MTD Products
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| MTD Products Inc. | |
|---|---|
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| Type | Private |
| Founded | 1932 |
| Headquarters | Cleveland, OH, USA |
| Key people | Curtis E. Moll, Chairman/CEO |
| Industry | Lawn maintenance |
| Products | Consumer and Commercial Lawn equipment |
| Revenue | $1.190 billion USD (2006)[1] |
| Employees | 6,800 (2006) |
| Website | MTD Products Inc. |
MTD Products (Modern Tool and Die Company), of Cleveland, Ohio began in 1932, and is a family-owned, private company. They began as tool and die makers, and now are manufacturers of outdoor power equipment.
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[edit] History
Theo Moll, Emil Jochum and Erwin Gerhard formed a partnership to purchase the assets of Modern Tool and Die Company located on Power Avenue in Cleveland. The initial capitol investment was $4500 and the company’s end product was tools and dies.
MTD’s first products were perforating dies and a rolling machine for making window channels for Standard Products. MTD employed 12 employees in 1933 and by 1934 the head count was 60 employees.
In 1936 the company produces its first automotive stampings products, grilles for Graham Paige.
In 1952 the controlling interest in Midwest Industries Inc. is purchased with this MTD begins to manufacture pedal bikes, velocipedes, kiddie cars and playground equipment.
In 1954 MTD enters the garden equipment industry with introduction of a line of wheelbarrows.
In 1958 MTD enters the lawn & garden power equipment industry with the production of an 18” power rotary mower.
In 1959 MTD takes a giant step into future growth when they begin the manufacturing of self- propelled lawn mowers, garden tractors and other power equipment.
In 1962 MTD Purchases Sehl Engineering Ltd. of Canada, this later became MTD Products, Ltd. (today’s MTD Canada).
In 1966 MTD purchases Industrial Plastics Company in Cleveland.
In 1968 MTD starts snow thrower production.
In 1975 MTD purchases Yard-Man name from Montgomery Ward.
In 1980 MTD Builds 160,000 sq. ft. manufacturing plant in Brownsville, Tennessee.
In 1981 the Cub Cadet Product line is acquired from International Harvester and White Outdoor Products Company is acquired from old White Motor.
In 1985 Martin, Tennessee Plant begins operation and Arnold Corporation is acquired.
In 1986 Aircap Industries in Tupelo, Mississippi
In 1990 Customer Service call center is established
In 1994 MTD builds the Modern Transmission Development Company plant in Leitchfield, Kentucky.
In 1996 Joint venture with Lesco creates Commercial Turf Products.
In 2000 Opening of a Hungarian manufacturing facility with expanded capacity for electrical products and acquired Ryobi giving them the capacity to produce 1.5 million engines and related hand-held products.
In 2001 MTD acquired Garden Way including the Troy-Bilt and Bolens brands.
2006 - Began building lawn equipment under the Massey Ferguson brand for sale in Europe.[2]
2007 - Began building the low-end lawn & garden tractors for Toro.
[edit] Brands Owned
- Bolens website
- Columbia
- Cub Cadet website
- Farm King
- GardenWay
- Gold Series
- Gutbrod
- Lawnflite
- Mastercut
- Mow Master
- Mow Master Mastercut
- MTD website
- Rasentrac
- Ryobi (sold at Costco)) website
- Troy-Bilt website
- Ventzki
- Ventzki MTD
- White Outdoor website
- Yard Machines website
- Yard-Man website
- Yard-Man Elite
- Yard-Man Select
- YardWorks
[edit] Private Label Brands Produced
MTD currently builds or has built various other brands and store-brand Lawn & Garden tractors over the years, including:
