AC Story -
Printed From: Unofficial Allis
Category: Other Topics
Forum Name: Shops, Barns, Varmints, and Trucks
Forum Description: anything you want to talk about except politics
URL: https://www.allischalmers.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=191951
Printed Date: 07 Jul 2025 at 7:13am
Software Version: Web Wiz Forums 11.10 - http://www.webwizforums.com
Topic: AC Story -
Posted By: Coke-in-MN
Subject: AC Story -
Date Posted: 23 Nov 2022 at 8:08am
https://americanbusinesshistory.org/forgotten-industrial-giant-the-allis-chalmers-story/%20" rel="nofollow - https://americanbusinesshistory.org/forgotten-industrial-giant-the-allis-chalmers-story/
Kind of a short story of AC history over the years . similar to C H Wendel history book
Over time, Allis-Chalmers’ fundamental strategic weakness began to take its toll. While the company seen as a whole was one of America’s largest, it did not “dominate” any of its major markets. In power equipment, the company was smaller than General Electric and Westinghouse. Caterpillar, a smaller company in the 1950s, jumped into the lead in construction equipment. And in farm equipment, Allis-Chalmers was usually fourth biggest. Being number three or four meant higher distribution and marketing costs and lower factory productivity. As hard as the company worked to stay alive, it all unwound in the 1970s and 1980s. Allis-Chalmers offloaded its construction equipment to a partnership with Italy’s FIAT. They spun the farm equipment businesses off to a partnership with Germany’s Deutz; this ended up as today’s American company AGCO, a strong competitor. The power business was turned into a joint venture with the great German electrical company Siemens, becoming Siemens-Allis. Over time, Allis-Chalmers sold out its interest in all these partnerships and finally dissolved in 1999. Yet even today, engines built by Allis-Chalmers continue to power factories and power plants all over the world and collectors prize vintage Allis-Chalmers’ orange tractors. Over a period of one-hundred-and-thirty-eight years, Allis-Chalmers employed tens of thousands of people and followed an arc from dust to dust but left a lasting legacy of excellent engineering and products around the globe.
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Faith isn't a jump in the dark. It is a walk in the light. Faith is not guessing; it is knowing something.
"Challenges are what make life interesting; overcoming them is what makes life meaningful."
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Replies:
Posted By: Pat the Plumber CIL
Date Posted: 23 Nov 2022 at 12:43pm
Heard a lot of debate about the demise of AC . Bad decisions by executives in the 70s probably sealed the deal , but the strikes ,tension between labor and management in the late 30s, 40s and 50s probably had more to do with the demise. I read Stalin over Wisconsin and after reading I wonder how they ever produced the numbers of machines they did . Such animosity between labor and management. Both sides should have seen what was happening but sometimes it's hard to see the Forrest through the trees.
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You only need to know 3 things to be a plumber;Crap rolls down hill,Hot is on the left and Don't bite your fingernails
1964 D-17 SIV 3 Pt.WF,1964 D-15 Ser II 3pt.WF ,1960 D-17 SI NF,1956 WD 45 WF.
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Posted By: Coke-in-MN
Date Posted: 23 Nov 2022 at 4:51pm
One of the straws that broke AC was the 70's gas shortage as they invested heavily into the Oil Shale field and built kilns to process it along with other equipment for the industry . Then government funding was pulled as Jimmy Carter era came to a close . AC was left holding the bag as were others who had gotten involved with the industry .
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Faith isn't a jump in the dark. It is a walk in the light. Faith is not guessing; it is knowing something.
"Challenges are what make life interesting; overcoming them is what makes life meaningful."
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Posted By: orangeman
Date Posted: 23 Nov 2022 at 5:55pm
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Let's not forget about the hostile takeovers attempts that occurred through the late sixties and early 70's. Vaughn, Tenneco and Lyng in particular. Same nonsense that has allowed Corporate Oligarchs to rid America of its blue collar jobs while they count their Millions by getting on boards, chopping up the operations and laying people off.
For the life of me, it is difficult to understand how our elected officials and judges have allowed this to happen while looking themselves in the mirror each morning.
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Posted By: DougG
Date Posted: 23 Nov 2022 at 6:54pm
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Funny this has come up as I was going thru my AC Annual Reports - 1980,s net income was $48.2 million , 1979 was $81.4 million,, made profits all thru the 70,s - but Allis was getting into different business, American AIR Filter- which was a gem of advance- the mergers they done - Fiat Allis , Siemens Allis , all left them a minority holder , which was dumb -they were gambling on the Kiln -N-Gas project to make billions in the future- they started working on it in 1971- and 12 Electrical companies also invested in this - the 12 companies set 52 million- Allis invested 83 million- at the same time as all this was happening the interest rates all shot up - farm commodity prices sunk to low , almost 0 money- Allis Chalmers Ag sector and Gleaner was making money for years- now losing money- all of Allis divisions were going backwards - the Kiln -N- Gas project never really accomplished anything , the investment they done to the foundry in 78- 5 millon , all got torn down by labor contracts and a money bleed - in 82, changing times, foreign compition - spread out to thin and slow to change sunk Allis Chalmers in West Allis - In my opinion
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Posted By: DrAllis
Date Posted: 23 Nov 2022 at 7:03pm
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Here's my opinion on the matter. I think the A-C farm equipment division was doing pretty well until 1939. From 1934 thru 1938 the model WC was selling very well and could compete against the "A" John Deere and the F-20 Farmall. But in 1939, Farmall came out with the model H and M tractors and Allis never really had a big tractor to compete against the M- Super M- Super MTA- 400-450-560. While the WD and WD-45 were both quite successful in their own right, in my mind the WD-35 and WD-45 should have came out together in 1948 instead of waiting until 1953 for the WD-45. Even at that, they were 9 years behind the M and all it's descendants. When the D-19 came out, it too was even 3 years late for the 560 and hydraulics were poor and don't even talk about the diesel engine disaster. Allis dealers just kept on selling to the same customers or their sons year after year, never gaining any "New" competitive owner customers. By 1973, the 7030/7050 met all the features needed to stand toe-to-toe with anyone's big tractors, but look at the years wasted getting there. 1973 to 1985 and they were broke. End of story.
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