The International Harvester Company is widely recognized for its agricultural and construction equipment, cars and trucks, and gardening products. The company was formed in 1902 after a merger with McCormick Harvesting Machine Company, Deering Harvester Company, and three smaller manufacturers. The International Harvester Company had several plants across the U.S. and abroad. In order to supply these plants with the raw materials needed to produce the equipment and various vehicles, they joined the bulk trade on the Great Lakes in 1911 with the subsidiary firm Wisconsin Steel Company operating a single boat, The Harvester. In 1920, International Harvester took control of the vessel entirely. Fourteen years later, International Harvester purchased their second and final vessel of the fleet from Panda Steamship, and rechristened the vessel with the fitting name, The International. 

The two vessels were branded with the International Harvester logo, an overlapping lowercase “i” and a capital “H”, the logo which can be seen on this ten-foot-long rectangular flag. The vessels had three primary cargos, iron ore, coal, and limestone, each providing a different service at their many plants.

Between the mid-1960s and late 1970s, International Harvester sold the two vessels after facing economic hardships. In the 1980s all divisions of International Harvester were sold except for International Trucks, which became known as Navistar International focusing on the production of trucks and engines. In 2020, Volkswagen purchased the shares of Navistar bringing an end to the remainder of what was once known as International Harvester.