Early history of two-wheel tractors / power tillers

Germany

In 1910 Dr. Konrad von Meyenburg of Basel, Switzerland, applied for a patent for a “Machine for Mechanical Tillage” Patent Number 1,018,843 was granted on February 27, 1912. He then licensed his patent to Siemens-Schuckertwerke of Berlin, Germany. Siemens an electrical manufacturer built their first two-wheel tractor with rotovator Bodenfräse (rotovator or literally soil grinder) using an electric motorized two-wheel tractor and a long extension cord in 1911. The idea was quickly abandoned and Siemens began using two and four cycle single cylinder internal combustion engines to power their two-wheel tractors. Around 1932 Siemens sold off its cultivator division and focus on its electrical applications. Mr. Eberhard Bungartz of Munich, Germany a trailer manufacturer purchased the division in 1934 with all patents, parts, and machinery and went into production using the Bungartz name.

United States

Mando “Steve” Ariens, having just taken over the reins of his fathers’ Brillion Iron Co had to declare bankruptcy in 1932 at the height of the American Depression. In 1933, in his father Henry’s garage and Steve’s basement he and his father developed first Ariens Rotary Tiller, a 30″ tiller, powered by a front-mounted four-cylinder, V-type, 14 hp engine.

In 1930 Cadwallader Washburn “Carl” Kelsey an automobile manufacturer, was introduced to the rototiller by H.B. Hiller a German immigrate who once worked for Siemens’ “boden frasen” division. Kelsey opened a sales office using the name Rototiller Co. on Broadway in New York City. He then started importing Siemens boden frasen from Germany. In 1932, Kelsey incorporated using the new company name Rototiller, Inc. and the “Rototiller” trademark (Kelsey didn’t coin the name ‘Rototiller’ it was already being used in Europe). The operation was moved to Long Island City, NY. and SIMAR from Switzerland was added to the line. Carl Kelsey designed, patented and made several improvements to the SIMAR and Siemens machines because of the different American soils versus the European soil that had been farmed for many more centuries. One major improvement was a shock absorber to reduce tine spring return bounce. In 1934 Kelsey and Rototiller, Inc. introduced its first rotary tiller of its own design, the Model AA All-American. And in 1937 Rototiller, Inc. moved from its Long Island City facility to 102nd Street and 9th Avenue in Troy, New York. In 1945 after selling the larger B-series Rototillers and trademark to Graham-Paige Motors, Rototiller, Inc. converted to full time production of various models of small horsepower home garden size rototillers. In quick succession in 1959 and 1960, Rototiller, traded hands from Porter Cable Company of Syracuse, N.Y. (and was eventually moved to Syracuse) and then by Rockwell Manufacturing Co. of Pittsburgh in 1960. The rear-tine rototiller business continued to decline and Porter-Cable sold its Rototiller and small engine division to Moto-Mower Division (Richmond, Indiana) of the Dura Corp. of Detroit (formerly Detroit Harvester) according to a May 10, 1962 article in the Richmond Palladium-Item & Sun-Telegram. In 1961 Rototiller, Inc. and the Roto-Ette trademark disappeared.

As early as 1911 Benjamin Franklin Gravely of Charleston West Virginia began with connecting the Indian motorcycle to a manually operated push plow. In 1916 he incorporated and after obtaining partners and began producing single-wheel tractors and attachments under the name Gravely Tractors. The Model “D” Gravely Power plow like the prototype, was a single wheeled affair, with a 2 horsepower, air cooled engine. It wasn’t until 1937 that Gravely introduced the Model L two wheeled tractor with a 5 horsepower engine. Gravely to this day continues making a wide range of two-wheel tractors concentrating on commercial lawn and garden implements and is a division of Ariens.

In 1915, Rush Hamilton of Healdsville, California, invented the concept of “grouser” drive wheels for his tractor which came with an articulated two iron-wheeled sulky to which wagons or plows could be attached. It was about this time that he formed the Hamilton Tractor Co. About 10 years later, the wheels were called “Hamilton wheels” when used on a Fordson. In 1916 he joined the Fageol Motors Co. where he assisted in the development of the Fageol tractor.

Early history of two-wheel tractors in Asia

Japan

Japanese entrepreneurs began to indigenously design and manufactured two-wheel tractors in the early 1920s. According to Francks (1996) an Okayama farmer Nishizaki Hiroshi (b. 1897) was returning from the WWI determined not to walk behind his father’s draft animals and began experimenting with attaching a plow to the newly available small horsepower kerosene engines that farmers were beginning to use for pumping water and threshing. Nishazaki saw a Swiss made garden tractor (? SIMAR ?- Société Industrielle de Machines Agicoles Rotatives ) being demonstrated through a Japanese government technology demonstration initiative in a nearby village (The Japanese agent of the Swiss machine company stopped importing by 1925 as the machine reportedly proved not capable of handling Japanese heavy rice soils). By 1926 Nishizaki had made his first version from diesel powered engine connected by a belt to rotating blades mounted on a wooden frame with two wheels. Soon he began renting it out to neighbors. And as with all good ideas soon local multiple small workshops entered the scene producing various versions. By 1938 there were 22 manufacturers in Japan with 17 of them in Okayama. By 1939 there were over 2800 two-wheel tractors/rotovators in use in Japan. But by the early 1940s nearly half of all the machines were out of commission due to lack of quality and spare parts. After WWII small 2-wheel tractors were imported from the United States and were mainly intended for use in transportation/pulling carts and small trailers. As these gained popularity many Japanese manufacturers “…taking hints gleaned from foreign machines…” started production using the American as their initial model (Francks 1996: 789).

Farmers quickly found that 2-wheel tractors were more economical to use, as compared to keeping animals for tillage and 2-wheel tractors began selling widely. Agricultural machinery dealers received cattle for the barter for tractors and they and in turn sold the cattle in the meat market. Average tractor horsepower per hectare in 1950 was nearly zero. This average grew to 0.86 PS per hectare within ten years with the rapid spread of 2-wheel tractors. Trailer attachments were also being widely utilized for transportation.

Matsuyamasuki, presently known as Niplo brand, invented the Japanese style mold board plow to be attached to 2-wheel tractor, that made plowing with a moldbard possible with 2.5 horsepower tractors.

Though four-wheel “riding” tractors began to spread in 1960s, and are taking over primary tillage operations, 2-wheel tractors are still popular in Japan for primary tillage and inter-cultivation in vegetable production, transportation around the farm, etc. Most farm households that own a 4-wheel tractor also own at least one 2-wheel tractor.

India

Interest in two-wheel tractors in India began with special government programs in the 1960s that aided in setting up multiple joint ventures with Japanese two-wheel tractor manufacturers. Initial government prospects for two-wheel tractors was very high (targets were set at 100,000 two-wheel tractors sold per year by mid-1970s). To meet these expectations the Government of India expanded its efforts to include government subsidies, and greatly increased research, development and extension programs for two-wheel tractors. Despite these efforts two-wheel tractor adoption has been disappointing. Especially so when current number of two-wheel tractors estimated at 100,000 are compared with neighboring Sri Lanka’s and Bangladesh’s two-wheel tractor populations of 120,000 and 400,000 respectively- countries that are a fraction the size of India but with very similar agricultural and socio-economic systems. There have been many reasons offered and even official investigations into the low adoption rates. One main reason given here is that prices of the joint venture Indian-Japanese two-wheel tractors are twice as expensive as compared to the nearly identical Chinese made two-wheel tractors available in Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.

Indian manufactures that did not survive are: JK Satoh Agricultural Machinery Ltd. a collaboration between JK Cotton Spinning and Weaving Mills Ltd (based in Kanpur, UP) and Satoh Agricultural Machinery Ltd., Japan, began production of two-wheel tractors in a plant with a capacity of 6000 units per year but from its beginning in 1972 till closure of the plant in 1977 only produced and sold 800 units.

Bangladesh

History of two-wheel tractors began with efforts in the late 1970s to promote Japanese imported two-wheel tractors. Adoption remained low through most of the 1980s. In 1987 a large cyclone killed much of the livestock and bullock population. With no prospect timely restoration the bullock population the government began to allow what they once considered inferior quality Chinese two-wheel tractors to be imported to aid in fulfilling farmers land preparation needs. Chinese two-wheel tractors were 50% less cost than the comparable Japanese or Indian manufactured two-wheel tractors and adoption quickly increased, to over 100,000 by 1993, 200,000 by late 1990s and some current estimates put the number at well over 300,000 Chinese two-wheel tractors. Though there has been some criticism on the high cost of imports, others have noted that there is now a very large spare parts industry in support of the Chinese imports.

Thailand

Two-wheel tractor with trailer in Thailand (2004)

The unique long handled “Thai” type two-wheel tractor, was developed in the late 1950′s by M.R. Debriddhi Devakul (M.R. stands for Mom Rajawong, meaning that his great grandfather was the King of Thailand, and that he could be properly addressed as “Prince”), head of the Engineering Division of the Thai Rice Department, of the Thai Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives. The long handles were made for turning the tractor more easily in wet rice fields. Initially, the tractor had no differential or steering clutches and the engines were kerosene pumping engines. As the popularity of the tractor became obvious (known as the “Iron Buffalo”) three Japanese firms set up diesel engine factories in Thailand with agreements to progressively increase local content, which is now nearly 100%. Kubota was the most successful of these three. The tractor was made by many local workshops - everyone copying from each other - and competing for sales to the point that the tractor without engine was very inexpensive, about one third to one half the cost of the engine. Attachments were moldboard and disc plows, harrows, trailed type rotary puddlers (lateral drums with protruding paddles), and trailers. The tractor eventually evolved into a more complex standard “NC” model with three gears forward, one reverse, and steering clutches. Until recently (2010) the Thai models had no PTO but many farmers used v-belts to connect the stationary tractor engine to power water pumps, etc. A new NC Plus model offered by Siam Kubota now comes with a PTO and rotary tiller. The tractors are still made by several Thai companies but recently inexpensive Chinese made NC models have come on to the market. Through the 1980s and 1990s more than 50,000 tractors were reportedly being produced and sold each year.

Elsewhere

China has the highest numbers that are estimated to approach 10 M, Thailand has nearly 3 M, Sri Lanka 120,000, Nepal 15,000. Parts of Africa have begun importing Chinese tractors and Nigeria may have close to 1,000. Southern Germany, northern and southern Italy, and many countries of central Europe also have significant populations of 2-wheel tractors.

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