In this place, on the bank of the Root River, Jerome Increase Case founded Racine Treshing Machine Works to create revolutionary machines to separate seeds from straw faster.
Andreas Klauser Case IH Brand President said – “I think it’s amazing to see how far our company and industry have come in the last 175 years, in particular given that today, we are stronger than ever before.

“The main goal of our innovative approach is to provide our customers with constantly upgraded technologies that will enable them to be more productive and profitable. Mr Case started this tradition, very intensively using agricultural machines, before he founded his own company, which happened also to be the passion of his life. He believed that every machine manufactured by his company was to guarantee what the brand promised and personally he watched this happen. There are many stories of how Case went to other states to investigate the problems related to his products. He did so even when he was older. These principles still inspire us today and make up important guidelines.”
The origins of the company were closely connected with the beginnings of the American economy. Following the pioneers moving to the west, new farms were formed to provide food to the expanding population in the east. In 1869, Case company made the first tractor powered by a steam engine. The machine, although it had wheels, used the horses to pull, and the engine propelled the other implements. In 1876, the company built the first locomobile, a mobile driving unit. Steam engines quickly replaced horses at harvest, and by 1886 J.I. Case Threshing Machine Company had become the largest manufacturer of steam engines.
In 1902, five companies merged to form together the Chicago International Harvester Company. American banker, J.P. Morgan, who dominated the enterprises and industrial consolidation at that time, personally negotiated an agreement between firms. In 1915, the company produced the first farm combine harvester and in 1923, it introduced Farmall® – a row drill for crop. It was a revolutionary, uniform system of tractors and implements for plowing, growing and harvesting, which was characterized by greater productivity, reliability and safety. The International Harvester company sold more than five million Farmall tractors and in 1977, it launched the manufacture of unique Axial-Flow® combine harvesters with a monorail construction. They revolutionized agriculture through simplicity, minimum losses and high quality of grain. All these taken together guaranteed the crop a high value during sale. Axial-Flow harvesters today set out performance standards.
The Case IH brand came into being in 1985 when J. I. Case acquired the International Harvester’s Department of Agriculture, binding together the heritage of Case and IH. The first product was a Magnum tractor with a 160 hp to 240 hp engine. It was launched in 1987 into the market and was the first to receive the Industrial Design Excellence Award. Today, the Magnum model has a power output of up to 380hp and is still one of the most recognizable Case IH brands, whereas the number of its units sold exceeds 150,000.
In 1996, a revolutionary Quadtrac tractor was launched into the market. This established new performance standards and is still an unrivalled machine. Currently, the company has the world’s strongest tractor series in its offer. The Steiger® Quadtrac 620 with a power of up to 692hp, delivers the most significant pulling power, while protecting the soil.
Since the turn of the centuries, when Case IH re-introduced Farmall products, innovative solutions derived from this brand have been gaining strength.
• Case IH Advanced Farming Systems (AFS ™) is a system with preciseness up to 2.5 centimetres that has been at the forefront of precision farming for more than two decades, enabling farmers to maximize their productivity and profitability through the satellite technology.
• In 2000, Case IH introduced a stepless gearbox technology that gives CVX tractors an optimum combination of power and fuel efficiency.
• The patented “Efficient Power” engine technology allows Case IH products to meet the latest Tier 4 Final emission standards without the use of complicated systems of exhaust gas recirculation or solid particles filters.
• The Magnum 380 CVX was granted “the Tractor of the Year 2015” award at the EIMA International Exhibition in Bologna, Italy in 2014. At that year, Case IH also introduced the Rowtrac CVX model, which combines the individual advantages of wheeled and caterpillar tractors.
• The good fortune of Case IH also lasted in 2015, when the new Optum CVX tractor was granted “the Machine of the Year 2016” award at the Agritechnica. The judges were under impression of its powerful construction, power to weight ratio, maneuverability, performance and reliability.
• Optum 300 CVX was granted the “Tractor of the Year 2017” award at the EIMA 2016. This is an international show of agricultural machines held in Italy. The judges appreciated the power and the lightweight construction of the tractor that meets the needs of European farmers. Their decision only confirms the philosophy of Case IH – the farmers in the spotlight – and the importance of the Optum CVX in the ever-expanding segment of high power tractors and compact constructions.
• When at the Farm Progress Show 2016, Case IH revealed the concept of an autonomous tractor, everyone was speechless at the sight. The ability to act autonomously while using a variety of implements is a concept designed to make agriculture more efficient, profitable and more environmentally friendly in the times when it is increasingly difficult for many farmers to find skilled labour hands.
“The 175th anniversary of Case IH founding is a testimony of many years of good quality, consistency and progress. It is also an opportunity to make some reflections over our principles of innovative engineering solutions, efficient drive and agronomic design. This philosophy will be continued in the future. ” Andreas Klauser added.
“I am convinced that if Mr. Case could see the present shape of the company, he would certainly recognize the key values, he advocated for so many years ago, and which have been constantly most important in everything we do. I do not have the slightest doubt that he would have been satisfied with our taking into account the customer’s opinion, using Customer Driven Product Design in every product update, product model or product manufacture. However, in case of the concept of autonomous tractor, we can only have suppositions as to his opinion.”
“Looking at the amazing transformation that has taken place in the recent 175 years, it is hard to take command of emotions already when thinking about what can be achieved in the next 175 years. I am sure, this aspect will also be discussed extensively with our customers, dealers, and staff during the ceremony.”