Tracking down the Volvo tractor history

In the late 1950s, a wave of European tractors that included the names David Brown (England), Someca (France), Porsche and Holder (Germany), and Zetor (Czechoslovakia) hit U.S. shores trying to cash in on the growing market for horsepower. Among these foreign invaders were two sleek Swedish tractors from Volvo — the 56 hp. Model T55 and its little brother, the 17 hp. Model T425.

The well-built and refined Volvo tractors experienced limited sales in the United States and were soon withdrawn from the market only to reemerge later in Canada when the Canadian Co-op Implements Ltd. (CCIL) began marketing Volvo tractors and combines for a brief time. Volvo’s limited recognition in North America belied the fact that this tractor line was a powerhouse in northern Europe and enjoyed a rich history dating back to the early 1800s.

Munktell-Bolinder collaboration

Volvo tractors trace their roots to Swedish inventors Johan Munktell and brothers Jean and Carl Bolinder. Munktell came on the scene in 1832 when he began to engineer and manufacture small machines such as a coin mint. In 1853, Munktell greatly expanded the size of his creations, building Sweden’s first steam traction engine. From that beginning, Munktell branched out into construction equipment, manufacturing a steam-roller in 1906.

Joining the ranks of early tractor pioneers that included J.I. Case, McCormick, Froelich, and Huber, Munktell fashioned his first tractor, the Munktells 30-40HK. The first tractor built in Sweden, this would launch Munktell’s company into additional tractor models.

The Bolinder brothers

The Bolinder family made its mark by engineering the first internal combustion engine in Sweden in 1893. The Bolinders specialized in manufacturing “semi-diesel” or “hot bulb” engines that utilized a red-hot metal surface inside a bulb located above the combustion chamber. This hot bulb or vaporizer chamber would ignite distillate fuels such as kerosene and fuel oil. Hot bulb engines could be hard to start, but once they were running (at a low speed of 50 to 300 rpm), the engine could burn any liquid fuel without a battery ignition and do so efficiently.

The Bolinder engine gained a reputation and began to be used in Munktell tractors. Until then, the Munktell operation fabricated its own engines. Soon all Munktell tractors were running with Bolinder power plants.

The Bolinders tried their hand at building tractors, but produced only one model before collaborating with the Munktell operation.

The collaboration grew to the point that the two organizations merged in 1932 to create Bolinder-Munktell (BM). At first, BM tractors were sold under the Munktell name only, but soon the Bolinder-Munktell name was adopted.

Purchased by Volvo

The next major change came in 1950 when ABVolvo purchased BM. Volvo had been involved with several tractor production partnerships with Bolinder-Munktell before this purchase.

Volvo also had manufactured its own line of tractors, produced alongside the company’s car. Volvo’s first tractor was the Model T41, introduced in 1943. After the acquisition of MB, tractors were sold both under the BM-Volvo and Bolinder-Munktell names.

These transition years saw a massive expansion of tractor production, aided by the previous development of a newline of diesel engines built in one, two, three, and four-cylinder units featuring direct injection.

The height of Volvo’s tractor production came in 1959 with the introduction of the 350 Boxer. This sleekly designed and well-equipped machine — sold throughout Europe and overseas — featured a fully independent PTO. During its eight-year production run, more than 28,000 models were sold, with another 10,000 forestry versions identified as theLM 218 rear loader.

At this time, the Volvo name had spread to include an expanding line of construction equipment. One such Volvo innovation in this market, the Gravel Charlie, was the world’s first articulated hauler.

Advanced tractor

During the 1960s, Volvo introduced a series of state-of-the-art tractors that included such advances as front-wheel drive, soundproof cabs, partial powershift transmission, and more powerful hydraulics. Horsepower output also advanced. The 100hp. mark was exceeded with the 1966 introduction of the Volvo 800 and T 800models (the T designating tractors equipped with front-wheel drive). Bearing a striking resemblance to International Harvester tractors, the 800s were quickly succeeded by the models 810 and 814 (rated at 140 and 147 hp.).

At this same time Volvo acquired the Swedish company ASJ, and with that acquisition, it gained a four-wheel-drive tractor that was branded the BM-Volvo Parca 714, rated at 155 hp.

In 1973, the company name was changed to Volvo BM AB. The Bolinder-Munktell brand had ceased to be used four years previously and tractors were sold either under the Volvo BM orBM Volvo names.

Try as it might to spur sales by introducing at-tractive, state-of-the-art tractors, Volvo found the agricultural equipment marketplace had grown extremely competitive with U.S. manufacturers staking out bigger claims in the European sale. As a result of declining profitability, Volvo phased out tractor manufacturing in 1979. That same year, the tractor business was sold in a joint venture to the Finnish company Valmet. A line of jointly developed tractors were then marketed as Volvo BM Valmet until 1986. At that time the Volvo name disappeared from tractors.

Valmet would later change its name to Valtra, which was acquired by AGCO in 2004.

Volvo manufacturing juggernaut

Volvo tractors were a small part of what had become a massive manufacturer of horsepower-driven vehicles that included construction equipment, cars, and trucks. The Volvo organization evolved into Volvo Group, a leading global manufacturer of trucks, buses, construction equipment, and marine and industrial engines. Volvo cars (first built in 1927) continue to be sold today. That division was sold to Ford and then to the Zhejiang Geely Holding Group, a Chinese company.

Volvo trucks (introduced in 1928) are the second most popular such vehicle in the world. The truck division, which also includes the Renault and Mack truck lines, assembles vehicles in 13 countries.

The Volvo construction equipment division, which was developed alongside the Volvo tractor in the early days of the company, today vies with Caterpillar and John Deere as one of the top three producers of such equipment in the world. The firm produces machinery in nine countries and has more than 14,600 employees worldwide.