Fabbrica Italiana Automobili Torino
 

Giovanni Agnelli, with several investors, founded the Fabbrica Italiana Automobili Torino (Italian Automobile Factory of Turin) in 1899. F.I.A.T.
 

In 1910, F.I.A.T. slowly began the development of a new tractor for the Italian market. This development was put on hold in 1914, due to the outbreak of the first world war.

 

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F.I.A.T. Trattori S.P.A.

As the world war ended in 1917, F.I.A.T. decided to finalize their tractor concept, and in 1918 the history of Fiat Trattori began, when it launched its first tractor - the Fiat 702.
The tractor was manufactured alongside cars and trucks in Fiat's Turin factory, and used a for the time advanced unit construction, with the engine from Fiat's 3.5 ton trucks. The 6.2 liter four cylinder petrol engine offered 30 hp, or 25 hp if run on paraffin.

The 702 was a big machine, and cost 5-times the price of a Fordson in Britain.

                                                                        In 1919, Fiat Trattori S.P.A. was founded.

                                                                        The succes of the model 702 was followed by the 702A, B and                                                                            BN variants and then the 703B and 703BN.
                                                                        With these variants, in production until 1925, Fiat Trattori                                                                                      reached a milestone by producing its first 2,000 tractors.

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                                                                        By 1929, the plant was selling tractors at a rate of more than                                                                                1,000 units a year.

1926 saw that launch of the popular Fiat 700A-D, which would stay in production till 1950.

In 1928, Fiat moved the tractor production from Turin to Modena, where Fiat's

OCI or "Officine Costruzioni Industriali" (Industrial Construction Workshops) was

established. The first tractor produced at the new plant, was the smaller and

lighter 702 version named 702C with 28 Hp. The 702C stayed in production til

1942, with more than 4,000 units produced.
 

Fiat's first crawler tractor came to be in 1932, with the Fiat 700C, based on the

wheeled Fiat 700B tractor.

It was the first Italian crawler with a high power output (35 Hp), with the 18Hp

Motomeccanica Balilla being its closest competitor in the home market.

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In 1933, Fiat purchased the Italian OM company, also known as "Società Anonima

Officine Meccaniche". The company manufactured cars, trucks and tractors, and

would over the coming decades be merged into Fiat and later IVECO.
 

In 1939, the Modena OCI-plant launched Fiat's first truly mass-produced crawler tractor, the Fiat 40 Boghetto. Thanks to an invention by Fortunato Boghetto, this tractors engine was able to operate on a variety of fuels (kerosene, diesel, alcohol, petrol, natural gas and gasifier gas).
 

                                          In 1944, production at the Modena plant was halted by the lack of raw materials                                                and the German occupation, leading to its conversion for the repair and overhaul                                            of military vehicles.
                                          In secret, the Chief Design Engineer Edmondo Tascheri began work on the                                                      design of a new crawler tractor, to be more modern than the now obsolete Series                                            40 Boghetto. With the aid of a few photographs of a Russian crawler tractor,                                                      brought back from the Soviet front by some of the company's workmen, and
                                          assisted by the connivance of collaborators, the technical department started to                                              build a secret prototype unbeknown to the German controllers. The resulting Fiat                                            50 crawler tractor began production after the Second World War, starting in 1946,                                            thanks in part to the recovery of the machining tools in northern Italy, that the                                                    German occupiers had attempted to ship to Germany, before their plans were                                                  thwarted by the allied bombing raids.


 

The 25 and Diamante series era

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In 1949, the OCI plant in Modena returned to producing tractors, and

began production of the first rubber-wheeled Fiat 600, and the

crawler Fiat 601. The crawler now featuring the use of levers instead

of a steering wheel. With these tractors, Fiat Trattoris sales soared,

generating output of 1,832 tractors a year.
 

In the early ‘50s, Fiat established an alliance with the French company 

SIMCA, which began manufacturing Fiat cars and later tractors in the

French home market, based on Fiat designs. 
 

1951 saw the launch of the Fiat 25R, one of the key machines in Fiat's history. This innovative tractor, painted in the now famous Fiat-orange (the first in a long series of tractors till 1983), launched Fiat onto the European agricultural market.

The 25R was an evolution of the 600, and part of its succes over the 600, was do to the flexibility of the design. The tractor could be purchased running on diesel or parrafin, with two- and four-wheel drive, in orchard or forestry configuration, and shortly after as a crawler, named the Fiat 25C.
Almost 45,000 units of this remarkable machine were launched onto the market during its livetime.
 

The next year saw the launch of the high-power OM tractors. The best-seller was the OM 35-40 model, also produced in crawler version.
 

                                               The Fiat 60 crawler tractor, replacing the old Fiat 50 models, was launched in                                                   1956. With this tractor, Fiat established itself as the world’s leading constructor                                                 of crawler tractors.
 

                                               In 1957 Fiat launched the biggest selling tractor of the 1950s; the FIAT 18.                                                           Lovingly named "La Piccola" meaning "The Little".

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                                               At the same time in 1957, Fiat Trattoris total tractor production passed the                                                         100,000 unit mark. The following year saw the launch of the Fiat 411 tractor.

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1962 witnessed the appearance of the new Diamante series, which

firmly consolidated Fiat Trattoris position in Europe.

The "diamante" series included the 215, 315, 415 and 615 models, as well

as the 715 model under the OM brand.
The models were the first tractors to have synchronized gears, differential

lock and the "Amplicuple" device, which automatically engaged by means

of a lever on the driver's left-hand side. This system was only available on

the 415, 615 and 715 models.
 

In the early 1960s under the OM brand, the company produced the OM 512,

OM 513 and OM 615 models in a number of variants, and in the 1970s these

were followed by the OM 750 and OM 850 models.

 

In 1966, Fiat Trattori established a earthmoving machinery division. The Fiat crawlers 70C, 80C, 90C and 100C models, normally used for ploughing, received just a few structural changes to become the AD3, AD4, AD5, AD6, AD7, AD9, AD1O, AD12, AD14, AD18 and AD20 crawler loaders.



The Gold Ribbon era

In 1967 the new "Nastro d’Oro” series, which translates to "Gold Ribbon", showed its success in terms of technology, performance, fuel consumption, reliability and competitive pricing, which put a positive and lasting impression of Fiat Trattori on much of the European farming community.

1968 saw the Fiat 250, 450 and 550, as well as the 650 and 850 models under the OM brand.

They were followed by the Fiat 1000 and 1300. 
                                                        With this full lineup of tractors, Fiat had its eyes on the whole European                                                              market, which it 10 years later would come to dominate in sales.
 

                                                        In 1970, the earthmoving division evolved into Fiat Macchine e                                                                            Movimento Terra S.P.A., which was separated from Fiat Trattori, and                                                                  located in Lecce, Italy. Shortly thereafter, Fiat Macchine e Monimento                                                                Terra S.P.A. acquired Simit, which at the time was the leading Italian                                                                    manufacturer of hydraulic excavators.

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                                                        In the early 1970s, the range underwent a change, and the 250 model                                                                became the 300 model, the special 350 was launched and the 480 and    500 models replaced the 450 model, before evolving into the 540 Special.
Also in the 1970s, when the 80 series had already appeared, the 850 became the FIAT 850 super, with an increase in power to 95 hp (71 kW); the 1000 received the same treatment (super), with a boost to 110 hp (82 kW); the super 1300 increased to 150 hp (110 kW).


 

The 80 series and FiatAgri era

In 1974, Fiat Macchine e Movimento Terra S.P.A. created a joined venture with the American Allis-Chalmers company to create Fiat-Allis. This was Fiat's first serious attempt at getting a hold on the growing international market for construction equipment.
The venture resulted in a line of crawler machines (produced in Brazil, United States and Italy), wheel backhoe-loaders (United States and United Kingdom), excavators (Italy and Brazil), graders and dozers (United States).

Later in the mid-1990s, Fiat formed an alliance with Hitachi to produce construction

equipment under the Fiat-Hitachi name. Fiat-Allis continued to sell under its brand

in Latin America.

In 1975 Fiat Trattori acquired 20% of Laverda SpA founded by Pietro Laverda in

1873, a company that had specialized in combine harvesters.

From 1975 to 1979, the world saw the roll-out of Fiat's new Pininfarina designed

80-series, with the 3, 4, 5 and 6 cylinder models, starting with the Fiat 580, then

Fiat 680, Fiat 780, Fiat 880, Fiat 880\5, Fiat 980, Fiat 1180, Fiat 1280, Fiat 1380,

Fiat 1580 and the top-of-the-range Fiat 1880.

                                                                      In 1976, Fiat Trattori's output exceeded 86,000 tractors in a year,                                                                        and no fewer than 50,000 units were exported.

                                                                      In 1977, Fiat Trattori's total production number exceeded                                                                                      1,200,000 tractors. The same year, Fiat Trattori expanded their                                                                            product portfolio, by acquiring two companies. 

                                                                      Hesston, an American leader in forage equipment. And Agrifull,                                                                          an Italian specialist in small-sized tractors. 

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                                                                      After acquiring Hesston and Agrifull, the company decided to re-  structure and re-brand itself under the new corporate name "FiatAgri". Its Fiat-Orange livery was changed to the famous "Terracotta"-red, and Fiat Trattori S.P.A thus became a subsidary of FiatAgri S.P.A.


                                                        In 1978, after acquiring Hesston, Fiat Trattori entered the North Amercian

                                                        market with their full "Prime-line" of tractors rebranded as "Hesston".

                                                        The Hesston brand of tractors ran until 1996.

                                                        In 1979, FiatAgri made an agreement with Canadian tractor manufacturer

                                                        Versatile, to sell their high-power articulated tractors on the European

                                                        market, under the Fiat Trattori brand.

                                                        This led to the birth of the Fiat-Versatile 44 Series,

                                                        consisting of the 44-23, 44-28, 44-33 and 44-35.
                                                        FiatAgri saw a growing potential in the European

market for a series of tractors with + 200 horsepower, and wanted to lead the

market before any competitors.

Unfortunately, FiatAgri was to early and sales were lower than anticipated.

The agreement with Versatile along with sales of the 44-series ended in 1982.
 

In the late 1970s and early 1980's, FiatAgri imported into Italy a number of low-

cost versions of their old Golden Ribbon series from their Argentinean subsidiary

named "Fiat-Concord", as a cheap alternative to the new 80-series.
The models were 500, 650, 600E/E DT/F, 700E, 800, 900E, 1100E and 1100E DT.

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In 1981 FiatAgri acquired the controlling majority in Laverda SpA, and thus FiatAgri could add combine harvesters to their product lineup.
 

In 1982 Fiat launched the new 66 Series, with models from 45 to 80 hp (34 to 60 kW), known as the “daily” tractors, because they were able to perform any everyday task on small and medium farms.
This series also sold under the Hesston brand in North America, and later as Ford and New Holland up
until 2003.

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FiatGeotech and the 90-series

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Fiat Trattori was to disappear, as the FiatAgri group merged all of its subsidiaries under its brand, and FiatAgri itself became, together with FiatAllis, a subsidiary of the new Modena based holding company FiatGeotech.
 

                                                In 1984 FiatAgri launched its legendary 90 SERIES, which evovled from the 80                                                  series, with a large number of models subdivided into two categories:                                                                "Medium-low" (55-90, 60-90, 65-90, 70-90, 80-90, 85-90 Turbo) and "high                                                        powered" (115-90, 130-90 Turbo, 140-90 Turbo, 160-90 Turbo, 180-90 Turbo),                                                    powered by the new Fiat-Iveco 8000 Series engines.

                                                The 90 series was also sold under the Agrifull brand, and later as Ford                                                              and New Holland models on the European market till 2003.

                                                1984 also saw FiatAgri take over the French company Braud, a leading French                                                  producer of grape harvesters.
 

                                                In 1985, the “bridge” category of tractors were introduced, with the 90-90,

                                                95-90, 100-90 and 110-90 models. These models were officialy replaced by                                                      the new L series under the New Holland brand in 1996, but stayed in                                                                  production till 2003, due to continued demand from a passionate fanbase.
 

In 1986, FiatAgri transferred some of its tractor production from Modena to Jesi. In the same year, the company also launched the Fiatagri 180-55 crawler tractor, with a for the time revolutionary hydrostatic transmission system.
 

In 1990, the company launched its “Winner" series, consisting of

4 models: the F100, F110, F120 and F130 Turbo.

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In 1991, Fiat GeoTech acquired Ford New Holland. Over the next

four years, the world would see a new dominant brand emerge,

and completely new and innovative models, from the merging of

Fiat and Ford.

 

In 1992, the 75 series crawler tractors received a new steering

system called the "Steering-o-matic", using a joystick instead of

the steering clutches.

1993 saw the appearance of the updated Winner series, comprising the F100 and F115 and the two Turbo models, the F130 and F140.
The early update of the Winner was made necessary, allegedly do to electrical problems that plagued the early Winner-series. With the updated Winner-series, FiatAgri changed from its trusted supplier of electrical systems Magneti Marelli to Bosch. This allegedly solved the problems that plauged the Winner, and the updated Winner-series now lived up to the quality standard that FiatAgri was known for. 

The Winner-series remained in production till 1996.
Magneti Marelli would later return successfully as a supplier to New Holland.

 

 

New name - New Holland

 

In 1993, The G series was presented at the "Fiera del Levante” Exhibition in Bari, and also showcased the newly developed Supersteer-steering. Its styling was similar to Ford machines at the time, but the FiatAgri logo appeared on the front.
In the late 80's, Ford had closed down tractor manufacturing in the US, and moved the development and manufacturing to their factories in Great Britain and Versatile factory in Canada.

When Fiat GeoTech aquired Ford New Holland, work on a +200hp tractor for both of their product lines began. Development and manufacturing was centered at the Versatile Factory, but engine development and testing also happend at Ford in Britain and Fiat/Iveco in Italy.

Later in 1993 the Fiat Geotech holding company changed its name to N.H.Geotech. But for a time, the machines were still sold under their own brands names, and with their relative liveries: FiatAgri, Ford, New Holland, Hesston, Braud, Laverda, etc.

 

                                                         In 1994, The big FiatAgri G-series/Ford 70-series was introduced                                                                         to the market. It would replace the FiatAgri 160-90 and 180-90, together                                                                with the Ford 8730 and 8830.

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                                                         In 1996, the Fiat Winner series was followed by the FiatAgri M-Series                                                                 (Ford 60-series), with the M100, 115, 135 and 160 models.

                                                         The FiatAgri L-series (Ford 35-series) was introduced the same year.

                                                         The L-series was based on the Fiat 94-series, and even featured the                                                                   same engines and gearboxes. Though the exterior and cabin were new.

Also in 1996, the compact Fiat 66-series was branded as the FiatAgri S-series (Part of Fords 35-series).

The machine and design were much the same until 1998, when it was redesigned to accommodate the new design of New Holland, and the option of New Hollands Supersteer technology from the large G-series/70-series. 
 

From 1999, the Fiatagri and Ford brands disappeared with all their sub-brands disappeared, and were finally merged into one brand. That brand was New Holland.
However, the three brands’ heritage still shine through today: Fiatagri in its leaf symbol, Ford in the blue livery, and New Holland in the company name.

Today, New Holland Agriculture and it's parent company CNH Industrial, are symbols of one of the most successful corporate mergers in the world, and more than 500 years of collective farming-industry history.