Among the many of family owned farm equipment manufacturers around the world, one name still harkens back to one of the darker moments in human history. Established in 1907 by Karl Mengele, Karl Mengele and Sons became one of the most successful farm equipment manufacturers in Europe.

However there is a shadow upon this company as one of the afore mentioned sons was none other than infamous war criminal Joseph Mengele. Dubbed the “Angel of Death” for his atrocities in World War II, the Nazi officer escaped to South America follow the German Defeat where he later died.

The blemish upon the company name notwithstanding, the equipment manufacturer entered the U.S. in 1973 with the joint distribution company of Krone-Mengele Niemeyer, or KMN. Following a number of hardships, the company was eventually sold to Lely in 2010, before taken over by AGCO in 2017.

This story was originally publish in Ag Equipment Intelligence's On The Record - Nov 30th 2018.