Joliet Manufacturing Company

Manufacturers of agricultural machinery.

Joliet Manufacturing Co. and its associated businesses produced farm implements from 1849 until at least the 1930s. The firm's origins began with the establishment of Dillman & Co., a Plainfield, Illinois manufacturer of iron plows; it evolved into its final form in 1867 through its move to Joliet, Illinois and its subsequent re-incorporation as Joliet Manufacturing. Throughout its history Joliet's principal stockholders operated separate, nearby factories that produced a large portion of its parts and equipments, resulting in a cluster of interrelated firms. Joliet Manufacturing Co.'s most important product was a corn sheller; it also made plows, corn-row checkers, and barbed wire. In the nineteenth century the firm's principal market was a ten-state Midwest region spanning from Ohio westward into Kansas and Nebraska. By the 1920s the company had established a nationwide network of distributors and had begun consideration of expansion into new markets in Canada, Latin America, South Africa, and the Soviet Union.

Joliet Manufacturing Co. and its associated businesses produced farm implements from 1849 until at least the 1930s. The firm's origins began with the establishment of Dillman & Co., a <st1:place><st1:city>Plainfield</st1:city>, <st1:state>Illinois</st1:state></st1:place> manufacturer of iron plows; it evolved into its final form in 1867 through its move to <st1:place><st1:city>Joliet</st1:city>, <st1:state>Illinois</st1:state></st1:place> and its subsequent re-incorporation as Joliet Manufacturing. Throughout its history <st1:city><st1:place>Joliet</st1:place></st1:city>'s principal stockholders operated separate, nearby factories that produced a large portion of its parts and equipments, resulting in a cluster of interrelated firms. Joliet Manufacturing Co.'s most important product was a corn sheller; it also made plows, corn-row checkers, and barbed wire. In the nineteenth century the firm's principal market was a ten-state <st1:place>Midwest</st1:place> region spanning from <st1:state><st1:place>Ohio</st1:place></st1:state> westward into <st1:state><st1:place>Kansas</st1:place></st1:state> and <st1:state><st1:place>Nebraska</st1:place></st1:state>. By the 1920s the company had established a nationwide network of distributors and had begun consideration of expansion into new markets in <st1:country-region><st1:place>Canada</st1:place></st1:country-region>, <st1:place>Latin America</st1:place>, <st1:country-region><st1:place>South Africa</st1:place></st1:country-region>, and the <st1:place>Soviet Union</st1:place>.