Horwood Bagshaw scales down, ending the brand’s 54-year association with Mannum
Exclusive: Global firm CNH has shifted manufacturing operations away from its factory, but will continue with fewer staff.
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For the first time since 1972, Horwood Bagshaw farm machinery will no longer be manufactured at Mannum following a scaling-down at what was once the town’s biggest employer.
Sixteen workers at Horwood Bagshaw finished up on Tuesday, ending the brand’s 49-year-old association with the community.
Seeding and cultivation equipment previously produced at the factory under the Horwood Bagshaw brand will now be manufactured in Cowra, New South Wales.
A smaller number of staff will remain at Mannum to continue assembling Flexi-Coil equipment and handling logistics operations.
“The site has not closed,” said a spokesperson for CNH, Horwood Bagshaw’s international parent company.
“Affected staff were supported throughout the transition process.”
Blacksmiths’ company had a long history at Mannum
Mannum’s agricultural machinery firm had originally been founded as J & D Shearer in 1877, only a generation after the town was established.
Brothers John and David Shearer, Scottish migrants, started out repairing farm machinery and paddle steamers, but went on to make and sell their own agricultural equipment.
They were among the first proponents of the stump-jump plough, a South Australian invention which made it possible to clear mallee scrub for cropping on an industrial scale, and one which was adopted across the British Empire.
David also built Australia’s first motor car, powered by steam, in the late 1890s.
The Shearer steam car remains on display at the National Motor Museum at Birdwood.
The brothers dissolved their partnership in 1910, from which point the company continued at Mannum as David Shearer and Co.
Adelaide-based Horwood Bagshaw – which itself had a history stretching back to 1838 – acquired the Shearer factory in 1972.
By 1974 the company had moved its entire workforce, hundreds strong, from the city to the river town.
In 2018 the company was sold to global agricultural giant CNH, the conglomerate behind Case, New Holland and other international brands.
Horwood Bagshaw machinery will continue to be sold at almost 80 dealers around Australia, and Flexi-Coil equipment at 73 dealers.
