POWER-TRAC

[J_J]

DOES ANYONE KNOW WHEN POWER-TRAC BUILT THEIR FIRST PT AND WHICH MODEL DID THEY BUILD. MY PT-1445 HAS A FORD INDUSTRIAL ENGINE IN IT AND I GUESSING IT'S ABOUT 8 TO 10 YEARS OLD. IT ALSO HAS THREE HYDRAULIC PUMPS. DOES ANYONE KNOW THE HISTORY OF PT FROM START TO THE PRESENT?

J.J.

 

[Charlie_Iliff]

J.J.
I can't answer your question, but suggest you call Power Trac and ask them again. Sometimes they don't route the question to the person who knows the answer. I think the man other than the boss who knows the most may be Don - in charge of parts. Kristie Asbury, in marketing, is a daughter of Ed Reynolds, who started the Company and is still the boss. Kristie may not know all of the history, but can ask her father.
On one of my visits, they showed me the original PT. The company had been in the mining equipment business when Mr. Reynolds became dissatisfied with the machine(s) he had to care for his place. I was told that he designed and had his shop build the articulated machine which they are preparing to display as the first Power Trac. It had a lot of the characteristics of the current 400 series machines. If you call, they should be able to give you the date of that one, and I am sure Ed Reynolds can give you a complete history if you can get through to him.
Terry Estep has always been helpful on maintenance and repair issues, and may know about history, as well. He also may be a conduit to Ed. Reynolds.
Let us know what you find out.

 

[pajoube]

Charlie,
Thanks, that was intersting.
PJ

 

[Bob999]

The following paragraph is taken from the PT web site.

"Power Trac's have been built since 1984 by an American-owned family business in southwestern Virginia. The manufacturers at Power Trac began building articulated, heavy-duty equipment for the mining industry in 1977... and continues to today, shipping mining equipment all over the world. When we needed a small loader/tractor for our facility, we designed and built the first Power Trac. Even in 1984, we saw a need for one machine that did a number of tasks with several different attachments. At that time, most customers weren't too keen on the idea of articulated equipment or multi-use machines. Through the years of advertising and trade shows, Power Trac has proven that heavy-duty, versatile equipment can also be turf friendly and a great value."


I think the current serial number system that PT uses tells the year the item was built--some items I purchased this year have a serial number beginning 16---. I think that this is the sixteenth year of this numbering system and would suggest that it originated in 1988.