Deere & Company Announces Additional Investments In Russia

MOLINE, Ill., Nov. 7, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Deere & Company today announced plans to invest approximately $32 million to expand its production capacity in Orenburg, Russia. Deere has purchased and will renovate a factory in the city and move existing operations in Orenburg to the new, larger facility.

"We believe Russia will continue benefiting from demographic and macroeconomic trends that require increased food production from global agriculture," said Mark von Pentz, president of John Deere's Agricultural & Turf Division. "Russia has the agronomic potential to become a pan-Eurasian breadbasket."

The investment announced today will increase the available manufacturing space for John Deere in Orenburg by 600 percent, resulting in additional production processes being localized and an expanded product offering from four current models to fifteen models of seeding, tillage, and application equipment.

"Orenburg is an ideal location because of its proximity to customers who do small-grain farming," said Eric Hansotia, vice president of John Deere's Global Crop Care Business. "In addition, Orenburg provides excellent access to skilled workers and a strong educational system."

Deere assembles seeding equipment in the current Orenburg facility. The expanded operation has been supported by the local and regional governments in Orenburg as a means to continue agricultural and economic development in the region.

Deere's direct investment in Orenburg will result in placement of fabrication, paint, and assembly operations. Including the $32 million of Deere's capital investments, officials said the project represents investments of approximately $50 million in total for the region when including improvements in the local supply base and other costs.

"By expanding manufacturing in Russia, John Deere strengthens our support for dealers and customers and our focus on the important markets in Russia and the CIS," von Pentz added.

Earlier this year, Deere announced that it would double the manufacturing space at its Domodedovo production facility near Moscow and establish its own leasing company in Russia for the sale of agriculture, construction and forestry machinery.

Deere is the world's leading manufacturer of agricultural machinery and is now in its 175th year, including doing business in Russia for more than a century. John Deere opened the Orenburg production facility in 2005 because of its strategic location to markets in Russia and its proximity to the markets in neighboring Kazakhstan.

Today John Deere Orenburg produces a wide range of seeding equipment. This latest investment will allow the company to expand its crop care portfolio for local customers by adding cultivators, chisel plows, box and no-till box drills, trailed sprayers, rippers and other models.

Deere & Company (NYSE: DE) is a world leader in providing advanced products and services and is committed to the success of those whose work is linked to the land -- those who cultivate, harvest, transform, enrich and build upon the land to meet the world's dramatically increasing need for food, fuel, shelter and infrastructure. Since 1837, John Deere has delivered innovative products of superior quality built on a tradition of integrity. For more information, visit John Deere at its worldwide website at www.JohnDeere.com or in Russia at www.JohnDeere.ru.

SOURCE Deere & Company