John Deere history

The following year Deere established a business to manufacture and market his invention, and by 1838 he and his partner had sold three of the newly fashioned plows.

Deciding that Grand Detour was not well situated in regard to transportation and resources, Deere sold his interest in the shop to Andrus in 1847 and moved to Moline, Illinois.

As demand for these plows rose, Deere moved the business from Grand Detour to Moline, IL in 1848 due to the power and transportation benefits this new location offered.

With the help of research, customer feedback, and time-tested hard work, John Deere the business was booming by 1849, producing 2,000 plows a year.

John Deere didn’t receive his first patent until 1864.

In 1869 Charles Deere and entrepreneur Alvah Mansur established the first branch house in Kansas City, Missouri.

The legendary leaping deer trademark was finally patented in 1876, and to this day it is the longest used American trademark among Fortune 500 companies.

In 1878, the Gilpin Sulky Plow won first place at the Paris Universal Exposition leading to sales increasing each year.

1887: The Deere & Mansur Company, formed by Charles Deere and Alvah Mansur, a business partner of the Deere family, is a top manufacturer of planters.

These branch houses “provided valuable information from the field that influenced new product development”. By the time of his death in 1907, Charles Deere played a central role in John Deere history by helping the company become one of the top implement makers in the country.

The export of equipment worldwide was made popular in 1908 as the John Deere Export Department forms in New York City.

By 1910, sales grew to 30.7 million dollars due to the company manufacturing planters, wagons, buggies, and harvesting equipment.

1912: Deere starts to produce planters, buggies, wagons, grain drills, and hay and harvesting equipment.

John Deere actually entered the tractor business in 1918, 81 years after the start of the company.

In 1927, John Deere manufactured its first combine.

As the great-grandson of John Deere, Charles Deere Wiman started at the company as a line employee and eventually advanced to become president in 1928 with the retirement of his uncle, William Butterworth.

1934: John Deere’s first row crop tractor, the Model A, is introduced and followed one year later by the Model B.

1936: In an effort to standardize processes while manufacturing equipment, this new logo removed some of the details from the previous logo – this made stenciling onto products easier.

1937: As Deere’s sales continue to increase, a new, simpler logo is introduced.

Due to Charles Deere Wiman being in the military, John Deere started making military tractors, cargo units, and ammunition for World War II. In 1947, the Model “MC” became a bulldozer that started John Deere’s construction and forestry business.

The company was established as one of the nation’s largest manufacturing businesses by 1955.

From this point forward, the company began to establish itself as a multinational company, purchasing a share of a tractor company in Mannheim, Germany and acquiring land in Monterrey, Mexico in 1956.

1957: Haying becomes a one-man operation for the first time when the 14T baler is introduced.

In 1958, John Deere released its Industrial equipment division.

John Deere introduced a new line of tractors during a product introduction that took place in Dallas in the summer of 1960.

John Deere created this 1962 film to highlight its growing Industrial Equipment division.

In 1964, the Deere & Company grew so much they needed a headquarters.

Introduced in 1966, this row-crop tractor was considered the most powerful standard or diesel tractor on the market.

In 1979, they introduced their first cotton picker that allowed farmers to pick four rows at a time.

Under this system, Deere in 1981 built a factory in Iowa costing over $1.5 billion that made extensive use of computers and robots and thus enabled the company to run numerous small assembly lines simultaneously for different products and turn a profit even at low levels of output.

1987 brought more hard times for farmers which led to Deere losing 99 million dollars.

Once elected as chairman of Deere & Company in 1990 upon Robert Hanson’s retirement, Hans Becherer stressed values that have played key roles in John Deere history since the creation of the first steel plow.

In 1994, the 8000 Series tractor was released and showcased a new transmission, industry-leading turn radius, and new standards in visibility and power.

1996: John Deere makes history when it introduces the 7760 Cotton Picker, the first of its kind to build round cotton modules on the go.

Additionally, Deere & Company entered a long-term relationship with the PGA and opened the John Deere Pavilion in 1997 under his leadership.

2000: The creation of this current logo saw the addition of color and a change in the way the Deere is leaping – it is now leaping forwards instead of landing.

Upon his retirement as Chairman of Deere & Company’s Board of Directors in 2009, Lane was succeeded by Deere’s current Chairman and CEO, Samuel R. Allen.

John Deere celebrated their 175th anniversary in 2012.