Newgren
Article from Jan 11, 1947 The Daily Sentinel-Tribune (Bowling Green, Ohio)
There are no public records of the Newgren Equipment Company’s operations. But by December 1947, when the Monroe Auto Equipment Company (hereafter Monroe) purchased Newgren, it sold a full line of agricultural implements designed to work with the Jeep.
In the first years of Newgren’s operation, Robert Green shifted his focus from hydraulic systems to farm implements. He returned to hydraulic systems when Monroe replaced the Newgren lift with its own hydraulic lift in 1948. Green was granted a patent for an improvement to the Monroe Hydraulic Lift.
During this time, Green authored a book on planning and conducting farm demonstrations. It most likely became the basis for Monroe’s spring 1949 advertising campaign called “Revolution in Farming.“
We have compiled a list of ads and, most importantly, a movie that highlights the importance of demonstrating this new type of farm vehicle.
The end of Newgren
Newlin and Green retained their leadership roles at Newgren after Monroe purchased it. However, Monroe sold Newgren to American Bantam within a few months in a stock deal. In September 1948, Monroe announced that Newgren was moving from Toledo to Butler, PA, the home of American Bantam. George Newlin resigned from his position as head of the company to pursue a career in breeding purebred Guernsey cattle. He would become manager of Wood Acres Farm of Princeton, N.J. Green apparently retained his position as vice president, but we see no evidence that he left Ohio.
Before being moved to Butler, Newgren doesn’t appear to have manufactured implements. Other manufacturing concerns would make Newgren implements to specification. While there is no proof available, it seems likely that Green would have overseen implement development. One product of special interest was the line of Newgren turning plows. The Wiard Plow Company of New York made the first Newgren plows. These plows were quickly replaced by a new design, manufacturer unknown. However, Green, when he left Willys, appears to have continued to manufacture these plows at his Bowling Green company. We will return to this subject later.
Things did not work well with the Monroe-Newgren-Bantam arrangement. In late 1949, the Monroe family executives removed the responsibility of distributing the Monroe Lift and implements from Newgren and handed it to Willys-Overland. In 1950, a new department was formed within Willys. It was to be named the Farm Sales Department. The new department was given complete control over the procurement, field testing, and distribution of implements and the Monroe Lift itself. Robert Green left Newgren and took a position as assistant to Charles R. Vincent, named manager of the new Willys department. Green was once again a Willys employee. The Newgren Equipment Company and the brand disappeared.
Up next, 1951-1955
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