RICHMOND, Ind. – An antique lawn tractor retrofitted to ride on tracks has become a popular advertising tool for a family-owned company servicing the heavy machinery needs of farmers for a half century.

The red 1980 Cub Cadet drew a lot of attention and even purchase offers from people attending the National Farm Machinery Show last month in Louisville, Ky.

The practically one-of-a-kind machine was also retrofitted to spin in circles above the tracks like the cage on a bulldozer.

The souped-up lawn tractor belongs to Dick Critel, who founded D & S Tires, Inc. in 1971.

He and his daughter, Tammy Scholz, drew quite an interested crowd when they had the machine on display during the four-day event. “I couldn’t talk to the people fast enough about it and what we do,” said Scholz, who runs the company’s branch in Richmond.

Scholz said numerous monetary offers as high as $20,000 were made. One farmer from Michigan, in particular, seemed willing to go higher. “He acted like he was going to give it to us,” she said.

The tractor, purchased by Critel as a Mother’s Day gift for his wife, was not for sale. Scholz said the tractor, rebuilt less than a year ago, has too much sentimental value for her father and is already bringing more business to the company as a promotional piece.

Doug Bauer, a fabricator for the farm and construction service company, performed all the retrofitting on the tractor and even the classic car-like paint job, with help from ideas shared by Critel.

“I wanted to make it to where somebody would look at it and wonder if they actually made that in the factory,” said Bauer, employed at the firm’s shop in Richmond.

D & S Tires, Inc., founded in West Point, Neb., started as a retail tire store for passenger vehicles and trucks, offering front end alignments, tire changes and farm truck service.

Several years later, the company became more focused on retreading truck tires for commercial and agricultural use. A welding shop was also added to adapt or rebuild wheels to fit almost any application for farm or commercial truck use.

For more than 20 years, the company has specialized in rebuilding rubber tracks and replacing guide blocks on farm and construction equipment. Other services include rebuilding drive wheels, idlers and mid-roller wheels on all makes and models of farm and construction machinery.

Increased demand for rebuilding rubber tracks resulted in the Richmond store opening in 2006 and a third location going up in 2011 at Parma, Idaho.

Their customers come from all over the United States and Canada.

Scholz operates the Richmond location while her two sisters, Brenda Elbert and Kim Oberg, run the two other branches.

Their 81-year-old father is still active with the company, periodically stopping in at each location during his semi-retirement, she said.

Originally, the Cub Cadet was used extensively for mowing at her family’s home and business in Nebraska. Scholz shared in the duties of cutting the grass while growing up, then hopped back on the mower again in her 50s when the riding tractor was moved to the Richmond shop for lawn trimming.

The riding mower was retired a few years ago, though, when the mowing deck wore out and replacement parts became too expensive and harder to find.

However, the riding mower carried too much sentimental value for Critel to dispose of, so he came up with the idea of converting it into a tractor riding on tracks as a promotional tool for the company.

“You could tell that Dick had a real soft spot in his heart for it,” Bauer said. Bauer said he removed the tires and created rubber grooves on the wheels to turn the tracks he made from scratch.

He said the tracks, when first placed over the wheels, fit almost perfectly, requiring just some minor tweaking. The mowing deck and blade were also permanently removed.

Other mechanical work allowed the tractor to be guided by its steering wheel instead of the typical gear shifts that guide track-run equipment. Bauer also came up with a way for the machine to rotate 360 degrees above the tracks. The wiring was also updated.

Bauer, who also has experience in restoring automobiles, said he applied several coats of the best primer and paint to give the riding tractor a long-lasting showroom floor shine to its original color.

Halo headlights replaced the original ones and LED lights were added underneath the grill. New decals and stickers from the factory were also placed on it.

Bauer estimated the cost of the work at $3,400. “We went pretty extreme on it,” he said.

Critel drove the new-look riding tractor in two parades in Nebraska last year.

He’s planning to showcase the tractor in more parades and other events in the coming months. “It’s great. It’s been awesome. Dad loves it,” Scholz said.