RFA Ethanol Podcast

Factory Fresh

Laura McNamara

John Deere EPDCThere’s nothing like a fresh coat of crisp, bright green and a sassy, bold yellow to give real meaning to the term “factory fresh.” But, our group of reporters got to see more than just fresh paint on our tour of the John Deere facilities in Mannheim. We saw workers grinding out gears and assembling the nuts and bolts of John Deere engines. There’s nothing like walking the actual line for the final tractor assembly to appreciate workers speed and craft as they spit out a completely assembled tractor in an average time of 3 minutes. A blast of wind and the roar of a tractor engine gave us a feel for how equipment is checked in the company’s newer performance testing site. We were even enclosed in the company’s brand new electromagnetic testing room complete with spiked walls and ceilings and high-tech antennas. We saw shelves of packaged parts staked several stories high. We pretty much saw it all. John Deere production and distribution was pretty interesting to witness. And, I can’t say any workers were overworked, from what we saw. The workers were on break for most of our visit.

Agritechnica 2007 Photo Album

Agribusiness, Equipment, Farming, John Deere, Technology