The David Brown story began in 1936, when the company teamed up with Harry Ferguson to build the Ferguson-Brown tractor. This machine soon gained popularity because of its revolutionary three-point linkage.
Although the collaboration between the two parties would end up being short lived, it spurred David Brown into making tractors to its own design. Production was put on hold during WW2, but by the late 1940s tractors like the Cropmaster were making a name for themselves.
In 1955, David Brown bought out implement manufacturer Harrison McGregor and Guest Ltd., while the factory at Meltham concentrated on tractor production. Exports boomed over the next few years, attracting the attention of American giant Tenneco Inc.
Tenneco eventually acquired the company in 1972 and decided to merge it with another famous name in the tractor world – J I Case. The alliance prospered, and in 1985 Tenneco expanded the organisation with newly acquired International
