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Simplicity history
Simplicity company history timeline
1922: Company founded by William J. Niederkorn.
Forced to find a new product, Simplicity, in 1937, entered the garden tractor market with a two-wheel walking tractor that was sold by Montgomery Ward and Company. It was a popular enough product that the company was able to carry on through the first several years of the Great Depression, but in 1936 the market collapsed when Detroit automakers began to rebuild engines, selling them at low prices directly to car and truck owners.
The company started to be officially known to many when they made a tractor exclusively for Montgomery Ward and Company way back in 1937.
In 1939 a "sulky attachment" (essentially two wheels and a simple seat) was introduced, converting the walker into a rudimentary riding garden tractor.
However during the mid and late 1950’s, the “FC” was produced using a Kohler engine.
In the mid-1950’s the first riding lawn mowers appeared.
In 1955 the company introduced the Simplicity Roticul, a single-purpose, walk-behind rotary tiller.
A major step in the company's evolution took place in 1955 when Simplicity began to offer a snow throwing attachment to its walker.
1957: Wonder-Boy riding mower introduced.
In 1959 the company produced the 700 Wonder-Boy, its first four-wheel riding tractor.
Wards also marketed the four-wheel Simplicity tractors well into the 1960’s.
In 1960 the Wonderboy 700 became the 700 in order to avoid confusion with the rear-engine Wonderboy models.
1961: Sno-Away Snowthrower introduced.
In 1961 the first Allis-Chalmers garden tractor, the 7.25 horsepower B-1, was born.
In 1963 it began to manufacture its first lawn tractor.
A smaller "lawn" type tractor, the 6 horsepower Broadmoor, was first made in 1964.
1965: Allis-Chalmers Corporation acquires business.
Source: The Story of William J. Niederkorn, prepared for the Ozaukee County Historical Society, August 8, 1967, Marquette University Press, courtesy of Simplicity Manufacturing inc.
The federal government challenged the purchase. As a result, in 1967, Allis-Chalmers opened a new plant in Lexington, South Carolina to build garden tractors.
In 1969 it opened an office in Brussels, Belgium, to handle its European business.
The last of the true walker tractors was the 8 hp model “W” built into the 1970’s.
The "Wonderboy" rear engine models stayed in the line up through the 1970’s, eventually becoming the Coronet, which is still made.
In 1971 the company began selling its first commercial industrial tractor.
In 1971, the 300 series introduced many design changes.
They started to invest on producing a different garden and lawn equipment in 1972, this is to adapt to the changing needs of consumers both homeowners and commercial establishments.
Also in 1972, Allis-Chalmers introduced the model 616, which was the Simplicity PowrMax with orange paint and a different hood.
In 1973 a more robust engine, featuring 19.5 horsepower, was added to the PowrMax.
In 1973 the similar 400 series was introduced.
After the 1973 closing of the Lexington plant, Homelite models were made in Port Washington.
In 1973, a 19.5 horsepower version of the Onan engine (the CCKB) was installed.
In 1974, the new 700 series was introduced in an all orange color scheme to match the big AC farm tractors.
The response to their new machine was another success which made the company earn their first one million dollars in sales in 1975.
In 1975 the 620 was relabeled as the 720 to match the numbering of the updated smaller tractors.
In 1975, Textron purchased Jacobsen, putting an end to Simplicity-built Homelites effective the end of that model year.
The final PowrMax revision came in 1975 with the PowrMax 9020, which had an upgraded front axle.
After 1975, the AC version was also sold as the “720 Special.” On these models the hydraulics, 3-point hitch, and rear PTO were optional instead of standard.
The new 600 series introduced at the same time replaced the Homesteader line and the 800 series lawn tractors were added in 1976.
In 1978 the company decided not just to be known as Simplicity mowers but also snowthrowers.
On the snowthrower side of the business during this period, Simplicity introduced a new single-stage snowthrower in 1978.
In 1978, Simplicity began selling two models of compact diesel tractors.
The 900 series replaced the 700 series in 1979 using only Kohler engines, however a very few Briggs powered 916’s were.
In 1981, the model 9518 was introduced, which was the same as the AC 5015.
In 1983 three Simplicity executives--Warner C. Frazier, president; Nicholas P. Trunzo, vice-president of operations; and Carl Charles, vice-president of finance--teamed up with Wesray Corporation, a private investment firm, to buy the business from Allis-Chalmers.
In 1984, a diesel model, the 7790(Allis-Chalmers and Deutz-Allis model 920), was offered.
In 1985, just two years later, Wesray sold its interest to an Employee Stock Ownership Trust (ESOT). Papers filed in this transaction indicated that in fiscal 1985 Simplicity sales had grown to $90 million.
It did not become involved in the manufacture of commercial walk-behind and riding mowers until 1985 but quickly gained a solid reputation for innovation, in particular for its revolutionary suspension system.
A drought during the summer of 1988 hurt sales of lawn and garden equipment, and was followed by a dry winter, which adversely impacted the sale of snowthrowers.
In 1989 it acquired Middlesworth Engineering and Manufacturing Inc., a Greentown, Indiana, maker of industrial mowers, which had patented an advanced steering mechanism.
In the early 1990’s, Ingersoll produced Massey garden tractors.
In 1991, AGCO Corporation (an acronym for Allis-Gleaner) was formed to buy the assets of Deutz-Allis.
Simplicity entered the stand-alone chipper shredder business when it acquired Tornado Products Company in 1992.
In 1993, AGCO Corporation purchased Varity Corporation, which owned the Massey-Ferguson tractor line.
1994: Kohlberg & Co. acquires controlling stake.
In 1997 Simplicity Manufacturing celebrated its’ 75th anniversary.
In 1998 the company invested more than $1 million in new technology to increase productivity.
In February 1999, a new president was brought in: Jim Weir, who had been groomed to succeed Warner Frazier as chief executive officer.
Before Warner stepped down as CEO on January 1, 2000 (he stayed on as chairman), Simplicity announced that it had agreed to purchase Ferris Industries, a Munnsville, New York-based company that produced professional turf care machinery.
The 7100 series evolved into the Sovereign, which sadly, was discontinued in June of 2000, thus ending over 40 years production of the same basic design.
2002: Snapper, Inc. acquired.
In 2002 the “Agco-Allis” name was dropped for simply “AGCO.”
Then, in June 2004, Simplicity announced that it would be acquired by Briggs & Stratton for some $225 million in cash.
In 2004 Briggs & Stratton purchased Simplicity.
The acquisition happened in 2005 making Simplicity the newest baby of Power Products Group of none other than Briggs & Stratton.
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