Legacy: Coming Full Circle
This 1959 Model 440 has quite the story.
The machine was sold by Adams Steel & Fabrication in 1959. Based in Naperville, IL, Adams Steel & Fabrication went out of business in the early 1960s. This was the John Deere dealership territory that our West Side Tractor Founders Rich and Mary Benck purchased and opened up in 1962. The pickup truck full of used tractor parts that Rich started the business with actually came from Adams Steel! We’re thinking this machine was a trade-in to West Side since it has our first decal on it with a Lisle address (where our business began). Rich likely resold it in the mid-60s.
Fast forward to 2019… West Side Field Technician Brian Bywater from Joliet went to visit a neighbor’s farm to look at a barn full of tractors. The farmer had recently passed away and his wife needed assistance getting the tractors working and sent to auction. Brian got this machine up and running, and off it went to auction in Southern Illinois. Brian called West Side Owner Tom Benck to let him know the West Side historical connection. Tom tracked the machine and bought it at auction this fall.
After some TLC, this Model 440 with backhoe loader attachment will be on display at our new Lisle headquarters opening in Summer 2020. We can’t help but feel like it was meant to be. We put antique tractors on display in most of our showrooms because it reminds us of our legacy, the importance of remembering our past to build for the future. This tractor reminds us of when Rich and Mary started the business with a pickup truck of used tractor parts and not much in their savings account, but a passion to run their own business. Today, we’re building a headquarters to fit the business needs of our future; for our 300 employees, thousands of customers across two states, a place that the fourth generation of our family could one day work.
