Minneapolis-Moline

Minneapolis-Moline was a large tractor and machinery producer based in Minnesota. It was the product of a merger between three companies in 1929: Minneapolis Steel & Machinery (MSM) (Twin City tractors), Minneapolis Threshing Machine (MTM), and Moline Plow. It was headquartered in Hopkins, MN and had plants on Lake Street at Hiawatha Avenue in Minneapolis MN, in Hopkins MN, and Moline, IL.

MSM, the largest of the merged companies, was a leader in the anti-labor union, open-shop, movement. It was a member of the Citizen's Alliance (CA), a powerful Minneapolis business league that kept the city largely union free for over 20 years. During World War I, the unions agreed to not strike to aid the war effort, in exchange the National War Labor Board ordered wage hikes for workers. MSM refused, starting a court battle that would not be fully resolved until the 1940s.

Minneapolis-Moline inherited MSM's CA membership and attitude. However, it signed a contract with the AFL Machinists Union in 1935, during the Flour City Ornamental Iron strike and after the 1934 Teamster's Strikes, both of which were notable for their violence. This was a notable defection that foreshadowed the collapse of the open-shop movement in Minneapolis. However, this did not mean peaceful labor relations in the years to come. After World War II, the company would have to deal with strikes and pension disputes.

It was acquired by the White Motor Company in 1963 and the brand name was dropped in 1974. AGCO purchased White in 1991. The Hopkins headquarters site has been redeveloped, and is now the location for a Honda automobile dealership.

Minneapolis-Moline pioneered the concept of the closed-cab farm tractor in 1938 by developing the UDLX Comfortractor (also known as the Model U Deluxe). The UDLX was equipped with automotive features such as an electric starter and a dashboard with a speedometer, plus several firsts in a tractor, including a heater, a cigarette lighter, windshield wipers, and a radio. Despite poor sales due to its high cost (double that of a Farmall or Deere), UDLX was part of one of Minneapolis-Moline's most popular series. The U series saw a number of variants, including the UTU, UTS, UTL, UDU, UDU, UOPL, UB, UTIL, and UT.

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