It was a perfect opportunity for Roberts and his wife, Anne-Marie, who
bought Webster’s tractor parts inventory. They have just opened Small Import
Tractor Supply Co. to sell those hard-to-find parts and manuals. The
business is based in their home in Hillsboro.
Now they have a garage full of tractor parts and a website, www.smallimporttractor.com, where those parts are listed. Paul said he hopes to
turn his experience and aptitude for making engines work into another side
business — buying used, broken Suzues to fix and resell.
Roberts has worked at Gray’s Automotive in Tigard, which builds high-performance
custom engines for racing motors and hot rods for 22 years. He bought his Suzue
to use on their small, rolling country acreage outside of Hillsboro about six
years ago.
Anne-Marie, who will handle bookkeeping and inside sales, has experience as a
high-tech manufacturer’s representative. Explaining her husband’s affection for
his Suzue tractor, she said, "They are a hardy tractor. Paul has loved it. All
the other owners love theirs, too. We have three acres. We aren’t growing
anything yet — Paul just loves to mow."
Suzue tractors were one of the first mid-size tractors to be imported to the
United States from Japan. The small, all-purpose tractors were manufactured in
Japan beginning in the late 1970s and were originally brought into the Northwest
for clearing brush and saplings for Christmas tree farming.
They are also good for nurseries and vineyards. Eventually, about 7,000 tractors
were imported into the U.S. through the Port of Portland, with about half sold
in Oregon and Washington and Northern California.
From the Northwest, the tractors soon found their way into the upper Midwest
farming communities and, eventually, into the New England states. Then in
1986-87, Suzue was purchased by Mitsubishi, its brand name was dropped and the
difficulty in finding replacements parts followed.
Suzue made two models, the 150 and the 170, both diesel-powered and
water-cooled. They were narrower than most tractors manufactured at the time,
and Christmas tree farmers found them easier to maneuver between rows and aisles
of Christmas trees.
Farmers could pick either two-wheel or four-wheel drive tractors. A
15-horsepower model has six forward speeds and two reverse and the 17-horsepower
model has nine forward speeds and three reverse. Both types have three-speed
power take-off and accept a full line of attachments and implements.
In addition to the Suzue line, Small Import Tractor Supply also stocks the full
line of parts for the KE70 and KE75 Mitsubishi engines used in Mitsubishi,
Satoh-Beaver and Iseki tractors.
Article in Capital Press Oct 3, 2003
Small Import Tractor Supply
16171 SW Midway Rd.
Hillsboro, OR 97123
503-628-6319
Email:
customer@smallimporttractor.com
