MTD Products
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| Type | Private |
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| Industry | Lawn maintenance |
| Founded | 1932 |
| Headquarters | Cleveland, OH, USA |
| Key people | Rob Moll, CEO |
| Products | Consumer and Commercial Lawn equipment |
| Revenue | $1.190 billion USD (2006)[1] |
| Employees | 6,800 (as of 2006[update]) |
| Website | MTD Products Inc. |
MTD Products is a manufacturer of outdoor power equipment for the mass market. Based in Cleveland, Ohio, USA, the company began in 1932 and is a family-owned, private company. It originated as a tool and die maker (Modern Tool and Die Company). MTD's main competitors are Ariens, Toro, Snapper, Murray, John Deere and Husqvarna.
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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 capital investment was $4500. MTD’s first products were perforating dies and a rolling machine for making window channels for Standard Products. MTD employed 12 employees in 1933. By 1934 there were 60 employees.
In 1936 the company produced its first automotive stampings products, grilles for Graham-Paige automobiles. In 1952 the controlling interest in Midwest Industries Inc. was purchased. With this MTD began to manufacture pedal bikes, velocipedes, kiddie cars and playground equipment. In 1954 MTD entered the garden equipment industry with its introduction of a line of wheelbarrows. In 1958 MTD entered the lawn and garden power equipment industry with the production of an 18” power rotary mower. In 1959 MTD began manufacturing self-propelled lawn mowers, garden tractors and other power equipment.
In 1962 MTD purchased Sehl Engineering Ltd. of Canada which would later become MTD Products, Ltd. and then MTD Canada.
In 1966 MTD purchased Industrial Plastics Company in Cleveland.
In 1968 MTD started snow thrower production.
In 1975 MTD purchased the Yard-Man name from Montgomery Ward.
In 1980 MTD built its 160,000 sq ft (15,000 m2) manufacturing plant in Brownsville, Tennessee (now defunct).
In 1981 the Cub Cadet product line was acquired from International Harvester, and the White Outdoor Products Company was acquired from the old White Motor Company. In 1985 the company's Martin, Tennessee plant began operation, and Arnold Corporation was acquired. In 1986 Aircap Industries in Tupelo, Mississippi was acquired.
In 1994 MTD built the Modern Transmission Development Company plant in Leitchfield, Kentucky.
In 1996 a joint venture with Lesco created Commercial Turf Products.
In 2000, a Hungarian manufacturing facility was opened with expanded capacity for electrical products. MTD 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.
In 2006, MTD began building lawn equipment under the Massey Ferguson brand for sale in Europe.[2]
In 2007, MTD began building the low-end lawn and garden tractors for its otherwise competitor, Toro.
In 2008, MTD began having a third-party company (located in China) manufacture a new line of engines for the Craftsman 2008 line of snowthrowers. They are no longer building them with Tecumseh engines.
[edit] MTD's brands
Craftsman
- Cub Cadet website
- Farm King
- GardenWay
- Gold Series
- Gutbrod website
- Gutbrod-Kehrer
- Lawnflite
- Mastercut
- Mow Master
- Mow Master Mastercut
- MTD website
- Novotrac
- 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 builds or has built various other brands and store-brand lawn and garden tractors over the years, including:
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[edit] References
- ^ (PDF) MTD Products Inc., Hoover's, Hoovers, http://www.hoovers.com/mtd-products/--ID__41265--/free-co-factsheet.xhtml
- ^ MTD France
- ^ http://montana20021.tripod.com/id3.html MTD Product Page
