and implements for plowing, cultivating and harvesting.
International Harvester sold more than five million Farmall tractors and, in 1977, launched the Axial-Flow rotary harvester.
Case IH was formed in 1985 when J. I. Case acquired the agricultural division of International Harvester, uniting Case and IH into a single brand.
Its first product, the Magnum tractor was introduced in 1987 and the Quadtrac in 1996.
Continuously variable transmission technology was launched in 2000 and an Autonomous Tractor Concept was unveiled in 2016.
The company counts its precision farming suite, Advanced Farming Systems and Tier 4 Final emission standards as key achievements.
“The Case IH 175th Anniversary is a testament to many years of quality, perseverance and progress,” Case IH Brand President, Andreas Klauser, said.