Founded 1958 | Parent organization Case CE | |
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Steiger tractor manufacturing
Steiger is an American tractor manufacturer founded in the 1950s by Douglas and Maurice Steiger, brothers who were farmers near Red Lake Falls, Minnesota, and needed a reliable, high-powered, four-wheel drive tractor. The Steigers first built a tractor for their own use in their workshop, then built another and sold it to a neighbor in 1958. Demand grew, and the brothers soon began manufacturing the tractor in quantity at a location near Thief River Falls. From the beginning, the Steigers painted their tractors in almost neon chartreuse, contrasting with the more subdued yellow, green, blue, red and orange colors used by most other manufacturers.
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The tractor division of Steiger Farms was moved to Fargo, North Dakota, in 1969. It was acquired by Case IH in 1986, which currently is part of Italy's FIAT Group.
Under CEO Eugene Dahl (formerly VP of Purchasing for the Melroe Company of Gwinner, ND) they have been one of the few successful mass-producers of 4WD tractors in the world. In the 1970s, International Harvester company of Chicago purchased a 30% stake in the company. This stake was later sold to Deutz-Fahr of Germany in 1982.
Case IH, formed from the merger of Tenneco's Case with the agricultural arm of International Harvester, purchased Steiger in 1986, and the familiar lime-green color of Steiger's was retired as CIH's red took over. The Steiger name disappeared for a while, but has since been re-introduced on the 4WD tractors in Case IH's stable as their flagship line, they can also be purchased as a New Holland. The current (2009) range are branded as Case STX Steiger and are offered in power rating from 200 hp to 500+ hp, with a Quadtrac option on most models in the line up.
Steiger has built tractors for various other tractor manufacturers & distributors under the International Harvester and Co-op Implements brand, such as, Ford and Allis-Chalmers.
Steiger licensed their tractor designs to RÁBA of Hungary, which built RÁBA and RÁBA-Steiger tractors. Vandel, of France, also licensed the Steiger design and built tractors under their name.
Former Steiger President Jack Johnson later formed Titan Tractors in Fargo to re-manufacture and retrofit old Steigers.
American Tractors, or AmTrac, in England, currently retrofits and rebuilds old Steigers.