Deere to build tractor plant in Brazil

Quad Cities-based Deere and Company announced today it’s building a new tractor factory in Brazil. Deere spokesman Ken Golden says they’re investing 80-million dollars in the plant. He says they already manufacture tractors there and this will allow them to expand their capacity, as the factory there will continue making combines and seeding equipment, and the tractor production will be moved to the new factory. There’s a lot of election talk about outsourcing of jobs, but Golden says this is a case of expanding to meet a need in another country. He says John Deere is a global company that manufactures products in the countries where they sell the products. And he says there are a lot of tarriffs and things that would restrict them from competing in Brazil by shipping in tractors from the U.S. Golden says this will strengthen the entire company. He says they’re not reducing U.S. production or jobs, as he says there’s a big market for the tractors made in North America and other parts of the world. He says the company has stated it is going to grow geographically and they will continue to do so. Golden says the the factory in Brazil should be in full production by the second half of 2006.