In April, it was recalled at the John Deere tractor factory in Mannheim, Germany, that it was exactly fifty years ago that the first John Deere Lanz tractor rolled off the tire.
In that half century, 1,335 million (!) Tractors were produced there, including the various agricultural machines that were already stopped in 1983. In the early 1960s, such 5.000 units were built every year; top year was 1977 with 41.000 pieces. In the eighties and nineties, production fell to around 1993 units in 21.200. Thanks to the disappearance of the Iron Curtain, production increased, reaching the record number of 2008 in 45.700. While it was possible to choose between two models, the 300 and 500 in the 1960s, the range has now been expanded to include twenty-nine models ranging from 70 to 200 hp. John Deere tractors are available in eighty different countries. Half of the production remains in Western Europe. John Deere Mannheim is responsible for two-thirds of Total tractor production at our Eastern neighbors and has been Germany's largest manufacturer and exporter of agricultural tractors since 1972.