Who Makes What Where 2012
Our evolving table tracks machinery sourcing
There is a story behind the branches and names that stem from every family tree. Each time the tree is updated, the new information provides a deeper understanding of the family’s lineage and sheds light on the future.
The same applies to the accompanying Who Makes What Where table, which our editors have assembled every year for more than two decades. The table tracks ag equipment sold in the U.S. and is limited to tractors with engine horsepower of 60 and greater.
In the past year, some of the biggest changes to the structure of our table came from AGCO Corporation and Buhler Industries Inc.
AGCO reinforced its commitment to its North American brands, such as Challenger, Fendt and Massey Ferguson, and announced plans to make large-scale investments to three of its factories. Production of the Challenger MT600D and Massey Ferguson 8600 Series will be moving to Jackson, Minn. The factory where Challenger tracked tractors and RoGator, SpraCoupe and TerraGator sprayers are made will be expanded by 75,000 sq. ft. As part of the $300 million Fendt Ahead project, the factory in Marktoberdorf, Germany, will increase manufacturing capacity to 20,000 tractors a year, and the cab factory in Asbach-Bäumenheim will also be expanded. The Hesston, Kan., facility is undergoing a $40 million project to enhance the finishing and paint process for hay and harvesting equipment.
Since being bought by Russian company Rostselmash in 2007, Buhler has been moving toward becoming a full-line manufacturer, thanks to multiple acquisitions. This past year, that trend continued with the addition of Ezee-On Manufacturing’s line of precision seeding and tillage equipment. The company will update the existing manufacturing facility and invest in enhancements to its Versatile and Farm King product lines.
Claas has a policy of producing machines where they are used. To stretch beyond its Harsewinkel, Germany, headquarters, the company opened factories in Russia, India and Omaha, Neb. In the next year, the company plans to source even more of its components to the Omaha facility, which receives harvesting modules from Harsewinkel for final assembly.
Totaling all production worldwide, CNH has 40 factories on four continents. This past year, for the first time in Case IH history, the Racine, Wis., tractor factory started running two shifts. Case IH is adding 75,000 sq. ft. of assembly and paint space in Benson, Minn., where it builds application equipment and cotton pickers. New Holland marked a milestone at its factory in Ankara, Turkey, with the 600,000th tractor rolling off the assembly line in September.
To rev up production for its new S Series Combines, John Deere made modifications to its East Moline, Ill., factory. John Deere Harvester Works has the ability to build machines from more than three million unique combinations of combine options. This year marked the 100th anniversary of the John Deere factory in Horicon, Wis., which builds Select Series riding lawn tractors and Gator utility vehicles.
Although one-third of Kubota’s equipment sold in the U.S. is manu-factured in Gainesville, Ga., the company’s ag tractors are sourced from Japan. Kubota retailed its 1,500,000th unit in the U.S. when Jeremy Nafziger of Marietta, Pa., purchased a Kubota M Series tractor.
With the introduction of the X-10 Series, McCormick changed its South Korean tractor partner to Daedong.
As the ag equipment sector continues to evolve, we’ll track the movement.
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