MASSEY FERGUSON FORESTRY EQUIPMENT In the mid-1960’s, Massey Ferguson decided to enter the forestry equipment business under the vision and directorship of David Spanjer, who came to Massey from railcar builder CANCAR located in Thunder Bay, Ontario. This was part of Massey Ferguson’s Industrial Construction Machinery Division and the plan was to design and build forestry equipment based on the company’s construction, tractor and crawler products. The Logging Research Division was established with a design office and prototype shop in an old barn on the Massey Ferguson Test Farm in Milliken. This is where Tony Fox began his long and illustrious career with Massey Ferguson. Plans were to design, develop and manufacture log skidders, grapples, feller/bunchers and forwarders. The MF 220 skidder was the first product and it used a Perkins 248 ci diesel engine, MF intermediate transmission, an English-built, twin-disc, full powershift transmission, MF agricultural tractor axles, Gearmatic winch from British Columbia and an open cab with brush guards. In later years, Tony worked with the SAE to develop ROPS cabs. Some of the main skidder design challenges were radiator and cab spearing prevention, plus tire and exhaust robustness. The design, prototype build and initial testing was all done in Milliken, with additional testing conducted by actual loggers in Northern Ontario. The MF 220 skidder went into production in 1971 in Akron, Ohio at the Massey Ferguson Industrial Plant with approximately five-hundred being built in the first year. In 1970, Tony Fox moved to Akron, Ohio so he could join the field test group that was headquartered there. However, there many issues with the equipment, once the machine was used under actual working conditions. Most had to be recalled, retrofitted and/or modified. The engines performed poorly in cold weather, the winch mounting wasn't durable enough, plus the center articulating joint failed as did axle trumpets. Tony's group was then moved from Akron to the Tractor Design Center in Detroit, Michigan and the field test group was sent to Tecumseh, Michigan. Shortly after that move, Tony headed-up a team in Detroit that redesigned the skidder which was rebadged as the MF 320, which used up most of the leftover parts in Akron from the Model 220. At that point, approximately one hundred skidders were built using a Perkins 318 ci diesel engine. These proved to be rugged and durable machines. Massey also designed and built prototype grapples, feller/bunchers and forwarders but these never made it into production and the Logging and Forestry Division was shut down in 1974, citing competition from CAT, Timberjack, Clark and Deere.