Combine History Brought Back to Life in Stoneleigh, UK

Proud, symbolic and with great dignity, a Massey Harris 780 Combine Harvester is recovered from the town Museum of Horn in Austria back to AGCO’s UK facility at Abbey Park, Stoneleigh to be completely renovated back to its original standard by a volunteer group of Abbey Park employees.

The Combine Harvester restoration project is part of the commemoration of 75 years of the world’s first commercial production of the self-propelled Combine Harvester in 1938. The first self-propelled Combine harvester in Europe was first assembled in Manchester, UK in 1947 before full design and production began at M-H’s Combine factory in Kilmarnock, Scotland in 1948. The M-H 780 was one of the most successful produced there and went on to become one of the first to be fully branded Massey Ferguson.

The actual machine being renovated dates from the year of Massey Ferguson’s founding in 1958 and had a productive working life in Austria before ending up as an “unfinished project” within the Horn Town Museum, 30 years ago. Once completed, the M-H 780 will feature at various events around Europe, commemorating the 75 years.

With major investments and developments in the current  Massey Ferguson Harvesting range that are being recognized for their high quality and reliability, it is timely to record that Massey Ferguson holds a unique position in the Harvesting world that provides a strong mandate for future success as AGCO continues to invest heavily in this critical sector within farm mechanization.