a journey of a Thousand Miles begins with a single step John Deere a blacksmith who was born at the dawn of the 19th century proved this statement the man developed the first commercially successful self- scouring steel plow in 1837 and founded the company that still Bears his name with a network of $14 billion here is a glance into the history of the resounding impact of John [Music] Deere so from a humble black shop it all began with a plow one that not only neatly cut the Earth it changed agriculture Forever The Story Goes that farmers
gathered at Lewis candle's farm near Grand detour Illinois to witness history at the time wood and iron plows couldn't scour the soil effectively in what became the Midwest Farmers had to repeatedly bend over to scrape the soil from their mold boards John Deere having repaired many of these plows understood the materials and the problems related to it his Innovation combined experience and inspiration and ended up crafting a mold board from a broken steel saw blade this was in the year 1837 the new material and shape allowed the plow to shed sticky soil effectively leading to
its success John knew something big was in the way so he built two plows the following year then 10 more in 1839 continuing his blacksmithing work convinced that a plow with a highly polished surface would shed the sticky soil as it moved through the field deer kept making plows using steel from a broken s Blade the need for a self- scouring plow was so great that it is said that hundreds of people gathered at the farm of Lewis Crandle near Grand detour to see the young blacksmith test his new product it wasn't long before manufacturing
plows became not only deer's identity but his business as well finally in 1843 an agreement with local businessman Leonard Andros firmly established deer in the plow business the vision to do something was further refined and in 1848 deer moved his growing operation 70 Mi Southwest to Molen Illinois on the East Bank of the Mississippi River the river provided water power for a running effectory as well as river boats for bringing in raw materials and moving plows to Market soon deer's company was making a th000 plows a year business boomed as deer established a reputation for
both his plows and his principal those same principles guide deer and Company to this day among them was his insistence on selling only highquality products The Next Step was more advanced yet groundbreaking so in the year 1848 deer Tate and gold formed a partnership and moved to Molen surprisingly just after 1 year in 1849 a state-of-the-art factory began operation production doubled in the first year 1852 witnessed another groundbreaking Milestone and deer Tate and G dissolved and deer became a sole proprietor for the first time in nearly a decade deer's business expanded along with his ambition
to serve society yet his business was incorporated under the deer and company name in 1868 from his arrival in Molen dear was actively involved in Civic activities and in 1873 he became the second mayor of Molen John Deere died in 1886 with his heirs leading the company to the next phase over the next few decades deer refined its thought process and then further unpacked its Innovation with the start of the new century referred to as the birth of the modern deer and Company the era after 1900 is defined by Acquisitions restructuring and fierce competition deer's
boldest moves during this time were entry into harvesting equipment tractors and engines total employees more than tripled to over 8 1/2 thousand between 1910 and 1918 by 1928 50% of company sales came from tractors engines and harvesting equipment none of which John Deere built prior to 1910 the company growth kept skyrocketing and in 1910 deer Consolidated branches and Manufacturing operations and acquired companies to build the foundation for a full line binder production which begins under renting circus tents and buildings in East Molen Illinois signals deer's entry into harvesting deer preferred stock debuted on the New
York Stock Exchange in 1912 a year after being offered to employees at the end of 1912 deer had 15 manufacturing facilities 24 sales branches and a moline-based export Department by the year 1918 the 2.25 million doll acquisition of the watero gasoline engine company put deer permanently into the tractor and engine business deer's Relentless expansion in the second half of the 20th century created a global footprint of design centers and factories that developed and manufactured products for various regions of the world during this period products and regions enjoyed significant autonomy in designing products selecting suppliers running
factories and managing distribution channels decentralization was a key organizational philosophy faced with its two cylinder tractor lineup maxing out on Power and becoming obsolete the company unveiled its largest product introduction in company history to that point after releasing the new products deer overtook competitors to become the global sales leader in agriculture and Industrial Equipment in 1963 during this time the company turned its attention to Global growth and expansion while also placing emphasis on excellence and Innovation deer built a small tractor assembly plant in in Mexico in 1956 and bought a majority interest in Heinrich Lance
a German tractor and combine manufacturer with a small presence in ibera Spain in 1958 a standalone Industrial Equipment division was created complete with dealerships and a full line of construction equipment the 440 crawler is the first all yellow machine built specifically for industrial applications the company carried on its growth relentlessly and in the year 1958 the John Deere Credit Company fin aner of domestic purchases of John Deere equipment began operations then in 1960 four new models of four and six-cylinder tractors debuted at Deer day in Dallas 1963 became the year in which John Deere upscaled
with the consumer equipment division today's Turf business and entered the market with lawn and garden tractors and attachments like mowers and snowblowers in 1964 World Headquarters was inaugurated designed by Finnish American architect iros [Music] sardin then came the phase when fate struck and John Deere made some breakthroughs to recover the loss in just a short time as deer celebrated its 150th anniversary in 1987 it was on the heels of reporting a $ 229.3 million loss in 1989 Hans beira succeeded Robert Hansen as deer's eth CEO during a national Farm recession the company needed to make
major shifts in the midst of declining sales and low employee morale a rebuilding began that year starting with a restructuring of incentive and reward systems which later became genuine value the company achieved another remarkable milestone in 1991 forming a worldwide commercial and consumer equipment division CC and separating lines from the worldwide agricultural equipment division for the first time in 1993 Precision farming group developed the first fully integrated yield mapping package for combines the GreenStar combine yield mapping system which debuted in 1996 the AMT utility vehicle turned the gator and witnessed 50% growth in its first
year the Year 1994 marked the introduction of 8,000 series tractors by John Deere the efforts and perseverance paid off with a renewed focus on deer's core competencies the company saw record earnings of 960 .1 million after a big shock in 1997 a 14% increase over the previous year the John Deere Pavilion opened in Molen deer signs on as the title sponsor of the Quad City Classic and is named the official equipment supplier of the PGA Tour while this organizational model had served deer well for several years the increased competition and globalization in the 2000s LED
Senior Management to question question whether the existing model was enabling deer to fully leverage its expertise Technologies Talent sales channels and Global footprint there was a growing sense that the business was not operating as quickly as it could not as cost competitive as it needed to be and that it was more difficult to do business with than it should be the success followed in the upcoming decades and deer's business grew significantly in both scale and complexity the company acquired a forestry equipment producer in 2000 and established or acquired production facilities in India by 1998 Brazil
in 2004 Russia in 2005 and China in 2007 deer's Global reach extended Beyond production facilities including Technology Centers in various countries by 2008 deer was organized into four divisions agricultural equipment commercial and consumer equipment construction and Forestry equipment and financial services as described in the company's 2008 annual report deer's equipment operations generated Revenue and cash primarily through the sale of equipment to John Deere dealers and Distributors the equipment operations manufactured and distributed a full line of agricultural equipment a variety of commercial consumer and landscape equipment and products and a broad range of construction and Forestry
equipment the company's Financial Services primarily provided Credit Services mainly financing sales and leases of equipment by John Deere dealers and trade receivables purchased from the equipment operations as dramatic as a it seems just after one decade of big loss the agriculture division accounted for 64% of deer's 25.8 billion dollar in net sales in 2008 with the commercial and consumer Division and the construction and forestry division contributing 177% and 19% respectively to succeed in their markets deer products needed to be technologically advanced reliable and supported by effective after sales service for example agricultural equipment such as
Harvesters were highly sophisticated machines that integrated complex Hardware electronics and software however the company didn't stop there and in the same year of 2008 large John Deere tractors had more lines of software code than early space shuttles and deer's GPS technology could guide a tractor and Implement in the field with near perfect Precision reducing overlap in tillage and chemical application saving time and money and minimizing environmental impacts in the present time John Deere stands as a global Powerhouse in the Agriculture and Construction Industries with a presence in over a 100 countries the company continually innovates
and invests in research and development to meet the evolving needs of its customers John Deere engines are at the Forefront of engine technology delivering reliable Power Solutions for a wide range of applications from its humble beginnings as a manufacturer of Steel plows to its current status as a global leader and engine technology John Deere has experienced remarkable growth and transformation the company's commitment to Innovation quality and sustainability has significantly shaped the present day landscape of Agriculture and construction driving productivity and progress worldwide with a legacy rooted in Innovation and a forward-looking vision John Deere continues
to lead the way in shaping the industries it serves with that we've reached the end of this video let us know about your favorite John Deere machine in the comments below and remember to subscribe for the amazing updates on revolutionary World gigantic machines