Excerpt from Encyclopedia of American Farm Tractors by C.H. Wendel
Two brothers, Douglass and Maurice Steiger wanted a large, powerful tractor for their farm operations. Unable to find what they wanted, they built their own tractor from stock Euclid parts in 1957. Before long, neighbors began ordering tractors. As the demand increased it became obvious that the farm at Red Lake Falls. Minnesota was unsuited for expan sion. In January, 1969, the Steiger brothers, in association with a group of businessmen and farmers, formed a new corporation and moved to Fargo, North Dakota.Steiger began building four-wheel-drive tractors for International Harvester Company in 1973. Sales that year were in excess of $20 million.The Steiger Series II tractors appeared in 1974, and that same year, Steiger began construction on a 420,000 square foot plant – the largest four-wheel drive tractor plant in the world. By 1975, the Steiger plant had a capacity of some twenty tractors per shift. Beginning in 1974, Steiger began to expand the foreign market operations. Steiger Australia, Ltd. was established in 1976, and dealerships have been organized in Central and South America. In fiscal 1976, Steiger’s sales totaled some $104 million dollars.
The first Steiger tractor was built in a dairy barn on the farm of Douglass and Maurice Steiger during the winter of 1957-1958. Model #1 was powered by a 238 horsepower Detroit Diesel engine, and weighed 15,000 pounds. It used stock Euclid parts. The original farm model logged over 10,000 hours of farm duty. It was followed by the Model #2 with a 100 horsepower Detroit Diesel, introduced in 1962. A Model 1200 Steiger tractor appeared in 1963, and was powered by a Detroit Diesel four-cylinder, ll0 horsepower engine.
The Models 1700, 2200, and 3300 Steiger tractors were manufactured from 1963 to 1969. Four-wheel-drive with duals on each wheel gave greater traction and improved flotation. This 2200 was streamlined to a much greater degree than its predecessors. An operators cab, dual headlights, and dual exhausts were obvious features. A six year production run proved the quality and performance of these models.
Steiger introduced the “Wildcat” in 1969. Powered with a Caterpillar 3145, V-8 Diesel, it was superseded in 1970 with the Super Wildcat, Bearcat, and Tiger models. Along with the unseen improvements in the engine and drive train, obvious changes occured too. These included a redesigned cab and hood, along with bigger tires and a larger air cleaner. The air intake stack was located well above the tractor to minimize dust intake, thus preventing premature replacement of the filter element.
The Series II models were built from 1974 to January, 1976. At that time, the present Series III tractors were in· troduced. These include nine models from the RC-210 Wildcat to the giant ST-325 Panther. Except for the RC-210 and ST–210 models, each size has 20 forward and 4 reverse speeds. The ST-325 features a Caterpillar in-line six-cylinder engine with 325 BHP. Optional equipment includes a three-point hitch, and a 12 foot dozer blade.
During 1973 and 1974, Steiger introduced the Cougar II and the Turbo Tiger I models. A Caterpillar D-333 engine was featured in the Cougar, while the Turbo Tiger carried a Cummins 903 engine. Exceptionally large tires, combin ed with duals gave exceptional traction. Steiger builds its own wheels, and also provides them to several other large vehicle manufacturers. The Steiger factory contains all manufacturing processes, except wheel fabrication, under one roof.
