EMI:  EQUIPMENT MANUFACTURERS INSTITUTE

(Now the Association of Equipment Manufacturers)

The Equipment Manufacturers Institute (now the Association of Equipment Manufacturers) is recognized around the world as the oldest and largest trade association for manufacturers of agricultural and construction equipment.

 During its 100^th anniversary in 1993, the Equipment Manufacturers Institute selected 100 Significant Contributors and Contributions to the Mechanization of Agriculture and Construction.  Sixty people were chosen while 40 were contributions.

 The innovators included such famous people as John Deere, Henry Ford, J.I.Case and Cyrus McCormick.  Deservedly, Peter Pakosh was also one of the sixty persons selected.  

EMI's write-up about my grandfather is reprinted below:

 An agricultural equipment design pioneer of great foresight, and a co-founder of Versatile Manufacturing Ltd., Peter Pakosh developed a grain auger, a field sprayer, and a line of self-propelled and pull-type swathers. His company Versatile Manufacturing Ltd. was first to mass-produce four-wheel drive tractors.

Although pre-dated by a Massey-Harris design and proto-type in 1932, the Versatile four-wheel drive farm tractor entered the market in 1966, and it sold for about the same price as competitors’ smaller two-wheel drive tractors. This product pioneered an important tractor category that provided the higher horsepower needed to advance field operation and is considered to have been the “commercializer” of four-wheel drive tractors in North America.

  It was indeed an incredible honour for my grandfather and such a privilege for me to have been there in Chicago as well!

- Jarrod

jpakosh@versatile-tractors.com