Deere’s big Brazilian investment

Deere & Company plans to build two new factories in Brazil to meet growing market demand for its construction equipment products in Brazil and other South American countries. The total investment is approximately US$180 million with Deere investing approximately $124 million of the total.
Finance & Funding / May 14, 2012
Deere & Company plans to build two new factories in Brazil to meet growing market demand for its construction equipment products in Brazil and other South American countries.

The total investment is approximately US$180 million with Deere investing approximately $124 million of the total.

The workforce at the factories could exceed 600 employees depending on market demand for products, and additional indirect jobs will also be added by suppliers and other companies that provide services to the factories.

Construction of the factories is starting, with product manufacturing to start in late 2013.

“Brazil is one of the world's fastestgrowing markets for construction equipment. Our announcement represents another step in our strategy to serve construction equipment customers in key markets around the world,” says Samuel R. Allen, chairman and chief executive officer of Deere & Company.

Deere plans to build both factories in Indaiatuba, São Paulo. One factory will be solely owned by Deere to manufacture backhoe loaders and four-wheel-drive loaders while Deere will partner with 233 Hitachi Construction Machinery on a second factory to manufacture excavators.

Michael Mack, president of Deere's Worldwide Construction & Forestry Division, said: “There are significant opportunities to serve customers with Deere construction equipment in this region of the world. We believe Deere can gain momentum by leveraging the considerable assets and capabilities that Deere has already established in the region.

“Over the long term, Brazil has sustained a positive business environment. In addition, the country wants to significantly enhance its infrastructure. This provides us with confidence that we can expand our construction equipment business through these investments.”

According to Michijiro Kikawa, president, CEO and director Hitachi Construction Machinery: “Ever since our formal joint venture partnership began in 1988, Hitachi has worked exclusively with 257 John Deere in the Americas to establish a leading presence in the very important hydraulic excavator market. This new joint venture is focused specifically on Brazil and allows both Hitachi and John Deere to expand their strong relationship into this exciting long-term growth opportunity.”

The product line manufactured in Brazil will be supplemented with imports from other factories, Deere said, and the company plans to also establish a distribution network to sell and service the equipment similar to the dealer organisation for John Deere agricultural equipment in Brazil.
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