Combines Allis experts Allis Chalmers Energy Corporation

[tbran]

We sat with Robert Ratliff and company around 1990. He told us AC wanted a cool million for the rights. They said they didn't see the return on investment. Turns out at the time they didn't have the money irregardless. Was it a mistake, who knows. They could use the word AllIS , it had to be used in a special way , no hypn - and not used first best I could remember. The triangle of Agco is as close to the AC triangle as they could get legally, and that was a stretch per the legal department. AG didn't sue - they didn't have the money either for a risky lawsuit. Agco was the Allis Gleaner COmpany. We gave them a lot of static because there were a lot of Ag Companies i.e. AgCo's. Who knows, Agco is now n 2 in world wide sales of ag equipment behind deere. (they are just behind case newholland in total sales but that is adding in the case construction dollars) To come that far in 16 years is not bad, if they had not made so many blunders, who knowsIJ But then again if I had not made so many stupid mistakes.....

 

[Harm]

Talk about stupid mistakes !!! tbran In the fall of 1987 I was digging my fist Ginseng crop of 1.25 acres. I had it sold for $234,000.00 1987 dollars. At 7% interest money doubles every 12 years,so you can figure that in todays dollars. Yes I thought I'd won the lottery. There were of course tax implications for such a profit. If I incorporated, that is, became a company instead of an individual farmer the tax was much less. So I did. But I needed to get the legal stuff done in a matter of three days. If I just became a corporate number that could happen under our Ontario laws. If I wanted to "register" as a named company ,which I did want, that would take three weeks. So I didn't do that BUT When I incorpoerated I could select a name to " carry on businness as" and that name was AGCO. But this was not now a "registered" name that no one else could use here. like Michigan, the auto industry is the n1 economic driver of Ontario, and close behind is agricuture,generating billions. So to make a long story short I could not say anything when Allis or whoever they are started using my company name. If I had of taken the time to register my name , well, maybe I'd just be farming for fun and be retired like all the guys I went to school with. But on the other hand they seem to be bored. I'm not, I'm to busy lookin after my crops. As for the ginseng IJ Well after China opened up it was cheaper for the buyers to finance Chinese plot farmers to grow it then buy it from North America (Wisconsin is the biggest US producer) and I will be planting my last crop this year. Sales are now about $36000_acre. About the cost of production. Cuda, Shuda,Whuda I think we will be competitive in grains for a long time as our technology,economy of scale, and marketing systems and quality assurances far surpass third world producers.