Industry
The machinery shed at TPC Deere Run
Centre at North Carolina State University. Here, scientists are conducting a number of research programmes relating to sports turf. These include new Bermuda grass varieties offering better recovery, colour and vigour, and the life cycle of cut worms and how to control them in the environment to help reduce populations.
John Deere has been a keen supporter of the NCSU, releasing funding streams as
Looking down on Chicago
appropriate, and access to their valuable resources, in terms of people and equipment, to help deliver and conclude some of the most testing trials required to improve turf quality and agriculture production.
Friday 27th April
After our final night in Richmond, Virginia, the last leg of our tour begins with a three hour drive to Washington DC, allowing us time to see the sights of
Pest tests at NCSU
the city, including the White House, Capitol Hill, the Lincoln Memorial and Grand Union Station, before catching our flight home at 6.00pm local time.
The tour was conducted at a frantic pace, as this diary will testify. Yet, it was organised with all the professionalism we have come to expect from John Deere. It was certainly a privilege to see behind the scenes of a truly global organisation.
Bermuda trials at NCSU John Deere timeline
1837 - Company founder, John Deere, fashioned a polished-steel plough in his Grand Detour, Illinois blacksmith shop. His implement was the first successful self- scouring plough. Success of the plough transformed Deere from a blacksmith to a manufacturer. He built 10 ploughs in 1839, 75 in 1841 and 100 in 1842.
1848 - The growing plough business moved to Moline, Illinois to take advantage of better water power and transportation. A year later, in 1849, a workforce of some sixteen employees built 2136 ploughs.
1852 - John Deere bought out his business partners. For the next sixteen years, the company was known variously as John Deere, John Deere & Company, Deere & Company, and Moline Plow Manufactory.
1876 - The ‘leaping deer’ trademark was first registered.
1890 – Company founder John Deere died in Moline, aged 82.
1918 - Deere bought the maker of Waterloo Boy tractors to enter the tractor business. The tractor soon became the company's basic product.
1933 - Business was almost at a standstill. Sales plunged to $8.7 million. Though it was losing money, the company decided to carry the debt of farmers as long as necessary, an initiative that greatly strengthened farmer loyalty to John Deere.
1949 - Deere's first diesel-powered unit, the Model R tractor, entered production.
1956 - The company expanded its presence around the world, building a small tractor
Capitol Hill
assembly plant in Mexico and buying a majority interest in a German tractor and harvester manufacturer (Lanz).
1958 - The John Deere Credit Company began operations to finance the purchase of John Deere equipment.
1963 - John Deere surpassed International Harvester to become the world’s largest producer of farm and industrial tractors and equipment. In addition, Deere ventured into the consumer market.
1964 – Opening of the Deere & Company Administrative Centre in Moline.
1971 – The well-known advertising slogan ‘Nothing Runs Like a Deere’ is used for the new snowmobile line, which was built at John Deere Horicon Works. The slogan lasted far longer than the snowmobile line, which was sold in 1984.
1988 - The farm economy rebounded after six years of recession during which many agricultural companies failed. Deere & Company sales grew 30 percent from 1987.
1991 - Lawn and groundscare equipment operations in the US and Canada became a separate division. The company also acquired SABO, a European maker of lawnmowers.
1993 - New tractor models increased John Deere’s market share of agricultural equipment sales in North America and Europe. Deere became the leading seller of tractors in Germany.
1997 - The John Deere Pavilion, with equipment exhibits and interactive displays, opened in downtown Moline.
2000 - A new tractor plant was opened near Pune, India. Deere was granted a banking
A poignant reminder on the final day
licence in Luxembourg, allowing John Deere Credit the ability to finance equipment throughout Europe.
2005 - Deere & Company opened a seeding equipment assembly operation in Orenburg, Russia, and established a dealer network in Russia.
2006 - John Deere Tianjin Works, a new transmission factory in Tianjin, China, opened.
2007 - A tractor manufacturing facility was acquired in Ningbo, China. John Deere was chosen again among the world’s 100 Most Ethical Companies.
2008 - Deere & Company entered into joint ventures with construction equipment manufacturers in China and India. Deere announced plans to build a distribution, replacement parts and training centre in Russia, a European Technology and Innovation Centre in Germany, and a marketing office in Kiev, Ukraine.
2010 – The company opened an assembly factory in Domodedovo, Russia and a technology and innovation centre in Germany, and expanded a research and development centre in China.
2011 - The company announced its ninth dividend increase in the past seven years. Deere was listed among the 50 most-admired companies globally by Fortune magazine and ranked as one of the 100 best global brands by a leading brand-consulting firm. The company began work on factories to produce engines, loaders, and agricultural equipment in China, and tractors and combines in India.
2012 – Deere reported record net income of $2.8 billion for its 2011 fiscal year. In addition, Deere began its recognition of the company’s 175th anniversary.
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