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Sawyer Massey 11-22 Tractor

Sawyer Massey 11-22

Sawyer Massey was formed in 1892 when the Massey family bought into the L.D. Sawyer Company. The Massey family was also a major shareholder in the Massey Harris Companyhowever there was never any further connection between the two companies. 

Sawyer Massey was a major Canadian manufacturer of steam engines, threshing machines and other implements. Through the 1890s to 1910 Sawyer Massey was successful however the emergence of gas tractors posed problems for Sawyer Massey. The Massey family felt gas tractors were the future however the other partners in Sawyer Massey felt steam engines still had a place. The Massey family felt strongly enough about the issue, they sold their interest in Sawyer Massey.  After the departure of the Massey family, Sawyer Massey changed its mind and moved into production of gas tractors. They produced a number of sizes of tractors. The tractor seen here is an 11-22 horsepower tractor equipped with an Erd engine. Some Sawyer Massey 11-22 tractors were equipped with Waukesha engines. Sawyer Massey purchased engines from outside suppliers and built some engines themselves. Sawyer Massey tractors were sold in Western and Eastern Canada. They were also exported to England, particularly during World War One.

Sawyer Massey continued to build steam engines, threshing machines, clover hullers, saw mills and road machinery along with gas tractors. By the mid 1920s, Sawyer Massey along with other small manufacturers of farm equipment began to find it increasingly difficult to compete with larger concerns such as International Harvester Corporation (IHC) which were better financed, had integrated manufacturing facilities, offered complete machinery lines, larger sales organizations and could afford the increasingly expensive research and development costs associated with new farm machinery. Sawyer Massey exited the farm machinery business in the mid 1920s and concentrated on road machinery. After World War Two, the Sawyer Massey Company was wound down, liquidated and entered history.

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