History of Alliance Tractor and Implement

Alliance Tractor & Implement Company was started by Gordon J. Keeley in May of 1950. The business at that time was located on West 3rd Street, what is now known as the Eagles Club. At this location the company represented the Allis Chalmers line of tractors and the New Holland line of hay equipment. Max Garwood started in 1951 and sold farm equipment located at 1024 Flack Avenue, what is now known as Alliance Motors. At this location he sold the Ford tractor line. In 1952, both businesses were combined and moved into a new building at 10th and Flack Ave, where it is currently located.

In 1958, Alliance Tractor negotiated a deal to become the local Hesston dealer. Hesston Corporation specializes in hay equipment.

In 1962, Alliance Tractor became incorporated and Max and Gordon became full partners in the company. Also, International Harvester was added to the lineup of tractors and equipment.

In 1966, Alliance Tractor became an Oliver dealer. The main reason for this partnership was to add a four wheel drive tractor to the lineup of tractors that ranchers needed in the sandhills.

In the late sixties, Ford Tractor Company expanded its line of tractors and equipment. When this happened, the owners of Alliance Tractor decided to cancel the contract they had with the Allis Chalmers in order to further support the Ford line of equipment. By 1977, Oliver Corporation was going through some difficult times. It was decided to go ahead and drop this contract from the current line as well.

In 1981, Max and Gretchen Garwood purchased the balance of the Alliance Tractor stock from Gordon Keeley in order to become sole owners of the company.

In 1985, the Tenneco Corporation, which owned Case Company at the time, bought International Harvester and named the new company, Case-IH. In 1986 the Ford Tractor Company acquired the New Holland Corporation forming a new entity called Ford-New Holland. In 1991, the Italian corporation Fiat bought all the remaining stock of Ford-New Holland from the Ford Motor Company. As a result the Ford name was dropped and the new name was New Holland Corporation. In 1999 Case-IH and New Holland Corporation merged to form a parent company called CNH. At this time both companies continue to operate as separate individual entities under the umbrella of CNH.

In 2014 the Case IH line was dropped from Alliance Tractor and New Holland became the main wholegood supplier. Shortlines that complement the mainline include Great Plains drills and tillage equipment, Harvest International by Meridian augers, Bale King bale processors, H&S hay rakes, Bush Hog mowers, Unverferth seed tenders and several other lines.

Over the years Alliance Tractor has expanded the original building that was moved into in 1952. The largest of 12 different add-ons came in 1973 when the service department built on to the existing building with a 60’x100’ steel structure. This addition greatly increased the service capabilities of the company. In 2013 a separate storage and work area was added near the main building. In 2021 Alliance Tractor purchased the previous location of the Alliance Animal Clinic. The purpose of this acquisition is primarily for additional display area for wholegood inventory.

All of these building expansions have enabled Alliance Tractor to extend their service area to include most of the panhandle of western Nebraska, parts of southwestern South Dakota and southeastern Wyoming. Alliance Tractor is pleased to be able to serve the farmers and ranchers in this area from a single location.