The Advance-Rumely Company of La Porte, Indiana was organized in 1915 as a producer of many types of agricultural machinery, most notably threshing machine

Threshing machine

The thrashing machine, or, in modern spelling, threshing machine , was a machine first invented by Scottish mechanical engineer Andrew Meikle for use in agriculture. It was invented for the separation of grain from stalks and husks. For thousands of years, grain was separated by hand with flails,...

s and large tractor

Tractor

A tractor is a vehicle specifically designed to deliver a high tractive effort at slow speeds, for the purposes of hauling a trailer or machinery used in agriculture or construction...

s. Advance-Rumely was purchased by Allis-Chalmers

Allis-Chalmers

The Allis-Chalmers Manufacturing Co. of West Allis, Wisconsin, is an American company known for its past as a manufacturer with diverse interests, perhaps most famous for their bright Persian Orange farm tractors...

 Manufacturing Company in 1931, and the company's main works would become what was later known as the "La Porte plant".

Thanks to various mergers and acquisitions, the company's origins stretched as far back as 1836.