The Klarenbach Report, Nov 8
In the late 1960’s Peter Pakosh’s brother, Dan, had a simple idea. Why fit a loader on the front of the tractor when it would be easier to mount it on the rear and swivel the operator around to work it? This simple idea led Versatile to develop the world’s first bi-directional tractor, the Model 150.
The Model 150, a “push-pull” tractor, was marketed as a “number of self-propelled machines in one.”
The Model 150, sized to compete with conventional two-wheel-drive tractors with similar horsepower, offered a full-time hydrostatic drive to all four wheels and articulated steering.
The Model could achieve equal power using a push or pull implement, making it truly “versatile” and an instant success becoming the tractor for swathing and mowing.
The Model 150 was replaced with the 85-hp Model 256 in 1984, offering power takeoff, three-point linkage and remote hydraulic valves on both ends of the machine. Versatile offered the Model 276 with 100-hp a year later. In 1990, the 256 and 276 were replaced by the New Holland 9030.
New Holland continued the tradition and modernized the tractor’s mechanical, transmission and larger, more comfortable cab with the TV140 in 1998.
Co-founder Roy Robinson dreamed of building a giant tractor, putting Versatile ahead of the field. He instructed the design team to build the world’s biggest tractor.
Roy’s dream resulted in the 26-ton, 600-hp eight-wheel-drive Versatile 1080. The factory workers affectionately called it Big Roy. Big Roy had a 19-litre Cummins engine in the rear, while the front held the 2,100-litre fuel tank.
Rear visibility was almost blocked as the engine was mounted extra high to clear the axles and allow space for the eight-wheel-drive transmission drivelines. A closed-circuit TV with a camera on the back was installed, allowing a general rear view for reversing or tilting the camera down to position the drawbar correctly to attach implements.
Versatile eventually cancelled the Big Roy Program due to development costs and the fact that no implements were large enough to challenge its pulling power.
The Versatile co-founders, Peter Pakosh and Roy Robinson, now at retirement age, decided to sell their stakes in the company and retire. What they built from that backyard in Toronto some thirty years ago was remarkable. Versatile grew from selling ten grain augers per year from a basement shop to a multinational farm-equipment manufacturer with over $100 million in annual sales. It grew from 50 staff to more than 1,300 workers and a network of over 2,000 dealers.
References: Pakosh, J. (2003). Versatile Tractors: A Farm Boy’s Dream. Boston Mills Press.
Trent Klarenbach, BSA AgEc, publishes the Klarenbach Grain Report and the Klarenbach Special Crops Report, which can be read at https://www.klarenbach.ca/