Little Giant Agricultural Equipment: A Sought After Farming Piece of Art
The little giant agricultural equipment sounds heaven to anyone who knows its value. To date, there are only 4 existing Little Giant tractors thus making it a fine agricultural collector’s item.
The last little giant on the assembly line came out in October of 1920. The original ledgers of the company states that there were 500 which were made during that time. Stories also tell that a large number of these tractors were on a ship which sank during the 1st World War.
The Little Giant
Agricultural experts say that owning a little giant agricultural equipment is a matter to be proud of. It is a rare piece of machinery which was unusually advance during its time. Here are some reasons why a little giant is very unique:
• The steering and fan were made of aluminium cast which was not a common practice during that era.
• A spring loaded hitch was used to make driving and operation a lot smoother.
• A blend of kerosene and water was the recommended fuel which delivered extra horsepower.
The piece of farming equipment was the brain child of Louis, Lorenz, and Conrad Mayer. These three brothers worked in a machine shopped in Mankato in the late 1890’s and made a lot of revolutionary tools.
The Mayer brothers produced mechanical hammers which was very helpful to blacksmiths. They also developed products like boilers, steam engines, gas engines, dredging equipment, traffic directors, V-8 engines and a lot more.
In 1910 they develop a little giant agricultural equipment. The tractor, powered by a gasoline engine was carefully designed to make it look pleasing. They also innovated on using metals, which is unusual to tractor production at that time. The tractor was designed to live and out power the horse or an ox.
The tractor that was produced was as expensive as the highly regarded automobiles at that time. They were marketed as tractors designed way ahead of its era in terms of design, material, durability, and workmanship. This little giant agricultural equipment also came with a very good warranty: Defective parts will be replaced within a year of delivery.
The production of the tractor was hampered by the First World War .The plans to expand and help with the early industrialization never materialized. Other product lines were also short lived. In 1917, the board of directors of the company nominated a Canadian businessman to manage the company. The Mayer Brothers resigned and retired in Wisconsin.
The Little Giant survived way after the 2nd World War as they depended on the production of trip hammers to survive the Great Depression. In the end, after much trouble, the line of product was cut including the manufacturing of the Little Giant tractor. GP
Posted in Little Giant agricultural equipment on September 18, 2008 - 7:52 am by admin |
