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| Innovation at John Deere Today |
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| Autonomous Tractor Prototype. This autonomous machine is still in development and not available for sale. |
Innovation means inventing, designing and developing breakthrough products and services that customers want to buy from John Deere. Strategic investment in research and development is a mainstay of the company as we constantly strive to delight customers with products and services that help them realize their own aspirations of effectiveness and efficiency.
Today, around the world, John Deere continues to be an innovator in both its products and its processes, helping its customers become more productive and efficient. With John Deere innovations like its StarFire network, a customer can use GPS technology to plant just the right amount of seed at exacting depths and in rows that are parallel and accurate within four inches, pass to pass. That same customer can apply chemicals precisely, minimizing waste and damage to the environment, and maximizing productivity. In fact, John Deere is the only agricultural company that owns its own differential correction satellite network.
At harvest time, John Deere customers can bring in the crop using combines that feature components made from soy – and corn-based plastic – materials that were developed with the help of John Deere scientists. Using the company’s GreenStar™ GPS technology, farmers can map their harvest to determine a precise yield per acre, and plan their planting strategy for next year’s crop. Cotton growers can pick six rows of cotton simultaneously – something that became possible when Deere introduced the world's first 6-row self-propelled cotton picker in 1997.
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| The 753G tree harvester allows operators to selectively harvest trees and cut them to optimal lengths. This increases productivity, reduces waste, and more effectively manages forest resources. |
With John Deere's forestry equipment, operators can use GPS technology to manage forest resources, harvesting only selected trees, cutting them into optimal lengths that are specific for each type of wood, and minimizing waste.
Golf course superintendents can maintain their greens with the industry's first hybrid greens mower, introduced by John Deere in 2005. Quieter and more fuel efficient, this gasoline/electric hybrid reduces fuel consumption by an average of 10 percent. Electric reel motors replace multiple hydraulic components, eliminating more than 100 potential leak points.
Behind the scenes, innovation drives the company's processes as well. In John Deere's Engine Division, the employee-developed mistake-proofing process was so innovative, it's been patented. At the John Deere Waterloo (Iowa) Works, employees use virtual reality simulations to design safe and comfortable work stations. And in 2007, tractors will begin to roll off assembly lines at a new, state-of-the-art factory in Montenegro, Brazil.
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| Both golf course superintendents and the environment benefit from the innovative features of the 2500E Hybrid Greens Mower, introduced in 2005. |
John Deere's products regularly receive worldwide recognition for innovation in performance and design. In 2005, John Deere's 8030 Series tractor received a prestigious gold medal at the Agritechnica Fair in Hanover, Germany. The company's innovative harvesting equipment components garnered four silver medals at the event. The John Deere PowerTech Plus™ 9.0L engine was named Diesel of the Year 2006, an award given to the year's most innovative engine by DIESEL magazine, a European publication representing 16 countries. The Chicago Athenaeum Museum of Architecture and Design gave its Good Design® Award to the John Deere 544J four-wheel-drive loader. And the John Deere Greenstar Display 2100 was selected as one of the top transportation entries to receive a 2006 iF International Forum Design award.
The amount that the company spends on research and development (R&D) demonstrates its commitment to innovation. John Deere has directed more than 3 percent of its sales to R&D every year since the 1950s. Most of these funds are focused on new product development, creating advanced, highly productive equipment that gives the company a consistent competitive edge. In 2005, John Deere spent $677 million – the highest amount ever – on R&D initiatives.
As the first decade of the 21st century nears its end, the company and its employees continue to look for innovative ways to meet the needs of customers around the world – something that would surely please our original innovator, our founder.
Learn more about innovation throughout the years at John Deere.
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