A coin toss 70 years ago cost Harry Ferguson $1m as the Northern Ireland inventor gambled the future of his company and his now famous Ferguson System

Yesterday marked 70 years since the merger between Massey Harris and the Ferguson companies. By the early 1950s Harry Ferguson and his Ferguson System had after early rejection and many years of development finally achieved the recognition and commercial success it deserved. His latest tractor, today known affectingly as the little grey Fergie, the Ferguson 20 was selling exceptionally well and was the envy of other manufacturers. Amongst them was the Canadian agricultural machinery company of Massey Harris one of the largest in the world with a history dating back to 1847 when it was founded by Daniel Massey. It was evident that their tractors were becoming dated compared to the Ferguson and the company knew it was in need of the many technological advances the Ferguson System would bring.

Harry Ferguson and a number of fellow Ulstermen who had been working for Ferguson since they built the world’s first Ferguson System tractor the Ferguson Belfast Prototype tractor of 1933 had continued to develop the Ferguson System. Together they had been working on a larger Ferguson System tractor called the LTX (Large Tractor Experimental) a big brother to the Ferguson 20 from the mid-1940s. Again some of the early work on it was undertaken in Belfast before being moved to Coventry, England were the Ferguson 20 was built. Harry Ferguson had spent a lot of time and money in recruiting world experts in transmissions and engines in developing its features including a new transmission with stronger gears, live Power Take-Off (PTO) and hydraulics, a differential lock, a new range of engines with 2 to 6 cylinder layouts that could produce upwards of 100HP all of which allowed for future proofing of the LTX.

By 1953 six LTX prototypes had been built and the tractor was ready for production. The LTX or TE60 as it is also known was a 5 furrow plough capacity tractor in the 60HP class and during tests performed well in excess of all expectations. Fitted with the latest version of the Ferguson System hydraulic lift it moved the evolution of the Ferguson System another step forward to ensure it remained many years ahead of the competition.

Harry Ferguson had begun merger talks with the management of Massey Harris in the hope with their vast resources they would put the LTX into production. After weeks of detailed talks, he invited the executives to see the LTX tractor in action on August 4, 1953 – 70 years ago yesterday. There is no doubt they like everyone else who saw the LTX in use were impressed by its performance. During the negotiations on a merger Harry Ferguson asked for $17 million for the Ferguson Company while the Massey Harris directors put the value of the company at $1 million less. After more discussions and with still no agreement on the price following a car journey at the village of Broadway in the Cotswolds with the Massey Harris executives, Ferguson suggested a Half Crown be spun on the road to decide the matter. After an initial rejection of the offer by the Massey Harris directors they belatedly agreed and the coin was spun, Ferguson called tails, but heads it was. He then asked to spin the coin again to see who gets the coin and this time he won! The coin was later mounted on a box with the wording the $1,000,000 Dollar coin. The agreement to merge the companies into the new company of Massey-Harris-Ferguson or M-H-F for short was announced on August 16, 1953. Harry Ferguson was named as chairman and as he took the agreed $16 million price in the value as shares he became the largest shareholder in the new company. Following the merger a two line policy remained in that Ferguson and Massey Harris brand name tractors continued to be built but Ferguson System technology began to flow across brands.

Harry Ferguson had hoped the merger would get the LTX into production and as chairman he tried to persuade his fellow board members to begin its production. They simply refused because of cost concerns, instead opting for a cheaper, less powerful, less advanced tractor the TO35 that was closely based on the older Ferguson 20 series of tractors. Because of board decisions going against Harry Ferguson he would resign as chairman of the company in July, 1954 and give up all links with it, sadly being pushed out and losing control of his lifetime of work – in the end all on the toss of a coin.

As for the LTX it never made it into production, although a number of its features did, of the six built, five were destroyed in 1954 on orders of the company, however one managed to escape that fate for over fifteen years as it had remained on the farm it was originally being tested on until the 1970s when it developed a small fault and after the farmer unwisely informed the company it was collected and sadly also scrapped.

Massey-Harris-Ferguson would replace the Ferguson TE20 produced at Coventry in 1956 with a version of the T035 called the FE35, the first new Ferguson System tractor Harry Ferguson had no direct involvement in during its development.

The Massey-Harris-Ferguson company would be renamed on the November 19, 1957 as Massey Ferguson or MF for short in recognition of its founder and Harry Ferguson when the two brand name policy was dropped and all tractors were known as Massey Fergusons from that time on. As part of the rebranding the red and grey colour scheme with the famous MF triangle badge including the Ferguson System logo appeared for the first time.