The Rock Island Plow Co. was established in the late 1800s at Rock Island, Illinios and its product line included farm machinery and stationary engines. In 1914 they began to sell tractors built by the Heider Manufacturing Co. of Carroll, Iowa, and eventually bought the company two years later; Rock Island continued to use the "Heider" name on its tractors until the end of the 1920s. Heider tractors featured four-cylinder Waukesha engines and friction drive, and were available in several sizes: these included the Model C 12-20 hp (later advertised as a 15-27), the Model D 9-16 hp and the Model M 5-10 hp motor cultivator. In the late 1920s a new series of tractors was launched, including the Model F 18-35 and Model G2 15-25 - these bore a superficial resemblance to International Harvester tractors of the same period. In 1937 the Rock Island Plow Co. was purchased by the J.I. Case Co. and tractor production ceased.

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