According to a Waterloo Cedar Falls Courier article, John Deere and Company has completed a $150 million upgrade to the John Deere Foundry in Waterloo, Iowa, which will give the company the ability to produce larger castings to match the growth in the size of its tractors.
The modernization is the latest in more than $1 billion in investments Deere has made over the past decade to its Waterloo operations to keep pace with the growing need for worldwide agricultural production. The updates to the foundry include a new high-tech mold line, integrated cooling system and core processes. The previous mold lines, which are nearly 40-years-old, have been carefully maintained over the years and remain an integral part of the operation, according to the article.
Josh Wittenburg, manager of foundry operations in Waterloo, says about the latest enhancements in the article, "We believe having a foundry provides us a competitive edge." Thad Nevitt, factory manager of the Deere Waterloo Works, goes on to say the upgrade "allows us to design tractors that provide us with a competitive advantage with the use of very large and complex castings with tight tolerances.”
Deere’s Waterloo-made large tractors have been known as a major factory in the company’s overall success on a global scale. Waterloo tractors are shipped to more than 130 countries each year and are used by the most productive agricultural producers in North America and around the world. The $150 million upgrade to the Waterloo John Deere Foundry will likely continue to aid Deere’s worldwide production of large agricultural equipment.