Forty years ago the workshop on the Rutherford family farm was not just a place for carrying out a few repairs, it was also used by Willie Rutherford for starting the business that later became Logic Manufacturing.

The farm near Hexham, Northumberland is mainly hill grazing for beef and sheep, and the livestock emphasis was reflected in the original farm-built product range which included yard scrapers, bale handlers and a link box. There was also a much more ambitious project taking shape in the workshop in the early 1970s, and this was the Logic tractor designed and built by Willie Rutherford.

The tractor caused a sensation. The advanced design included four-wheel drive through equal-diameter wheels, independent cab suspension and a chassis that could be extended to vary the weight transfer. It was featured on television and in virtually every UK farming magazine, but turning the farm-built prototype into a production tractor was a step too far, although the Logic name was adopted for the farm machinery business.

Increasing demand meant the manufacturing business soon outgrew the farm and was moved into Hexham where it continued to expand. The big breakthrough came in about 1980 when the first ATVs or quad bikes were arriving in the UK. They were designed by Japanese motorcycle companies to sell as fun machines, but UK farmers were the first to appreciate their value as runabouts, particularly on hill farms.

A cousin who bought one of the first ATVs realised it would be even more useful pulling a trailer. He modified an existing trailer and when Willie saw it he realised it could sell to other ATV owners. The result was the Logic GPT general purpose trailer, which became an immediate success with sales increasing as the ATV market expanded.

More mini-sized equipment to suit the power and weight of ATVs was added to the Logic range. Trailers are still the firm’s top-selling equipment and there is now a wide choice of single- and tandem-axle models, but the range of machinery has grown to include engine-powered rotary and flail-type grass cutters, rotary sweepers, concentrate feeders for sheep, sprayers, weed-wipers and a lifting frame to operate front-mounted equipment such as a yard scraper.

The company has also recently introduced a new safety helmet, said to be the only one specifically for ATV use that fully complies with health and safety guidelines.

In 2010, the company’s 40th anniversary year, Logic claims to offer the widest ATV equipment range and is the UK’s biggest supplier. It also offers non-farming products, from equipment for estate management to a range of equine products, including the recently introduced MSP120T horse muck collector.

Like some of the other Logic machines, the muck collector can be pulled by a compact tractor or a 4×4 if an ATV is not available.

Other markets supplied by the family-owned company include the amenity sector, with machines like the Terrator turf aerator/slitter. It also offers small equipment for forestry work and gamekeeping.

Company: Logic Manufacturing

HQ: Foundry Industrial Estate, Hexham, Northumberland

Owned by: Willie Rutherford is the principle shareholder

Employees: Approx 35

Annual turnover: £5m

Principal products: ATV trailers and equipment plus machines for amenity, forestry, equestrian and other sectors