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You know you have a powerful brand when nearly every person, regardless of their involvement in the industry, has heard of your products. John Deere is, by far, the most powerful and illustrious brand in the tractor and mower market – and has been for many decades.
According to a recent market analysis, Deere & Co. controls nearly 19% of the agricultural equipment market – more than twice the size of the second-place company. The characteristic green and yellow can be seen on nearly every farm in America.
Where did this titan of the industry come from? Minnesota Equipment provides a brief synopsis of the history of John Deere – the man, the company, and the legacy.
John Deere: The Man
To learn the history of John Deere, the company, we first need to travel back over 200 years to discover the life of John Deere, the man. Born in 1804 in Rutland, Vermont, John Deere began his career not as a farmer, but a blacksmith. After moving from New England to Illinois, Deere serviced many customers who spent their days farming with cast-iron plows. He learned that the design of the times caused dirt to stick to the plow blade, necessitating farmers to stop every few feet and clean their plow.
Deere had the idea of designing a steel plow from a broken sawblade, convinced that a more polished surface would move more smoothly through the Midwestern soil. Legend states that hundreds of people gathered at a nearby farm to see the young John Deere test his new device. It was highly successful.
John Deere: The Company
After his discovery in 1836, Deere pivoted his business to making and marketing plows. His operation grew rapidly and steadily, and in 1848 Deere moved his business to the banks of the Mississippi river in Moline, Illinois. Access to flowing water allowed for a powerful factory to create more plows, as well as riverboat traffic to ship in raw materials and transport plows to buyers.
It was only a matter of time before Deere’s company was making thousands of plows a year. Business boomed, and John Deere established a reputation for his leadership and personal principles, as well as his trademark plows. Among those guiding principles was his insistence on crafting high-quality products – a mantra that still guides the leadership of the company today.
The business was officially incorporated under the Deere & Co name in 1868, and in the years that followed, the John Deere name became synonymous with farming, and quickly became the most popular and reliable brand in the industry.
Over the last 185 years, Deere & Co has been a largely family-run business, experiencing five generations of Deere family leadership.
Your Local John Deere Providers: Minnesota Equipment
When it comes to John Deere products, Minnesota Equipment has you covered. As licensed dealers and service providers of a vast inventory of Deere tractors, mowers, snow equipment, construction machines, and other devices, the technicians at Minnesota Equipment can help outfit your operation with the machines you need.
With locations in Rogers, Savage, Isanti, and Ham Lake, the equipment dealers and experts at Minnesota Equipment stand ready to help you acquire the right gear for your project – and put it to use. Visit us at our website to connect with a professional near you.
