history

The Frick Company was founded in 1853. George Frick was a mechanical genius who began manufacturing various items in 1848. By 1850 he had built his first steam engine. Frick grain threshers were being built already in the 1840s and were continually improved. Steam traction engines were sold in large numbers in the 1870s, and sawmills were added in 1875. Frick refrigerating machines were introduced in 1882, and today, Frick remains a leader in this field. In the May 1913 issue of the Threshermans Review Magazine, Frick announced that they would be selling the tractors of Ohio Tractor Company, Columbus, Ohio This marked Frick’s entry into the tractor business. The company apparently began work on their own tractor about this time. Whether from a corporate unwillingness to get any further into the tractor business, or whether there was an executive preference for the refrigeration equipment line, Frick discontinued tractors about 1928 and sold the Minneapolis tractors from 1928 to 1930. These were built by Minneapolis Threshing Machine Company in Minneapolis, Minnesota. In 1987, Frick was acquired by York International and their focus became refrigeration equipment.