Combines Gleaner plant

[lbran]

life does go on!

 

[johnboy]

i feel sad lbran. it's like hearing that the dance hall where you got your first kiss is getting pulled down. my first combine was a C2 gleaner out of that plant. john

 

[SilverTurnedGreen]

The "silver lining" to this whole scenerio is brand survival. The Coldwater and Independence plant closings are very unfortunate. No doubt, jobs and heritage will take a kicking, but at least the brands will survive.

 

[Brand]

Tbran: How much longer can we continue to attempt to justify some of AGCO's actionsIJ When they closed the Ohio plant we heard that it was OK because we were going to see some great new things with the 9700 Allis tractors. In reality they have not even introduced a 2WD version of that tractor yet. Where are all the great new thingsIJ By the way, where are the 9700's made nowIJ Now, when the Independence plant is going to be closed we hear again that good new things are to come. I think we all must accept the fact that AGCO is on a slow decline out of the equipment business. Yes, someone will buy the Gleaner name and design and continue to make them, but that won't happen with the Allis tractors. Some of the things AGCO has done should result in them going out of business. They can't even produce a tractor that equals what AC had almost 20 years ago. They are trying to incorporate Massey "technology" into the large tractors, and in the US there is not a company with a worse reputation than Massey when it comes to large tractors. I will admit that AGCO has done some good things with the Gleaner combines. In fact, I still almost think of Gleaner as a separate entity, since they still were manufactured in the same plant they were when AC had them. Now, though, that is about to go by the wayside. Hopefully I'm all wrong in my impressions of AGCO, but it all seems to be set in stone to me.

 

[SilverTurnedGreen]

I've mentioned this once before within this forum, and received a little flack for it. But, here I go again, saying that (as far as I'm concerned) AGCO is a marketing company, not an innovator. Yes, they've done well with the Gleaner, but I'm sure many of those improvements were on the drawing board long before AGCO became to be. I come from a strong "orange" heritage, but as my name implies, my machinery line is becoming increasingly greener, and NOT because Deere builds "such terrific" farm equipment, but because Deere seems to be (at least) stable and constant. My latest acquisition has been a Gleaner C62 combine, and I really like the combine, but this design concept (I'm told) evolved years before they discontinued the l and M series; - again, before AGCO's fruitation. I'm in agreement with most anything AGCO must do to survive, but I agree with you, Brandon, that one has to wonder what they'll do next. They're basically out of plants to close.

 

[lbran]

AGCO has the ability to cut the cost of producing it's products by reducing their overhead. Would you buy two tractors when you would only ever use oneIJ Same here. Why pay for two plants when you only need one to produce it. The fact is, no one ever likes changes, and I'm sure you don't do everything farming like you did 30 yrs ago, and the same applies to everything else.

 

[MASSEY_MAN]

Did you ever notice that all of Masseys plants in Europe are still operating and are now building all the White and Allis tractors there.There are changes on the horizon!

 

[tbran]

I feel your pain.... bad choice of phrases.... I cannot justify any of the stuff AGCO has done. Measurements come from many aspects. If your yardstick is innovation, profit, survivability, marketshare, quality, (excuse the spellings) total dollar of sales , etc. one will have different reports for agco. As machines become more productive there will be fewer sold. There are fewer farmers each year. It is a rapidly changing market. Historians a hundred years from now will look on the 80's-2010's and point out the devastation - roller coaster - ride of ag production in the N. Americas. Agco's greatest challenge is to develope a dealer network in N America that can increase market share. How can a dealer network improve itself without profitIJ The last cost of business survey of dealers showed a bloodbath of red ink. Hunker down, survive, live to fight another day is the strategy. The tale of the tape will be when AGCO returns to profitability... Thats when I will judge them....

 

[SilverTurnedGreen]

Yes, I've noticed that the Allis and White tractors mimic the Massey line; - they have for a couple of years now. I welcome change; - change can be a good thing, but from a North American venue, there isn't much left of AGCO. While the Massey plants have survived in Europe, they haven't in other parts of the world. In fact, is there even ONE tractor built in North America under the AGCO banner, anymoreIJ Perhaps the AGCOSTAR, I'm not sure.

 

[gunner]

Once i did a report on gleaner combine. You should look at the things that the baldwin bothers made. When the baldwin brother's idea took off, they built the plant. Then AC bought them and so on. They built the first selfpropled combines in a shop in Wichita KS. It is sad deal but things don't run forever.