Dive Brief:
- Deere & Co. plans to open a distribution center and excavator factory that the company said will build on President Donald Trump's push to bolster U.S. manufacturing.
- The heavy equipment maker recently broke ground on the distribution center near Hebron, Indiana, and plans to open it along with the Kernersville, North Carolina, manufacturing campus in the next year, the company said in a Jan. 27 press release.
- “These investments further demonstrate our commitment to invest $20B in U.S. manufacturing over the next 10 years,” Chairman and CEO John May said in the release.
Dive Insight:
May told investors last spring that the company is prepared to spend billions over the next decade as it spearheads new product development, cutting-edge technologies and more advanced manufacturing. The strategic investment would leverage a broad base of U.S. assets, including 60 facilities across 16 states.
Deere will invest $125 million to construct and equip the new 1.2 million-square-foot warehouse and distribution center, Indiana Gov. Mike Braun said in a press release. The company expects the facility to create about 150 jobs.
The project is strategically located to enhance Deere's nationwide supply chain capabilities, per the company release. The agricultural and construction machinery manufacturer expects the facility to streamline operations and ensure the timely delivery of equipment and parts.
Deere will continue to maintain its primary North American Parts Distribution Center in Milan, Illinois, which employs 1,200 people, the company said.
The $70 million North Carolina factory will leverage advanced technologies to produce excavators for the construction market, per the release. The factory, which will employ over 150 people, will take over production of future-generation excavators previously manufactured in Japan.
In 2024, then-presidential candidate Trump criticized Deere for its plans to shift some production from Iowa to a new facility under construction in Ramos Arizpe, Mexico. Under the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, manufacturers are eligible for lower tariffs if production is centered in North American countries.
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