Of the more than 200 manufacturers of agricultural implements in the U. S., the greatest by far is the International Harvester Co. Another, far smaller, far less staunch, is the Advance-Rumely Co. Both last week made their financial reports for 1925; found the year the best in almost a decade.
International Harvester's net profit for the year, after interest and charges, was $19,171,240. This equals, with preferred dividends deducted, $14.82 a share on $99,876,772 common stock (authorized capital: $130,000,000 common, $100,000,000 1% preferred). On common, $5 will be paid, the balance going to increase surplus by $9,813,770 to a total of $64,934,938.
Advance-Rumely, manufacturers of stationary, portable and tractor engines, separators, corn shellers, plowing, hulling and threshing machines, fuel and water tanks and trucks, tractor plows and accessories, profited during the year $540,577, equivalent, after proper deductions, to $4.32 on the $12,500,000 6% cumulative preferred stock. Only $3 a share was paid on this preferred, leaving in arrears $13.50 a share or a total of $1,687,500. Nothing was paid on the $13,750,000 of common stock. This showing results, despite the good business year, from the foreclosure sale in 1914 of the M. Rumely Co. and the Rumely Products Co. The Reorganization Committee bought these for $4,000,000. Now Finley P. Mount is President.
Vastly more solid is the International Harvester Co., which makes practically every tool the farmer may need: beet pullers manure spreaders cane mills motor coaches coiled springs motor truck units corn bundlers movers corn cultivators plows corn pickers potato diggers corn shellers rakes corn shredders reapers cream separators culti-packers seeding machines engines side rakes ensilage, cutters speed trucks grain binders sweep rakes grain headers tedders harrows threshers harvest threshers tillage implements hay loaders tractors hay presses hay stackers twine listers wagons, etc. These are made at plants in Chicago, Rock Falls, Canton (Ill.), Ft. Wayne, Richmond (Ind.), Akron, Springfield (Ohio), St. Paul (Minn.), Auburn (N. Y.) and Milwaukee (Wis.). Raw materials come from company-owned iron ore mines in Minnesota, coal and coke works in Kentucky and at Chicago, furnace and steel mills at Chicago, timber lands and sawmills in Missouri, sisal plantations in Cuba. The S. S. Harvester, 10,000 tons, affords transportation economies.
Subsidiary manufacturing companies of the International Harvester are: Aktiebolget International Harvester Co. (Sweden), Chatham Works (Chatham, Ont.),
Compagnie Internationale des Machines Agricoles S. A. (France), Harvester Works (Hamilton. Ont.), International Harvester Co. of Canada, .Ltd., International Harvester Co. m. b. H. (Germany), International Harvester Co. in Latvia, International Harvester Co. in Russia, Plow Works (Hamilton, Ont.), Springfield Spring Co. (Springfield, Ohio), Wisconsin Steel Co. and Wisconsin Lumber Co.
Sales are handled through companies and agencies in the U. S., Australia, Denmark, Germany, Belgium, Great Britain, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden and Switzerland.
For the parent company, Cyrus Hall McCormick is Chairman of the Board of Directors, Harold Fowler McCormick, Chairman of the Executive Committee, and Alexander Legge, President.