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$100 Million Modernization Announced for Waterloo, IA Foundry

June 9, 2010
Deere & Company to invest in advancing casting designs, manufacturing technologies

Deere & Company announced a four-to-five year modernization plan for its John Deere Foundry in Waterloo, IA, focused on "meeting customer requirements and improving business performance." The project will allow the company to leverage more advanced casting designs and manufacturing technologies once completed.

The foundry in Waterloo casts gray and ductile iron castings.

The announcement was made in conjunction with the Iowa Dept. of Economic Development, which voted to allow tax incentives to the parent company to retain the foundry jobs in Waterloo. Those incentives played a significant factor in the decision to modernize the plant, according to David Everett, president of Deere & Company's Worldwide Agriculture & Turf Division.

"The enhancement of our foundry operations follows recent investments in the Waterloo Works to improve manufacturing capacity and flexibility," said Everett. "This integrated approach at John Deere in the design and manufacturing of large row crop and four-wheel-drive tractors is a competitive advantage."

The Waterloo Works underwent a $125 million redevelopment plan, originally announced in 2000. That project streamlined the drive train and tractor manufacturing operations. Eight years later, Deere allocated an additional $187 million to increase manufacturing capacity at the site.

"This investment allows us to better serve our customers with high quality, innovative castings," said Richard Czarnecki, global director — Large Tractor product line. "This investment helps John Deere meet customer requirements for more sophisticated designs of large tractors and helps to ensure the company maintains manufacturing flexibility and responsiveness to market demands."