When Was John Deere Construction Equipment First Made?

WHEN DID JOHN DEERE START MANUFACTURING CONSTRUCTION EQUIPMENT?

John Deere was mainly an agriculture-focused company for over 100 years. They then began manufacturing construction equipment in the 1950s and specifically debuted the industrial tractor in 1957. construction equipment

Let’s take a look at the manufacturing history of John Deere construction equipment.

  • John Deere Construction Equipment in the 1950s:

    In 1956, John Deere made a $15 million dollar investment into building manufacturing facilities to build construction machinery separately. A year after this initial investment, John Deere debuted 15 industrial tractors at the Chicago Road Show. In 1958, the model “64” was released, becoming the first all-hydraulic bulldozer for the company.

  • John Deere Construction Equipment in the 1960s:

    In the 1960s, we saw the introduction of the JD440 skidder, JD480 forklift, and the JD350 and JD450 crawlers. This decade was also the time that the JD570 articulated-frame motor grader was first produced, which was a very significant advancement in construction equipment production.

  • John Deere Construction Equipment in the 1970s:

    Once the 70s came around, the production facility, Dubuque Works expanded to more than a million square feet. A new location was also purchased in Davenport, Iowa. This new location, Deere Davenport Works, later announced 28 new models of machinery—including wheel tractors, crawlers, scrapers, loaders, and more.

  • John Deere Construction Equipment in the 1980s:

    The early 80s brought an expansion to the product line. At this point, the product line included 29 utility machines, 22 construction machines, and 17 forestry machines.

  • John Deere Construction Equipment in the 1990s:

    By the mid-90s, John Deere’s construction line grew to include 60 products. From here, Deere looked to Bell Equipment in South Africa to form an alliance and ultimately make dump trucks manufactured at Bell.

  • John Deere Construction Equipment in the 2000s:

    In 2005, Deere Davenport Works created and released its first dump truck. A few years after that, Deere introduced Total Machine Control with their 310SJ and 410J Backhoes, as well as introducing the 764 HSD—which was the first fully-original machine from Deere in decades.

  • John Deere Construction Equipment in the 2010s:

    In 2010, Deere started shipping its 744K Loader—the first piece of construction equipment with a horsepower of higher than 75 to meet regulations. That same year, the company also released John Deere WorkSight™.

WHERE IS JOHN DEERE CONSTRUCTION EQUIPMENT MADE?

While John Deere’s historic headquarters are still located in Moline, IL, John Deere construction equipment is manufactured in a variety of places, some of them international.

For more information regarding John Deere construction equipment, contact your local John Deere dealer.

If you enjoyed this post or want to read others, feel free to connect with us on Facebook , Pinterest , Twitter , or Instagram!

Additional Resources: