Laverda is a manufacturer of combine harvesters and hay equipment, based in Breganze, Italy. It was founded in 1873 by Pietro Laverda to produce farming implements in the Province of Vicenza. 1963 was the year the first self-propelled Laverda combine was manufactured, the M120. Laverda formed a partnership with Fiat in 1981, and would be a part of that company for some 20 years. The Morra family's holding company, ARGO SpA, bought Laverda in 2000 as Fiat was merging its New Holland Ag group with Case IH to form CNH Global. In 2007, ARGO sold 50% of the Laverda business to AGCO. In November 2010, AGCO purchased the remaining 50% of Laverda from ARGO, giving it full control of the company. This gives AGCO 7 brands of combine harvesters around the world: Laverda, AGCO-Allis (Brazil), Challeng