We at Oneils are proud of our heritage and take pride in our rural routes. We do not take for granted the hard work and dedication that has been put into our business over the years to enable us to get to over 100 years of business.
 

Oneils was founded in 1917 - 1918 by Jim O'Neil in Caistorville Ontario; at that time he took on the McCormack Deering Line of equipment as well has hardware and fencing supplies. In that 1st year, Jim sold equipment such as a New Mogul 10-20 Tractor rated at a whopping 20 belt PTO and 10 drawbar Hp for $ 1060.00 , New IHC 8-16 tractor,19 Belt Hp and 11 drawbar Hp for $ 1000.00 . New 1 Hp stationary Mogul gas engine for $ 95.00 as well as a 6 ft Deering mower for $ 87.50 and a McCormack 17 x 22 Hay press for $ 800.00. It is incredible to think of how things have changed.
 

In 1949 Maurice Jim's son took over the family business. At that time, International Harvester Company forced Maurice to move the dealership to the current location on highway 56 in Binbrook. February 19 1955 Jim passed away .The business grew and flourished over the years under Maurice O'Neil.
 

Larry Smith started working for International Harvester Hamilton in 1960 as an accommodation merchandise orderer, which entailed dispensing of IH literature, pens, lighters, owner's manuals etc. From there Larry was promoted to the stock desk which handled orders as well as obtaining equipment for 79 dealers for Ontario and Northern Quebec. In 1962, the Hamilton District office was closed and Larry was offered a Job in Toronto with International Harvester. At that time Larry struggled with the idea of the long distance to commute to Toronto and even moving to Toronto.
 

As this announcement filtered through the dealer network , Maurice O'Neil was ordering some equipment from Larry and asked if he was planning on transferring to Toronto. He told Maurice that he had not made his decision yet. In response Maurice offered a job to spark his interest. After a discussion with his wife to be, Larry decided to start work for Oneils Farm Equipment May 1962.
 

At that time, Oneils employed approximately 4 or 5 employees 2 techs Maurice in sales and one parts person, Larry started in parts and was to work his way into sales.
 

In 1970 Maurice O'Neil approached Larry to purchase the business . After discussions Larry Smith decided to purchase the company from Maurice in 1971 .At that time there was aprox 10 employees. In 1974 International approached Larry to expand and to replace another IH dealership in Dunnville and operate a second location. Due to the High interest rates of the early 80's of 20% plus, which took a toll on the farmers and ag industry and unable to obtain enough volume at Dunnville to be profitable ,It became necessary to close that location fall of 1989. The Binbrook location still grows and prospers with Larry's sons Casey and Craig working with their father today to serve the agriculture community in the greater golden horseshoe are including Dunnville.
 

There has been many changes in the industry, that reminds us of the success we have today .From selling tractors 22 pto hp and 10 hp draw bar for $ 1060.00 .To tractors with 500 hp plus and selling the CaseIH Flag ship self-propelled combines for over $ 400 000 and employing over 25 employees. From the merger of Case and IH in 1985 , and we have taken on many Distributers such as Home Hardware, Kuhn, Kuhn Knight, Cub Cadet, Stihl, Salford and Mahindra. The only guarantee in this industry is change.
 

Without the support of our employees and dedicated customers throughout the years we would not have been able to survive the test of time. For that we thank you all for the support and dedication you have given to our industry and to Oneils Farm Equipment (1971 Ltd).
 

Thank you for visiting our history page,

Yours Truly

Craig Smith