After buying a South Bend, Indiana, foundry with partner Harvey Little in 1855 he began experimenting with improved farm plow designs.

Driven by the sales of his popular Oliver Chilled Plow, for which he registered 45 patents during his lifetime, the company grew to become one of the largest in Indiana and one of the world's largest producers of farm plows and horse drawn equipment during the late 19th century.

An outbreak of cholera in 1832 killed most of family flock, and George injured his leg the following year, making it difficult for him to walk.

[1][2] Oliver took a job working on nearby farms performing manual labor and becoming acquainted with field plowing.

He took a job at South Bend Blast Furnace Company in 1839 where he first learned how to cast iron.

The two bought a log cabin near Mishawaka and lived there for eight months before selling to purchase a new home nearer to town.

[1][2] In 1855 Oliver moved again to South Bend, Indiana, where he entered into a partnership with two businessmen to operate a foundry.

When large stones were hit at a certain speed, they could cause the plows to break or dent them enough to make them unusable.

He created a molded top edge for the plows allowing it to more easily shed mud away and preventing it from lodging in harness.

By 1864 the company had grown to employ twenty-five workers and a new investor, George Milburn, was brought in to fund expansion.

[3] Oliver received a new patent in 1868 for a large plow that required a team of draft animals to pull.

[2] The business was a major contributor to growth of South Bend, Indiana and the surrounding area.