Deere Investing $100 Million to Raise Tractor Output in India

April 29, 2011
Expanding production, building new harvester plant by 2013

Illinois-based Deere & Co. has a $100-million plan to increase capacity for producing tractors and harvesters in India. Plans call for expanding a plant at Pune in western India, where it produces tractors, and to build a new plant in northern India (Punjab) to manufacture harvesters, according to Shailendra Jagtap, a director at John Deere India Pvt. Ltd.

Deere is introducing a 60-hp tractor customized for the Indian market, and intends to start production at the new plant by 2013.

Deere & Co. is the world’s largest manufacturer of farming equipment, and aims to serve rising demand for tractors and similar machines in India, where mechanized agriculture is comparatively rare. India’s government hopes to address the problem with a 26.6% increase in farm loans.

“Look at the way the government has increased the minimum support prices for crops, credit flow has increased in the farm sector,” Mukul Varshney, senior general manager for sales and marketing explained to reporters at a press availability. “These are key drivers for mechanization to grow at a rapid pace.”

John Deere India Pvt. Ltd. is the Indian subsidiary of Deere & Co. that manufactures 5000 Series agricultural tractors. Deere & Co. also has an Indian technology center at Magarpatta City, Pune, which provides IT services, engineering, supply management, embedded systems and technical development for Deere operations worldwide.

Another Indian subsidiary is John Deere Water Vadodara, which develops irrigation systems.