MATTHEW PUTNEY PHOTOS, COURIER PHOTO EDITOR
Tim Murphy, global director of John Deere’s large tractor product line, speaks at the company’s 100th anniversary in Waterloo at the John Deere Tractor & Engine Museum.
Deere marks purchase of
Waterloo Gasoline Engine Co. TEXT | PAT KINNEY PHOTOS | MATTHEW PUTNEY
J
Mike Oberhauser, left, a shop chairman with United Auto Workers Local 838m talks with John Deere Waterloo Works factory manager Dave DeVault about history of John Deere during 100th Anniversary in Waterloo. 18 Sunday, June 10, 2018
hn Deere began its second century in o Waterloo Wednesday — with a look back and an appreciation for the community that made it a world leader in the tractor business. Company executives and community leaders gathered at the John Deere Tractor & Engine Museum to mark the 100th anniversary of the March 14, 1918 purchase of the Waterloo Gasoline Engine Co. The museum is located on that company’s site — which grew into the John Deere Waterloo Tractor Works. “The tractors behind us have literally transformed the world,” said Tim Murphy, global director of Deere’s large tractor
product line. He and attendees were surrounded by Waterloo-made tractors from throughout Deere history, with a modern 8400 R series model in the background behind him, and another current model in the main lobby. Deere’s tractors have revolutionized agricultural production, he said, and will help to feed a growing world population, expected to increase by an additional 2 billion people by 2050. “It’s not just John Deere being in the tractor business for 100 years; we’ve been here in the Cedar Valley for 100 years,” Murphy said. “And we’re really, really, proud of that affiliation and what we have done together.” Deere’s Waterloo operations have grown
100 YEARS OF JOHN DEERE