John Deere

Deere & Company, doing business as John Deere (ˈdʒɒnˈdɪə), is an American corporation that manufactures agricultural machinery, heavy equipment, forestry machinery, diesel engines, drivetrains (axles, transmissions, gearboxes) used in heavy equipment, and lawn care equipment. It also provides financial services and other related activities. Deere & Company is listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol DE. The company's slogan is "Nothing Runs Like a Deere", and its logo is a leaping deer with the words 'JOHN DEERE'. It has used various logos incorporating a leaping deer for over 155 years. It is headquartered in Moline, Illinois. It ranked in the 2022 Fortune 500 list of the largest United States corporations. Its tractor series include D series, E series, Speciality Tractors, Super Heavy Duty Tractors, and JDLink. Deere & Company began when John Deere, born in Rutland, Vermont, United States, on February 7, 1804, moved to Grand Detour, Illinois, in 1836, to escape bankruptcy in Vermont. Already an established blacksmith, Deere opened a shop in Grand Detour in 1837, which allowed him to serve as a general repairman in the village, as well as a manufacturer of tools such as pitchforks and shovels. Tools were just a start; the item that set him apart was the self-scouring steel plow, which was pioneered in 1837 when John Deere fashioned a Scottish steel saw blade into a plow. Prior to Deere's steel plow, most farmers used iron or wooden plows to which the rich Midwestern soil stuck, so they had to be cleaned frequently. Deere created a highly polished steel surface that allowed the soil to slide easily. This tool addressed the difficulty of tilling the Prairie State’s soil and greatly aided migration into the American Great Plains in the 19th and early 20th centuries. The traditional way of doing business was to make the product as and when it was ordered. This style was very slow.