ot deere harvestor works

I spent a lot of time at John Deere in the mid  to late 1990's.

Toured the Waterloo plant about 20 years ago. Pretty good tour. Lots of propaganda of how they invented the wheel and signs everywhere of the is your brain - John Deere; This is you brain on drugs - CaseIH. Lots of good union folks there. They were bragging on things that my old 7050 sales brochure was bragging about like how they hardened certain parts electrically. Then about 15 years ago visited the Case plant in Rockford or was it Rock Island. Don't remember as I was there not so much for service school but partsmen training and I was very sick all the way down and for the 2 days we were there. Wasn't a main plant whatever it was but it was nice and clean. They told us that they dipped the combine frames in a huge vat of paint if I remember right. Went to a service school for AGCO in Sioux City Iowa. That wasn't a main plant. I can't remember what the building were used for but we got to look at the new Power Shift transmissions that the 9600 series came out with and they told us they were about 700# heavier than the power shift of the same size Deere tractors.

I did the tour at the Moline JD harvestor works plant about 5 years ago.  I remember the paint dip pits, as well.  Quite a painting process.  Downdraft, waterbased paint that could be reclaimed in a river of water below the booth.  Big environmental deal. 

I was there in 2005 or 2006, very impressive painting facillty.  I never got to see a combine going through it though as there was a gap in the line when I was going through on the tour.

I priced a JD online  a year or so ago when I found out AGCO was dropping orange.  I think it was like $700 and you could get your brand new JD tractor painted orange for county stuff I guess.  With the JD's their frame, engine, sheet metal almost everything is green.  To change the color to orange would be monumental.  For AGCO everything underneath is black so to get an orange, yellow or purple one would be relatively easy with only sheet metal, fenders and roof of cab.  Just ticked me off more about AGCO.

Anyway, JD is an American company that still builds a lot of stuff in America.  Their overpriced and technologically speaking there not leaders but the American part is appealing to me.

I got to tour the Waterloo JD plant a few years ago in high school for an ag class trip, was pretty neat.  Have family that works there as well.

Deere was notorious for burning back in the 70's and 80's. I guess the more things change the more they stay the same.

jeffnil wrote: Best option to get with a jd combine is a $60 leaf blower, once a day and never had a problem