History
Ferguson tractor at an orange orchard at Palinyewah, New South Wales, Australia.
The TE range of Ferguson tractors were introduced in England in 1946 following 30 years of continuous development of the 'The Ferguson System' from 1916. The automatic control system, now employed by almost all tractor manufacturers worldwide, was patented by Harry Ferguson in 1925.
During the 1930s the first complete Ferguson tractors were built and the famous 'suction side' hydraulic control system developed and put into production at the David Brown factory at Huddersfield, England. (It was this production that led in 1939 to the David Brown line of tractors).
In order to get volume production with lower costs Harry Ferguson, following a demonstration of his tractor before Henry Ford senior in October 1938, did a gentleman's agreement with Ford to produce the Ferguson tractor in Detroit starting mid 1939About 300,000 of these tractors, known 'Ford Ferguson' were produced up to June 30, 1947.
The agreement with Ford in 1938 was to include production at the Ford plant at Dagenham, Essex, UK but the UK Ford company would not do it By 1945 Ferguson had made a manufacturing agreement with the Standard Motor Company of Coventry, England to produce the Ferguson tractor incorporating all their latest improvements and to be known as the TE20, ie Tractor England.
The break with Ford left Harry Ferguson and his US company having implements to sell but no tractors. To the above figure must be added TO production at Ferguson Park, Detroit.
