Tag Archive for: John

John Deere Suspends shipments to Russia

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John Deere Suspends shipments to Russia: John Deere is deeply saddened by the significant escalation of events in Ukraine. The safety, welfare, and well-being of our employees in the region remain our top priority, and we continue to support and maintain close communication with our affected teams, providing necessary resources when possible.

Our thoughts are with our employees, their families as well as our dealers, customers and all those impacted by this crisis.

John Deere Suspends shipments to Russia

John Deere Suspends shipments to Russia

Two weeks ago, we suspended shipments of machines to Russia and then subsequently, Belarus. We continue to monitor the situation closely while we fully abide by U.S. and international sanctions. The John Deere Foundation has additionally been working directly with a number of organisations, including multiple UN agencies, to mobilise resources to support Ukrainians impacted by the crisis. Our mission is, and always has been, to help our customers feed the world.

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John Deere acquires battery company

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John Deere acquires battery company: Deere & Company (NYSE: DE) has signed a definitive agreement to acquire majority ownership in Kreisel Electric, Inc. (“Kreisel”), a battery technology provider based in Rainbach im Mühlkreis, Austria.

Kreisel develops high-density, high-durability electric battery modules and packs. Additionally, Kreisel has developed a charging infrastructure platform (CHIMERO) that utilises this patented battery technology.

John Deere acquires battery company

John Deere acquires battery company

Since 2014, Kreisel has been a leading innovator focused on the development of immersion-cooled electric battery modules and packs for high-performance and off-highway applications. The company has a differentiated battery technology and battery-buffered charging infrastructure offering and currently serves a global customer base across multiple end markets, including commercial vehicles, off-highway vehicles, marine, e-motorsports, and other high-performance applications.

John Deere sees demand growing for batteries as a sole or hybrid-propulsion system for vehicles. Products in Deere’s portfolio such as turf equipment, compact utility tractors, small tractors, compact construction, and road-building equipment could rely solely on batteries as a primary power source. Deere intends to continue to invest in and develop technologies to innovate, deliver value to customers, and work towards a future with zero emissions propulsion systems.

The majority investment in Kreisel Electric will allow Deere to vertically integrate vehicle and powertrain designs around high-density battery packs while leveraging Kreisel’s charging technology to build out infrastructure required for customer adoption.

“Kreisel’s battery technology can be applied across the broad portfolio of Deere products, and Kreisel’s in-market experience will benefit Deere as it ramps up its battery-electric vehicle portfolio. Deere will provide the expertise, global footprint, and funding to enable Kreisel to continue its fast growth in core markets,” said Pierre Guyot, Senior Vice President, John Deere Power Systems. “This is an opportunity to invest in a company with unique technology that’s designed for the demanding conditions where Deere customers work.”

“Furthermore, building an electrified portfolio is key to John Deere’s sustainability goal of pursuing new technologies that reduce the environmental impact of new products and work toward zero emissions propulsion systems on equipment, while increasing our customers’ efficiency and productivity,” Guyot said.

Kreisel Electric will retain its employees, brand name, and trademark, and continue to operate from its current location in Austria to serve its growing customer base. The company was founded by the brothers Johann, Markus and Philipp Kreisel and has approximately 160 full-time employees.

“The Kreisel team looks forward to expanding our base business, leveraging the Deere channel to accelerate adoption of battery-electric vehicles and charging stations, and working with Deere’s vehicle design teams on product advancements,” said Markus Kreisel, who serves as Managing Director, along with his two brothers, at Kreisel Electric.

The transaction requires final regulatory approval in Austria, with closing expected to take place in approximately 60 days. Financial details are not being disclosed.

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Karlswood Stables invests in John Deere

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Karlswood Stables invests in John Deere: Based in County Meath in Ireland, the newly built state of the art Karlswood Stables has been a major project for owner and Olympic show jumping medallist Cian O’Connor.

These grand equine facilities extend to 20 stables for his own horses, and another 24 are under construction for others. On top of that the complex boosts its own indoor arena and outdoor grass ring, sand ring, gallops, hacking trails and spa facilities for horses.

Karlswood Stables invests in John Deere

Karlswood Stables invests in John Deere

With the grounds extending to a total area of 68 acres, the Karlswood team required a reliable range of machinery and equipment to maintain the grounds and keep the grass well-trimmed. Being familiar with the benefits of the John Deere brand, Karlswood farm manager Derry McIntyre contacted Noel Bennett of local professional turf dealer Dublin Grass Machinery with a shopping list of the equipment required.

The machinery now supplied includes a new John Deere 4066R compact tractor, 1600T wide area rotary mower, X950R commercial rear-discharge, rear-collect diesel lawn tractor and an electric TE Gator utility vehicle.

Derry explains the purchasing decision by highlighting brand reliability and ease of use. “As this is a brand new complex, we have a lot of lawn and grass areas that have to be kept meticulously presented to maintain the high standards synonymous with Karlswood,” he says. “The self-propelled X950R and 1600T rotary mowers are superb tools to cut the grass around our all-weather arena and lawns.”

Powered by a 66hp diesel engine, the John Deere 4066R compact tractor features a ComfortGard cab and an eHydro three-range automatic transmission with simple to use TwinTouch forward and reverse pedals, plus four-wheel drive as standard.

Derry and his team have already been putting the tractor to good use, and praise its ease of use and versatility. “The 4066R carries out a number of tasks all over the site,” he says.

“For example, we spend around one and a half hours a day raking the arena, and there is a front-mounted mower attachment to provide extra grass cutting help around the hacks and the outside of the farm. We also have a scarifier for maintaining the grass areas, so the tractor has a real multitude of uses.”

As many John Deere Gator operators know, this popular utility vehicle is an extremely useful vehicle to have on any sportsground, farm or woodland. At Karlswood Stables the electric TE Gator is no exception, and has also proved extremely handy.

“The Gator is a fantastic tool to transport various pieces of equipment such as grass strimmers, hedge trimmers and other hand tools to various parts of the farm,” says Derry. “This vehicle makes it easier for us to travel around the site, and with the load bed space on the back to carry materials as well as tools, it is another reliable workhorse here at Karlswood Stables.”

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Leicester chooses John Deere technology

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Leicester chooses John Deere technology: Based at Leicester City Football Club’s new state-of-the-art training facility in Seagrave, north Leicestershire, the club’s Sports Turf Academy aims to inspire the next generation of sports turf students by offering an elite training environment, with access to the latest technology and expertise.

The Academy is built around four distinct pillars – Education & Training, Technical Services, Tournament Support and Trials & Research – to support the development, diversification and professionalisation of the sports turf industry.

Leicester chooses John Deere technology

Leicester chooses John Deere technology

The 185-acre complex at Seagrave has 21 playing surfaces in total, including 14 full-size pitches – one indoors in the King Power Centre – and two show pitches for use in selected matches by the club’s Development Squad and Academy. There is also a 9-hole private golf course, for use by players and staff.

These are now being maintained by a new fleet of 32 John Deere sprayers, mowers, compact tractors and Gator utility vehicles supplied by local dealer Farol Ltd at Hinckley, which will also be supported by the dealership’s brand new outlet at Newark.

Machines include two GPS PrecisionSprayers based on the ProGator utility vehicle, 8000E and 2750E hybrid electric ride-on cylinder mowers, 7700A PrecisionCut cylinder and 7400A TerrainCut rotary ride-on mowers with TechControl display, a 1600T wide-area rotary mower, X950R rear-collect lawn tractor and Z997R zero-turn rotaries, 2036R and 3038R compacts, and TE electric and XUV 855 plus 855 S4 Gators.

Leicester City FC bought the first of the new environmentally friendly John Deere sprayers to be delivered to a non-golf customer in the UK, as part of the package agreement.

“The Sports Turf Academy is designed to be a hub of innovation and professional development,” says John Ledwidge, Leicester City FC’s head of sports turf & grounds. “Our aim is to be world leaders in the training and education of the current and next generation of sports turf and grounds staff, while applying that learning to live working environments. As well as creating a world-class facility at our new training ground, we aspire to be world-class in the way we operate.

“Adopting this new precision technology from John Deere will help in our aim to be as efficient and environmentally sustainable as possible in everything we do. There were many reasons for choosing the sprayer, the chief one being accuracy. It means we can apply exactly what is required without overspraying or overspending.”

The training grounds and golf course are maintained to the highest standards by 18 pitch staff, 10 garden and landscaping staff and four greenkeepers, led by John Ledwidge and senior sports turf & grounds manager Callum Allsop. There are also four staff based in the well-equipped workshop, including two apprentices, with the machinery fleet monitored by workshop manager Chris Minton and his deputy Colin Barkby using the TurfKeeper web portal.

“Knowing that we needed to make a very significant investment in new equipment, we went through a very robust, rigorous and transparent tender process,” says John. “We invited all the key players to demonstrate their latest, greatest and best machines, and the whole process ended up taking almost a year to complete – it was extremely thorough.

“Aside from the basic transaction, it was just as important for us to be able to establish a long-term relationship with the chosen supplier. It became clear after visiting John Deere’s UK HQ at Langar, where we were given a very comprehensive presentation by the company and the dealership, that their values and aspirations aligned very much with ours.

“My deputy Callum, working closely with Chris, was instrumental in bringing all the tender documentation and figures together, looking particularly at machine usability and serviceability. All the grounds and workshop staff completed feedback forms, so everyone was invested in the process and contributed to the final decision.

“The final choice was then presented to and approved by all the club’s Board of directors, including communications, finance, operations and the procurement team. All involved were impressed by the efforts and lengths that John Deere and Farol went to before the deal was signed – ultimately the decision was a very easy one for us to make.”

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John Deere training helps apprentices graduate

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John Deere training helps apprentices graduate: The latest group of talented young service technicians and parts personnel have successfully graduated from John Deere’s pioneering Ag Tech, Turf Tech and Parts Tech advanced apprenticeship programmes.

The 38-strong cohort passed the national scheme – provided by training provider ProVQ – and their achievements have been recognised at a special event held for them at the Crowne Plaza in Nottingham.

John Deere training helps apprentices graduate

John Deere training helps apprentices graduate

John Deere dealer Ben Burgess saw success for two of its staff with James Skipper from Beeston in Norfolk winning the Ag/Turf Tech Apprentice of the Year for 2021 while Madeleine Green from the company’s Oakham site in Rutland won the Parts Tech award.

Both were presented with new Apple iPads as their prize by John Deere Apprentice Centre Manager James Haslam.

Farol saw its Ag/Turf Tech apprentices Ciahran Quick from the company’s Shefford Woodlands dealership in Berkshire, and Henry Atkins from Midhurst in West Sussex, pick up the runner up prizes of a certificate and high street vouchers worth £250.

John Deere Branch Training Manager Allan Cochran said: “Our apprenticeship programme has been running for nearly three decades and was created because we saw the trend of fewer people coming into the industry. We needed to take steps to ensure that there was new talent to fill our business and dealer network.

“That work is as relevant today as it was then. To see these fantastic individuals graduating from their courses and taking the next big step in their careers is incredibly rewarding.

“Helping to give these young people their first step on the career ladder builds a strong foundation for their future success, and John Deere places great importance on supporting them to reach their full potential.

“We aim to nurture and mould these enthusiastic apprentices who have the skills and desire to work in our business and across the industry.”

The next intake is already being enrolled with 61 Ag Tech and Turf Tech technicians so far signed up for their three-year course, in addition to six Parts Tech apprentices who study for two years.

John Deere’s apprenticeships involve students being trained in engineering, electronics, hydraulics, diagnostics, communication skills, computing, sales and marketing. Ag Tech and Turf Tech candidates study towards the land-based service engineering technician (level 3) qualification, while in Parts Tech individuals complete a Retailer Apprenticeship Standard (level 2).

New students are enrolled each year; apprentices need to be resident in the UK, employed by a John Deere dealer and aged 16 or over. The standard programmes include on-the-job training and assessment as well as up to eight weeks each year at the John Deere Apprentice Training Centre. Further details can be found at http://apprenticeshipfinder.co.uk/john-deere.

Now entering its 30th year, Ag Tech was the first such scheme to be introduced in the UK and won a National Training Award at the end of 1997, the only one ever made to an agricultural machinery apprenticeship programme. Since the first programme started in 1992, almost 1,000 apprentices have graduated through the three main schemes and are now working in the company’s nationwide dealer network.

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