John Deere to Expand Production Capacity for Large Horsepower Tractors 12/03/08

Deere & Company has announced that it will invest an additional $90 million in its Waterloo, Iowa, facilities with plans to expand manufacturing capacity for large, high horsepower tractors. Deere said the investment will help the company meet continued worldwide market demand for its equipment.

High demand for large horsepower tractors triggers further investment in Waterloo, Iowa.

“John Deere has experienced strong global customer demand for tractors made in Waterloo that expertly integrate complex electronic and mechanical systems to provide powerful and versatile machines,” said David Everitt, President, Agricultural Division – North America, Australia & Asia and Global Tractor Sourcing. “John Deere customers around the world are reinvesting in farm machinery as they sell commodities at higher prices due to increasing demands for food, especially meat, and increasing global use of biofuels.”

Tractors built in Waterloo, Iowa are exported to more than 130 countries worldwide and are highly popular with the most productive farmers in North America, Central and Eastern European countries and CIS markets. Although the investment will not add floor space to current Deere facilities, it will increase the company’s Waterloo capacity to build large, high horsepower tractors by about 25 per cent.

The improvements will be substantially completed by early 2010, the company said. The project announced today follows a multi-year investment by Deere of more than $140 million to modernise and improve efficiencies at its manufacturing facilities in Waterloo, which includes John Deere’s largest tractor factory in the world.

“The above investment will enable us to better satisfy the rapidly growing demand for 8030 and 9030 Series tractors, particularly in key European markets, in Russia and neighbouring countries,” said Markwart von Pentz, President, Agricultural Division – Europe, Africa & South America. “In 2007 alone, shipments of large horsepower tractors to Europe, Africa and the Middle East markets have increased by 25 per cent compared to the previous year. This capacity expansion will complement the investment in our European business units to grow our product portfolio, to improve our services and to hire young professional talents.”

John Deere is continually expanding its presence in the Europe, Africa & Middle East (EAME) region. In the past three years, Deere has invested more than $300 million in the modernisation and expansion of its manufacturing facilities, sales branches and product support assets. Likewise, the company has increased its workforce in Europe, Africa and the Middle East to nearly 10,000 people.

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