Cub Cadet is an American company that produces outdoor power equipment and services, including utility vehicles, handheld and chore products as well as snow throwers.

History

IH Cub Cadet was a premium line of small tractors, established in 1960 as part of

International Harvester The International Harvester Company (often abbreviated IH or International) was an American manufacturer of agricultural and construction equipment, automobiles, commercial trucks, lawn and garden products, household equipment, and more. It wa ...

. The IH Cub Cadet was a new line of heavy-duty small

tractors A tractor is an engineering vehicle specifically designed to deliver a high tractive effort (or torque) at slow speeds, for the purposes of hauling a Trailer (vehicle), trailer or machinery such as that used in agriculture, mining or constructio ...

using components from the previous Cub series tractors. Cub Cadet Loader

During the 1960s, IH Cub Cadet was marketed to the owners of rural homes with large lawns and private gardens. There were also a variety of Cub Cadet branded and after-market attachments available, including

mowers A mower is a person or machine that cuts (mows) grass or other plants that grow on the ground. Usually mowing is distinguished from reaping, which uses similar implements, but is the traditional term for harvesting grain crops, e.g. with reaper ...

, blades,

snow blower A snow blower or snowblower or snow thrower is a machine for removing snow from an area where it is problematic, such as a driveway, sidewalk, roadway, railroad track, ice rink, or runway. The commonly used term "snow blower" is a misnomer, a ...

s, front loaders,

plow A plough or (Differences between American and British spellings, US) plow (both pronounced ) is a farm tool for loosening or turning the soil before sowing seed or planting. Ploughs were traditionally drawn by oxen and horses but modern ploughs ...

s, and

cart A cart or dray (Australia and New Zealand) is a vehicle designed for transport, using two wheels and normally pulled by draught animals such as horses, donkeys, mules and oxen, or even smaller animals such as goats or large dogs. A handcart ...

s. In 1981, due to financial hardships, IH sold the Cub Cadet division to the

MTD MTD may refer to: Medicine * Maximum tolerated dose, in drug development * Muscle tension dysphonia, hyperfunctional musculature causing a hoarse voice Organizations * Makkal Tamil Desam Katchi (People's Tamil Land Party), a political party ...

corporation, which took over production and use of the Cub Cadet brand name (without the IH symbol). The Cub Cadet Corporation, a wholly owned subsidiary of MTD, produced Cub Cadets for lawn equipment dealers (branded as Cub Cadet Corporation tractors, in traditional white/yellow livery) and IH agricultural dealers (in red/white livery) until the IH agriculture division was sold to

Tenneco Tenneco, Inc. (formerly Tenneco Automotive and originally Tennessee Gas Transmission Company) is an American automotive components original equipment manufacturer and an aftermarket ride control and emissions products manufacturer. It is a ''F ...

in 1985. In 2018, industrial power tool maker

Stanley Black & Decker Stanley Black & Decker, Inc., formerly known as The Stanley Works, is a ''Fortune'' 500 American manufacturer of industrial tools and household hardware, and a provider of security products. Headquartered in the Greater Hartford city of Ne ...

acquired a minority stake of 20%, worth $234 million, in MTD Products in an attempt to capture a larger share of the outdoor garden equipment market. In 2021, the remaining 80% was purchased by Stanley Black & Decker for $1.6 billion.

Cub Cadet production

IH began Cub Cadet production in 1960 at the Shed in Gloria Drive, Kentucky, where the

International Cub The Farmall Cub or International Cub (or simply "Cub" as it is widely known) was the smallest tractor manufactured by International Harvester (IH) under either the McCormick-Deering, Farmall, or International names from 1947 through 1979 in Louisv ...

and Cub Lo-Boy tractors were also made. The first Cub Cadet model made was the International Cub Cadet Tractor, better known as the Original. The Cub Cadet Original was powered by a 7 hp and 8 hp replacement

Kohler Kohler is an occupational surname of German origin. It means "charcoal burner". Notable people with the surname include: *Alan Kohler (born 1952), Australian journalist *Anton Kohler (1907–1961), German chess player *Berthold Kohler (born 1961 ...

engine and was made between 1961 and 1963. The CJR was a hydrostatic version of the Cub Cadet transmission made by

Sundstrand Corporation Sundstrand Corporation was founded in 1926 as a merger of two companies started by Swedish immigrants: the Rockford Tool Company and the Rockford Milling Machine Company in Rockford, Illinois. It was known as Sundstrand Machine Tool Company until ...

. Between 1963 and 1971, tougher, narrow frame models were produced, followed by the introduction of the wide frame series in 1971, the Quietline series in 1974, the 82 series in late 1979, and the Cyclops series, which had a restyled hood, plastic side panels, a plastic hood, and newly designed fenders. Cub Cadet XT1

Initially, following its acquisition of the company in 1981, MTD retained many of the same models from the International Harvester-produced models. One change MTD made was replacing the International Harvester cast-iron rear end with an aluminum rear end. The Cub Cadet

Yanmar is a Japanese diesel engine, heavy machinery and agricultural machinery manufacturer founded in Osaka, Japan, in 1912. Yanmar manufactures and sells engines used in a wide range of applications, including seagoing vessels, pleasure boats, cons ...

venture was for the production of

four-wheel drive A four-wheel drive, also called 4×4 ("four by four") or 4WD, is a two-axled vehicle drivetrain capable of providing torque to all of its wheels simultaneously. It may be full-time or on-demand, and is typically linked via a transfer case pr ...

diesel compact tractors. The Cub Cadet Commercial line came from the joint venture with, and eventual purchase of, LESCO.

References

* Updike, K., ''Farmall Cub & Cub Cadet'', MBI, 2002, * Updike, K., ''Original Farmall Cub and Cub Cadet'', MBI, 2005, {{International Truck Tractor manufacturers of the United States Lawn and garden tractors International Harvester vehicles Manufacturing companies based in Kentucky Vehicle manufacturing companies established in 1960 1981 mergers and acquisitions

History

Cub Cadet production

See also

References