Deere & Co. announced plans to invest approximately $32 million to expand its production capacity in Orenburg, Russia.
Moline, Ill.-based Deere said it has purchased and will renovate a factory in the city and move existing operations in Orenburg to the new facility.
"We believe Russia will continue benefiting from demographic and macroeconomic trends that require increased food production from global agriculture," said Mark von Pentz, president of John Deere's Agricultural & Turf Division. "Russia has the agronomic potential to become a pan-Eurasian breadbasket."
The expansion project will increase John Deere's available manufacturing space in Orenburg by 600%, the company noted.
Thanks to the expansion, John Deere will expand its local product offering from four models to 15 models of seeding, tillage and application equipment, the company said.
John Deere Orenburg produces a wide range of seeding equipment. The expansion will allow the company to expand its crop-care portfolio for local customers by adding cultivators, chisel plows, box and no-till box drills, trailed sprayers, rippers and other models.
"Orenburg is an ideal location because of its proximity to customers who do small-grain farming," said Eric Hansotia, vice president of John Deere's Global Crop Care Business. "In addition, Orenburg provides excellent access to skilled workers and a strong educational system."
Deere noted that the expansion "has been supported by the local and regional governments in Orenburg as a means to continue agricultural and economic development in the region."
John Deere opened the Orenburg production facility in 2005 because of its strategic location to markets in Russia and its proximity to the markets in neighboring Kazakhstan.
Earlier this year, Deere announced that it would double the manufacturing space at its Domodedovo production facility near Moscow and establish its own leasing company in Russia for the sale of agriculture, construction and forestry machinery.
