100 Years of John Deere Tractors Questions and Answers
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100 Years of John Deere Tractors Questions and Answers What was John Deere’s first tractor? The Waterloo Boy was John Deere’s first tractor, the result of the acquisition of the Waterloo Gasoline Engine Company on March 14, 1918. John Deere also developed the All-Wheel-Drive tractor beginning in 1914, and approved production in late 1917. Ninety tractors were built in 1918 and 1919. The first was completed in April 1918, a month after the purchase of Waterloo Gasoline Engine Company. What was the first green and yellow John Deere-branded tractor? The Model “D,” introduced for model year 1924, was the first John Deere tractor with a green body and yellow wheels (including the hub caps), and with the John Deere name and leaping deer logo. Beginning in January 1920, the Waterloo Boy “N” was painted green with yellow wheels, but with red hub caps. It also included the leaping deer trademark for the first time. The Model “D” remained in production for thirty years. What were some of the experimental tractor models prior to the Waterloo acquisition? John Deere developed a series of prototypes based on at least six different tractor designs from 1912-1917. This included tractors known as the Melvin, A-2, B-2, D-2, Dain (All-Wheel-Drive), and Tractivator. In November 1917, the Board of Directors approved manufacture of “not more than 100 of the Dain type” (the All-Wheel- Drive tractor). Of those, fifty were planned to be done by June 1918. A total of 90 were built. Evidence suggests they were all built in 1918, but some may have been built in 1919. These tractors were branded as the “John Deere Tractor.” • Twenty-five “Tractivators” were built in 1917, but were discontinued due to cost pressures and shifting resources to World War I-related manufacturing. • All-Wheel-Drive (internally, referred to as the Dain) was the first tractor designed, built, and sold by John Deere with the John Deere name on it. It was built for breaking work in the Minneapolis branch territory, and primarily sold in the Dakotas and Idaho. How profitable was John Deere’s tractor business in the early days? The tractor business was a long-term investment. It took nine years for the tractor division to report a profit. As of October 31, 1924, losses amounted to $3.4 million. In 1922, the Board of Directors considered eliminating the tractor line to focus on gasoline engines, but decided instead to move forward with the two-cylinder tractor design, and continue development of what became the Model “D,” introduced in early 1924. What is the best-selling John Deere tractor? The Model "B" is the best- selling tractor, by total units, in John Deere’s history. Over 300,000 were sold from 1935 through 1953, in a variety of configurations. The first models were advertised as “General Purpose” row crop tractors in 1935 with the introduction of the “B,” “BN,” the “N” for narrow single front wheel, and the “BW” and “W” for wide front. The standard-tread “BR” for regular, “BO” for orchard, and “BI” for industrial use were introduced in 1936. The row-crop model “B” ended in 1952 and was replaced by the model “50” line of tractors. More than 175,000 model 4020 tractors were sold from 1963-1971, making it the most widely sold single model tractor built by Deere. How long did John Deere sell two-cylinder tractors? Deere sold two-cylinder tractors from 1918 to 1960, when the New Generation of Power was introduced. In 1922, with the industry trending away from two-cylinder models, the company determined that “we cannot let the rapidly changing designs of our competitors change us from this course even though they all adopt other types unless field service in the hands of the farmer has actually demonstrated beyond a doubt, that superiority of some other type.” When did John Deere become the tractor sales leader? In 1963, John Deere surpassed International Harvester for the first time in total sales of farm and light industrial equipment. Deere had $762 million in worldwide sales, compared to $665.4 million for IH that year, followed by Massey-Ferguson at $636.1 million. When did John Deere begin manufacturing tractors and engines outside of North America? Although the Waterloo Gasoline Engine Company exported tractors for sale outside of North America prior to its acquisition by John Deere, and Deere continued to export tractors after the acquisition, worldwide manufacturing didn’t begin until the late 1950s. In 1956, Deere acquired Heinrich Lanz in Mannheim, Germany. Lanz had manufactured the Bulldog, and other models, beginning in 1921. 1956 Deere acquired Heinrich Lanz, A.G., a manufacturer of tractors with twelve different horsepower capacities. In 1957, the color of the Lanz Bulldog was changed from blue to green and yellow, and in 1960, the Lanz line was succeeded by a new line of John Deere-Lanz tractors, beginning with the models 300 and 500. 1957 Assembly of rotary hoes and tool carriers began in Monterrey, Mexico, in 1957 with assembly of a limited number of tractors occurring in 1958. The plant was dedicated in early 1959, and included assembly of three tractor models (630, 730, and 830). 1959 The model 730 tractor began assembly in Rosario, Argentina. 1959 Deere acquired a controlling interest in Compagnie Continentale de Motoculture (CCM), a recently formed French company in the early stages of developing a new tractor design. After acquiring the company, Deere built a new factory in Saran to manufacture three- and four- cylinder engines for tractors being built in Mannheim. Production began in 1965. 2 Will John Deere have any special events to commemorate the anniversary? Deere will kick off the celebration with media events at the John Deere Tractor & Engine Museum in Waterloo, and the John Deere Forum in Mannheim, both on March 14, 2018. This is the 100th anniversary, to the day, of the acquisition. These are not public events. What are some significant milestones in John Deere tractor history? 1918 Deere begins selling the well-known Waterloo Boy tractor, alongside the John Deere All-Wheel Drive (of which 90 were built). 1923 Introduced in late 1923, the Model “D” tractor replaces the Waterloo Boy. It will remain in production for 30 years. 1934 Model “A” tractor offered adjustable rear axles for various row crops, as well as optional hydraulic Power Lift for raising and lowering mounted implements while the tractor is in motion or sitting still. 1945 Quick-Tatch equipment and Touch-O-Matic offered one-touch, hydraulic control for drawn implements. 1947 Roll-O-Matic provided a smoother ride and easier steering on narrow front-end tractors. When one wheel went up, it forced the other down so the tractor could "walk" over obstacles. 1954 Deere offers industry-first power steering on tractors. 1960 The New Generation of Power is introduced. Industry firsts in the lineup include hydraulic power brakes, closed-center hydraulics for instant power, and the industry’s first wheel tractor with over 100 PTO and drawbar horsepower. 1966 Roll-Gard™, also known as ROPS (Roll-Over Protective Structure), is introduced as a safety feature, and later released for adoption for the entire industry. 1973 The Models 4030, 4230, 4430 and 4630 tractors offer an optional Sound-Gard cab, an industry first dust- free, temperature controlled operator station that provided “freedom from the elements.” 1983 Building on the success of the optional 8-speed power shift transmission introduced on John Deere tractors in 1964, the 15-speed PowerShift transmission, as well as mechanical front wheel drive on the 50 series tractor, became options. 1992 16-speed PowrQuad transmission offered as part of the “New Breed of Power” line, the biggest tractor design change since 1960. 1997 Deere introduces its first rubber tracked tractor on the 8000 series chassis, including speed sensitive steering that automatically adjusted based on ground speed and terrain. 2002 Autotrac, part of the Greenstar precision agriculture management system, provides assisted steering accurate to within 4-inches pass to pass and guided the tractor in a straight line down rows. Will John Deere have any tractors on exhibit? In the fall of 2017, John Deere Attractions will install 15 tractors at the John Deere Tractor & Engine Museum, John Deere Pavilion, and World Headquarters display floor. These supplement existing displays. On the weekend of June 15-16, 2018, 100 John Deere tractors and engines will be on display at the John Deere Tractor & Engine Museum and Waterloo Convention Center in Waterloo, Iowa. In addition, the Smithsonian National Museum of American History in Washington, D.C., will display a 1918 Waterloo Boy, and kick off a year of exhibits and events on the topic of 100 years of tractor development; the Iowa History Museum in Des Moines, Iowa, will host an exhibit on John Deere tractors and Iowa agriculture from July-September 2018, and the National Farm Toy Museum in Dyersville, Iowa, will open a new exhibit on John Deere toys in January 2018. Will John Deere host a tractor show in 2018? Yes. From June 15-16, 2018, John Deere tractors and engines will be on display at the Waterloo Convention Center in Waterloo, Iowa, supplemented by tractor exhibits at the John Deere Tractor & Engine Museum. Both venues will include exhibitions, food, activities for the family and more. Displays will include tractors and engines from across John Deere’s product lines and from around the world, and include both company and customer-owned equipment. These events are open to the public. 3 Quotes on Early Tractor Development RESOLVED, That in view of the inevitable future use by farmers for diverse purposes of gasoline and kerosene tractors, and especially since the trend is to use them in connection with implements, particularly plows, it seems vital to the interests of the Company that serious cognizance should be taken of the situation, and that through its experimental department, the personnel and talent of which shall be increased, if necessary, a movement to produce a tractor plow should be started at once, having in view constantly, that the success of the same would be enhanced if not assured, were it possible to divorce the tractor from the plow and to thus make it available for general purpose.