American Tractor Corporation
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry |
|
| Founded | c. 1949[1][2] |
| Founder | Marc B. Rojtman[2] |
| Defunct | 1957 (acquired)[3] |
| Fate | Acquired by J. I. Case Company |
| Successor | Case Corporation (industrial line) |
| Headquarters | Churubusco, Indiana, U.S.[4] |
Area served | United States |
| Products |
|
| Brands | TerraTrac |
American Tractor Corporation (ATC) was an American manufacturer of small crawler tractors and industrial equipment based in Churubusco, Indiana. During the late 1940s–1950s it produced the TerraTrac series of crawlers (including the GT-25 and GT-30) and developed backhoe equipment that J. I. Case later integrated into the Case Model 320 - widely credited as the first factory-integrated tractor loader backhoe introduced in 1957.[2][5][6] ATC was acquired by J. I. Case in 1956–1957. Its president and largest stockholder, Marc B. Rojtman, became a Case executive and later president.[7][8]
History
In 1950 Marc Rojtman purchased the crawler manufacturing from Warren, Ohio based Federal Machine. He purchased a building in Churubusco, Indiana, to house his company and relocated the operation there. Working 15‑hour days along with his employees allowed ATC to grow by 1951 to $3 million in sales.[9]
By the mid-1950s ATC was building six different chassis with equipment ranging from forklifts to earthmoving and even a three-point hitch, rare on crawler tractors.
In 1957 J. I. Case made an offer to merge ATC into Case. This was mutually advantageous as ATC had innovative designs but lacked a strong distribution network whereas Case had not had success in the crawler market, but had an international distribution network. Of particular interest to Case was the backhoe that ATC had developed for its machines. Within the year Case had married the ATC backhoe to a Case 300 series tractor with a loader creating the first factory built and integrated loader backhoe in the American market.[10]
External links
See also
- Case Corporation
- Case 320
- Backhoe loader
References
- ^ "Part 1. Timeline in the Development of Agricultural Tractors and Power Units" (PDF). College of Western Idaho (archived PDF). p. 54. Retrieved 31 October 2025.
American Tractor Corp. formed by the Rojtman family… manufacturing the GT-25 crawler in 1949… The company merged with J. I. Case in 1956.
- ^ a b c Wendel, C. H. (2005). 150 Years of J. I. Case. Iola, WI: Krause Publications. ISBN 978-0-87349-930-9.
- ^ "Case Construction Equipment history timeline". CNH Industrial Media. 9 February 2016. Retrieved 31 October 2025.
- ^ "American Tractor Company History". Old Iron Garage. 16 September 2022. Retrieved 31 October 2025.
- ^ "Nebraska Tractor Test 471: TerraTrac GT-30 (May 19–27, 1952)". Lester F. Larsen Tractor Test & Power Museum (UNL). 1952. Retrieved 31 October 2025.
- ^ "Case looks back on 175 years of manufacturing construction equipment". Equipment World. 24 April 2017. Retrieved 31 October 2025.
- ^ "Commercial & Financial Chronicle: March 27, 1958 (Vol. 187, No. 5728)". FRASER (Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis). Retrieved 31 October 2025.
…acquired the President and largest stockholder of American Tractor, Mr. Marc B. Rojtman, and made him Executive Vice-President at Case.
- ^ "CNH Global N.V." Encyclopedia.com. Retrieved 31 October 2025.
- ^ Hoffman, Ray. "TerraTrac The American Tractor Corporation". Antique Power. p. 21. Retrieved 26 March 2011 – via scanned page posted on Yahoo! Groups.
- ^ "Corporations: Help from a Mouse". Time. 1 October 1956. Archived from the original on December 14, 2008. Retrieved 26 March 2011.
