John Deere announced on March 20 that it had reached a manufacturing milestone with the completion of its 500,000th unit constructed at the Turf Care factory in Fuquay-Varina, N.C. The unit was a ZTrak Mower, and the entire factory celebrated the milestone.
The factory itself occupies more than 335,000 square feet off of Highway 55 in Fuquay-Varina, N.C. It has been producing John Deere units since 1997 when it manufactured the Lightweight Fairway Mower. Now, the facility creates 10 different models of commercial mowing and golf equipment. Its products can be found across North America, and they are also exported to more than 100 countries around the world.
"Producing the 500,000th machine is a significant milestone for John Deere and our whole Turf Care team," said Rosalind Fox, factory manager of John Deere Turf Care. "We are proud of the legacy we've built as a company and the work our team puts into every piece of equipment we produce. It's a special day for the factory, the town of Fuquay-Varina and John Deere customers everywhere."
Some of the products manufactured by the Turf Care factory include the Wide Area Mower, Front Mower, ProGator and Fairway Mower. The facility also operates a 320,000-square-foot distribution warehouse in Benson, N.C.
"We've made great strides since our early production days in 1997, increasing our product portfolio from one model to many across the commercial mowing and golf landscape," Fox continued. "Our goal from the start was to design and build equipment for our customers that deliver the quality and value they've come to expect from John Deere."