MEGA FACTORIES: John Deere

SYNOPSIS

Covering more than 300,000 square metres, the John Deere factory houses more than 2000 employees, 49 robotic welders, eight laser cutters and 14 kilometres of overhead track, all of which help stamp, press, cut and weld 60,000 tons of steel into the John Deere STS Combine a harvesting mega-machine. To begin the process, extremely precise laser cutters are used to create a majority of this mini-factory on wheels 17,000 parts. Assemblers then create the combines 450 kilogram cylinder and its massive grain tank. The factory uses nearly 400 tonnes of welding wire each year enough wire to circle the globe. When the combine has been assembled and is ready for painting, it undergoes a seven-hour process to receive the trademark John Deere green colour. When John Deere decides to update its tractors design, the modification is first tested in the factorys state-of-the-art virtual reality lab to measure the potential impact to the assembly line process, saving both time and money. With its 21st century technology and human innovation, the John Deere mega factory shows the raw power behind one of agricultures most vital machines.