This year marks a milestone for a name that we all know and love. It was 150 years ago that a young Scottish immigrant bought interest in a foundry that would become the foundation for one of the major farm equipment industries of the nineteenth and twentieth century.

By: Landis Zimmerman

The first OC-12 diesel crawlers actually rolled off the assembly line at the Oliver Corporation in Cleveland, Ohio in late 1954. However, the OC-12 gas model didn’t make its appearance until 1955.

During the 1960's, “top sales” was the name of the game. Companies would market about any piece of equipment that they could sell. Every customer that walked though the dealership had a piece of land. And on every piece of land, there was a yard that needed mowed. Tractor manufacturers realized that if they could sell a customer a tractor, they could most likely sell him a lawn mower too.

All through the history of tractors, the main question would be, “How much can it pull or What can it pull”. I guess with horses it may have been – how easy does it pull. In NE that question had to be answered before a tractor could be sold in the state. Also answered were many other questions when the tractor was tested at Lincoln, NE, test track. This being fuel economy and if there were any problems during testing. These tests became the basis for model comparisons of all the tractors being made to this day.

While Oliver was better known for its agricultural line, their industrial models have a place in the history books too. The model 80 Industrial is one of those that has little published information about it. Most information that has been printed about it is incorrect.

By: Landis Zimmerman

It’s wintertime and snow has fallen here in eastern Pennsylvania. The driveway has been opened by our Cockshutt OC-4 and its efficient Anderson 6-way hydraulic dozer blade. When snow falls, very few pieces of equipment rival the surefootedness of a crawler tractor for snow removal. However, snow can present its own share of undercarriage problems. Most of these problems are totally absent when doing typical dirt work.

One hundred years ago the dump rake was a modern piece of farm equipment. Today they are simply yard ornaments adorning many a flower garden.

As I write this in late November, I have to say that we have been blessed again in 2004. We are privileged to live in the greatest country in the world. This year the crops have produced record yields.

Red, Green, Orange, Blue or even Purple!