Encyclopedia Dubuque
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JOHN DEERE DUBUQUE WORKS: Difference between revisions
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[[Image:imp909.jpg|left|thumb|250px|John Deere Dubuque Works has been one of Dubuque's major employers. Photo courtesy: Bob Reding]] | [[Image:imp909.jpg|left|thumb|250px|John Deere Dubuque Works has been one of Dubuque's major employers. Photo courtesy: Bob Reding]] | ||
JOHN DEERE DUBUQUE WORKS. Major manufacturing firm of construction, utility, and forestry equipment in the Midwest. The need for a new factory to make tractors became apparent to the company in 1943. The | JOHN DEERE DUBUQUE WORKS. Major manufacturing firm of construction, utility, and forestry equipment in the Midwest. The need for a new factory to make tractors became apparent to the company in 1943. The public announcement concerning the "Dubuque Program" was made on December 13, 1944. | ||
Early in 1945, the company selected a site for the facility three miles north of Dubuque in an area nown as the "Pery Bottoms." Seven hundred and forty-two acres of land were purchased. On June 25, 1945 ground was broken for a 600,000 square foot facility. | |||
Training for the first Dubuque employees was done by workers from the Moline plant in the old round house in East Dubuque. By March 1947 the first Dubuque tractor, the Model "M" rolled off the assembly line. In addition to the Model "M," three other versions of this tractor, the "MC," "MI," and "MT" were also available. Demand for this product remained steady, and over 87,000 units were produced by 1952. An improved version of the Model "M," the "A" series, was introduced in 1952. Although short-lived with production lasting only a new months, this eries was the last "lettered tractors" produced in Dubuque. Plant expansion was made in 1948-1949 and again in 1950 with government contracts for the [[KOREAN WAR]]. | |||
With expanded product lines, factory space increased so that by 1990 the Dubuque Works stretched over 1,465 acres, an area large enough to cover 110 football fields. Products include backhoe loaders, hydrostatic crawlers, log skidders, two-wheel-drive utility tractors, and utility and construction crawler loaders and dozers. Employment at the Dubuque plant peaked in 1980 with 8,270 workers. Lay-offs, a result of bad economic times, and company-encouraged early retirements resulted in employment falling drastically to around three thousand in 1990. | |||
The Dubuque plant is headquarters for the John Deere Industrial Equipment Division's Dealer Technical Assistance Center. A technical service for dealers, DTAC is staffed by specialists with years of factory and field experience to provide dealers with prompt answers to customers' questions. | The Dubuque plant is headquarters for the John Deere Industrial Equipment Division's Dealer Technical Assistance Center. A technical service for dealers, DTAC is staffed by specialists with years of factory and field experience to provide dealers with prompt answers to customers' questions. | ||
Revision as of 00:30, 17 February 2009
JOHN DEERE DUBUQUE WORKS. Major manufacturing firm of construction, utility, and forestry equipment in the Midwest. The need for a new factory to make tractors became apparent to the company in 1943. The public announcement concerning the "Dubuque Program" was made on December 13, 1944.
Early in 1945, the company selected a site for the facility three miles north of Dubuque in an area nown as the "Pery Bottoms." Seven hundred and forty-two acres of land were purchased. On June 25, 1945 ground was broken for a 600,000 square foot facility.
Training for the first Dubuque employees was done by workers from the Moline plant in the old round house in East Dubuque. By March 1947 the first Dubuque tractor, the Model "M" rolled off the assembly line. In addition to the Model "M," three other versions of this tractor, the "MC," "MI," and "MT" were also available. Demand for this product remained steady, and over 87,000 units were produced by 1952. An improved version of the Model "M," the "A" series, was introduced in 1952. Although short-lived with production lasting only a new months, this eries was the last "lettered tractors" produced in Dubuque. Plant expansion was made in 1948-1949 and again in 1950 with government contracts for the KOREAN WAR.
With expanded product lines, factory space increased so that by 1990 the Dubuque Works stretched over 1,465 acres, an area large enough to cover 110 football fields. Products include backhoe loaders, hydrostatic crawlers, log skidders, two-wheel-drive utility tractors, and utility and construction crawler loaders and dozers. Employment at the Dubuque plant peaked in 1980 with 8,270 workers. Lay-offs, a result of bad economic times, and company-encouraged early retirements resulted in employment falling drastically to around three thousand in 1990.
The Dubuque plant is headquarters for the John Deere Industrial Equipment Division's Dealer Technical Assistance Center. A technical service for dealers, DTAC is staffed by specialists with years of factory and field experience to provide dealers with prompt answers to customers' questions.