binder
Catalog Number
2017.33.105Date of Origin
1980-1981Dimensions
10.5 X 2 in.Description
Blue, three-ring binder with yellow lettering on the front and yellow map of the world. Various locations of Holland Hitch factories are listed at the bottom, on front cover. Inside, there are roughly two dozen catalogs and price lists, along with product tear sheets, various product, all from 1980-1981.History
In 1920 Gerrit Den Besten, Henry Ketel and Albert Hulsebos arrived in Holland, MI to manufacture tractor hitches. They named their company Holland Hitch.The location of their first factory was Seif Brewery at 149-57 West 10th Street. Den Besten was responsible for inventing many of the hitches.
Over the years production shifted from tractor hitches to truck hitches as the trucking industry developed. Equipment produced by Holland Hitch for trucks included fifth wheels, pintle hooks and coupling gears.
During WW2 production shifted towards the needs of the military beginning in 1940 with an army contract for 1,600 pintle hooks. In 1943 a new $40,000 plant at Eighteenth Street and Ottawa Avenue was constructed. By the end of WW2 Holland Hitch had shipped one million hooks to the military.
Colonel Henry Geerds took over as director of Holland Hitch in 1946. In 1976 William Beebe, Geerds’ son-in-law, became president of the company. Beebe served in WW2 and began working for Holland Hitch upon his return to Holland. Beebe retired in 1983. His son-in-law, Richard Muzzy Jr., succeeded him as president.
By 1993 the company had four divisions—Holland Hitch, Holland Hitch Canada, Holland Hitch International, and the Binkley Company. In 2004 Tom Thomas became president.