A Corporate Tragedy

[hydroharry]

Dennis - thanks for the complement. I really appreciate that coming from you. The book doesn't really identify Marketing much that I recall, but that is the one part of an org that should really have a finger on their market/conditions/products/changes/economy. I don't expect they would normally know much about production costs/operations except to complain. And I agree about paying that dividend - seems they tried to hide behind it as an indication their were doing well.

Bill J - good question on the name. My impression is that Tenneco got the "IH" logo/name but maybe not the spelled out name International Harvester, especially since what was left kept International.

Wayne K - yes Bethlehem Steel is another one from that era. Sounds like another good book of how not to manage a corporation. Corporate bosses looking out for themselves wasn't exposed to much in the IH tragedy (book at least) but there was some and it certainly weighed on employee morale, unions, etc.

If any of you haven't read the IH Corporate Tragedy book and want to, make sure you e-mail Frank. I'm sending it back to him shortly.

 

[digger]

I find it odd that no one mentions Fiat in this mess.
Trying to deal with those pricks is a real joy to behold!
Considering they own CNH plus the IH name proper.

 

[dfrisk]

CHARLIE - I guess we're ALL trying to forget that little fact.

Fiat also ended up owning Ferrari back in 1969 when the attempts of FORD to buy Ferrari starting in 1964 were rejected.

But fast-forward to 2006 & 2007, and the two red Ferrari's competing at the US F1 Gran Prix both had "Case/IH" logo's proudly displayed on their nose, and also at the Canadian GP race those years too.

 

[nbartee]

Guys,

I, too, am reading this book, almost finished. Harry & Dennis are right on, excellent summation! A combination of bad management, bad timing, bad economy, mostly bad management and, like Harry said, not so much unions but I'm sure they added to its problems at an inopportune time.
They had it all and could have pulled it out, but guess it wasn't in the cards. Sad story in history. It kind of parallels my company in the same time frame, everybody searching for their core competency.

 

[hydroharry]

Charlie - you said Fiat owns the IH name proper. Are you saying just the "IH" name and logo, or does that also include the name "International Harvester"? I know I've seen the IH logo used and the Case/IH name logo, but I don't recall ever seeing the name "International Harvester" used.
Also, for what it's worth - other than the serial number tag stating International Harvester Co., Chicago, and having the IH emblem in a few places, our Cub Cadets are really identified as an "International Cub Cadet" (if you look at the decals).

 

[digger]

Harry B.
Unless Denny or Steve chime in here, I'd say that would be a good project for you and report back.
To be honest, I'd say it's a fubar situation, LOL

Quote from the guys over on Binder Planet.

"The logo, also referred to as the "man on the tractor" went with the tractor division when it was sold off to CASE and they formed CASE/IH. The logo was originally a tractor logo that was adopted by the truck division so, it made sense to send the rights and trademark with that division when the company split.

CASE/IH is now CNH or Case New Holland and is owned by Fiat's industrial division. And yes, it's the same Fiat that owns Chrysler,Jeep,Dodge the MOPAR name, Ferarri, Maserati, Fiat, Alfa Romeo and a few others."

 

[bjames]

I wish Dennis would start posting pics.

 

[jbaker]

Cool now my wifes dodge minivan with a

sticker is related to each other.

 

[hydroharry]

Charlie - you should have started by saying
"Your mission, should you decide to accept it...."
Oh the wonders of the internet. I just did a google search, and found the following wonderful information in Wikipedia:
"... in 1986 Harvester changed the corporate name to Navistar International Corporation (Harvester had sold the International Harvester name and the IH symbol to Tenneco Inc. as part of the sale of its agricultural products division). Navistar International Corporation continues to manufacture medium- and heavy-duty trucks, school buses, and engines under the International brand name.[4]
and:
"The International Harvester Agricultural Division was 2nd to the Truck Division but was the best-known IH subsidiary. When IH sold the agricultural products division to Tenneco in 1985, the International Harvester name and "IH" logo, went with it."
So, now we know. The IH logo (man on the tractor) and the International Harvester name apparently now belong to Fiat. (I wonder if they know it's a "man on a tractor"?)

 

[kmcconaughey]

Speaking of Mission Impossible...

Mission Impossible Theme - The Piano Guys W/ Lindsey Stirling

 

[dfrisk]

HARRY - I question the comment about IH ag being "Second" to IH truck.

IH had a state-of-the-art main frame computer system that ALL their plants shared. Each plant had an ID number. FARMALL was #1, East Moline was #3, and I forget what other plants like LVL, Melrose Park, Canton, Memphis, Indy, Fort Wayne, & Springfield were numbered. But do you suppose there was some LOGIC behind FARMALL & EM being #1 & #3? I think LVL was #7, and a truck plant, Ft. Wayne or Springfield was #2.

As I became more familiar with the computer system I could access an amazing amount of information. I had a tire, rim, wheel report that was updated daily after it was bounced off the line schedule every day that ran on a separate computer that controlled my "ASRS", short for automated storage & retrieval system. It actually gave me branch & order numbers for tires/rims I was short of inventory for with detail right down to the brand of tire. I learned how to research the finish orders in the system to actually get the dealer names and discovered if the tractor order was for a specific person, a special order, that sometimes the dealer would actually put the person's name on the order, sometimes even a phone number. I could have called and let the buyer know how his tractor was progressing.

I also had the ability in the service parts section of the system to research any IH part number and see who the supplying plant was or outside supplier, which depots had stock and how much they had on hand and how many they used per month in the last year.

IH also was one of the first companies to have their own satelite phone system called "TransNet" since company-wide they made so many phone calls over-seas.

Think it was summer of 1979 B.F.Goodrich paid for a dedicated outside phone line and "FAX MACHINE" to be installed next to my desk so I could fax hot tire releases to them. I'll admit I used it for other uses too. We didn't have an official e-mail system, but the computer system did allow us to send electronic messages back & forth between computer terminals both inside the plant and to other IH plants as long as you knew the terminal number by the person you wanted to communicate with.

Pretty fancy stuff for 1979,'80, etc.

But ANY changes we wanted to have made in the information in the system was required to be written out on a proper form and submitted to "Key Punch" every night so it was updated the next day. None of this "live instant updates" just by pressing "Enter" like today's systems provide. What was impressive was the MASSIVE amount of paper that the computer room printed every night for people to use the next day. Just our office area around scheduling, purchasing, forcasting, etc got about a TON of paper every day. And the once-a-month when new PO's were sent out to suppliers, Scheduling alone got well over a ton of paper.

 

[mhomrighausen]

When McCormick Tractors originally formed they actually tried to buy/use the rights to the IH logo for advertising purpooses. The resounding reply was that the IH logo was "NOT FOR SALE/USE" so McCormick fought hard to even use the old advertisement material dating back to the 1920s -30s era tractors. This was supplied to me by a representative at a FARM PROGRESS SHOW when the McCormick line was introduced to the United States. Do further research and see what other ag lines are part of McCormick's parent company which is I believe Landini of Italy.... Sort of like they still make Agco Allis Tractors for South American sales.

 

[hydroharry]

Dennis - I have to think the reference to "No. 2" was most likely total sales (or possibly)profit at that time. It's hard to remember back to the computer "punch card" era, but I was thinking computers were past that point in the late 70's to early 80's. I remember punch cards in the late 60's (I was a kid and used to sneak into the University and look at the computer and see a pile of punch cards being feed thru). I would guess the #1 and #3 you identified was based on how those plants, orgs, were looked at inside IH. Something established long before in the historical performance of the company, and that they would not want to change.

Marlin - now you done it. I never heard of some new(er) company named McCormick Tractors.
(under edit - I see now it was as a result of a divestiture and they are made in England).

I will add one other thing - I used to attend a convention in Chicago every year that always started the day after Thanksgiving (really worst time to fly). This convention was held at the "McCormick Place" in Chicago, which must be one of the largest and busiest convention centers in the US. I never put 2 and 2 together with the name, but I suspect the location is an old plant, donated, or must have some historical connection to IH. Here I go again.
(under double edit - I see it was a family member involved in the Chicago Tribune)

 

[kide]

Harry:
"I was thinking computers were past that point in the late 70's to early 80's."

I ordered the last card reader out of our operation in the early 90's and it went to a small company that had a legacy system that they didn't want to convert to another media... A joke in my career was when I moved from an insurance company in 1971 to MSP because they ran a large "real time" network 'as I was told when I interviewed for the operator's job. I was sick of spending 4 or 5 hours a day in front of an IBM 84 sorter handling racks of 5081's (IBM's stock number for punch cards). The first weekend I worked, a worker from another state agency came wheeling in about 6 cart loads of cards - that's when I learned MSP still was a "unit record" agency, just doing work for other departments. What we'd do is feed 'em all in to our B5500 (Burroughs) mainframe, let it sort 'em and then punch out the sorted cards. Card punches and high speed card readers were notorious jammers, so the weekends were always fun until we got rid of that agency's work..

 

[kmcconaughey]

I saved these a few years ago. Thought I'd post links here for anyone that's interested...

McCormick G Series PDF Brochure

McCormick GX Series PDF Brochure

 

[hydroharry]

Kraig - yes I was interested and found the following very interesting, and for that matter, a little hard to believe they would say at least some of this (cut and pasted from the brochure):

The name says it all
An excellent heritage
The McCormick brand is a true classic in
the manufacture of agricultural
machinery and equipment. From the
world’s first ever practical reaper in
1831 through the long and
distinguished line of tractors that
followed, the McCormick badge epitomised quality,
craftsmanship and innovative design. Now the name
that pioneered a transformation in agricultural
efficiency for more than a century and a half is reborn.
A wealth of experience
Manufacturing is based at plants which themselves
have a long and distinguished track-record of tractor production. The award-winning workforce is highly skilled and experienced. Who better to breathe new life into the McCormick legend.
A commitment to quality
The McCormick tractors of the 21st century remain
true to the values and principles that made
McCormick a world-beater for so many years. That
means no compromises in quality. It ensures strict compliance with some of the most demanding
manufacturing standards in the industry. And, not
least, it heralds a renewed mission to achieve everincreasing productivity levels for our customers.
Renowned reliability
McCormick tractor users from yester-year still happily relate stories of their unrivalled reliability and appetite for work.
Whilst, technologically, the new generation
of machines bear little resemblance to their
predecessors, they are every bit as dependable - and more so. Every single working part is designed to last -
even in the most punishing environments. Hour after hour, day after day, out in the field or in the yard, a McCormick tractor won’t let you down.

Gerry - 5081's, geez, I wonder how many tons of those IH used since Dennis mentions the tons of paper output reports.

 

[thoffman]

"Renowned reliability
McCormick tractor users from yester-year still happily relate stories of their unrivalled reliability and appetite for work.
Whilst, technologically, the new generation
of machines bear little resemblance to their
predecessors, they are every bit as dependable - and more so. Every single working part is designed to last -
even in the most punishing environments. Hour after hour, day after day, out in the field or in the yard, a McCormick tractor won’t let you down."


As much as I'm a <font color="ff0000">RED BLOODED IH GUY</font>} I don't see this "New" stuff lasting 50-75 years from now.
}

 

[kmcconaughey]

FWIW, I saved those brochures in May of 2005.

 

[hydroharry]

hmmm - "Hour after hour, day after day" - what happened to week after week, month after month, year after year?
I know what happened to "Whilst" - it's Chiefly British"

 

[bjamison]

Minute by minute...