As Farmers Guardian joins an exclusive club we look at two manufacturing giants which have also made it to their 175th anniversary.
JOHN DEERE TRACTOR HISTORY
1837 Company founder John Deere fashions a polished steel plough in his blacksmith shop, Grand Detour, Illinois. The following five years saw yearly production reach 100 ploughs, marking the transformation from blacksmith to manufacturer.
1876 The now worldfamous ‘leaping deer' trademark was first registered.
1918 The company enters the tractor market for the first time with the acquisition of the Waterloo Gasoline Engine Company, with the 27hp Waterloo Boy Model N being the first tractor to be marketed and sold by John Deere.
1923 The Model D is built. This was the first tractor to bear the John Deere livery and became the longest production run of any farm tractor, spanning 30 years.
1935 The Model B is launched and will go on to sell more than 300,000 tractors, the most of any in the company's history.
1949 Deere's first dieselpowered unit, the Model R tractor, entered production.
1956 Tractor manufacturer Heinrich Lanz, Mannheim, Germany, famous for its Bulldog tractor, is purchased, expanding the company's reach into Europe.
1959 The largest tractor the company produced to date is launched. The sixcylinder 8010 produced more than 150hp and it featured articulated steering and four wheel drive.
1960 Deere launched the 2010 and 4010, ‘New Generation' tractors, complete with striking styling. The following year the 1010 and 3010 were launched, followed by the most powerful twowheel drive available the 5010, boasting 106hp.
1968 The company's first turbocharged tractor is launched, the 4520.
1972 Generation II tractors are launched, featuring the Sound-Gard cab, independent from the rest of the tractor, reducing noise and vibrations, first seen on the '30 Series.
1985 The 3150 is launched, becoming the manufacturer's first tractor to have four-wheel drive as standard.
1989 The 4055 Series is launched with its full powershift transmission. Power topped 200hp for the 4955.
1992 The game-changing 6000/7000 Series is born. This modular frame and component concept made the tractors lighter and more flexible for a wide variety of tasks.
1997 The first rubbertracked tractors are launched with the 8000T Series. 2009R Series designation is given to the 8R Series. The 6R and 7R ranges followed in 2011.
2012 The company celebrates its 175th anniversary.
2016 Designed to challenge the Case IH Quadtrac, the 9RX is launched, boasting up to 670hp.
2017 Combining high horsepower and low weight was the recently launched 6250R, complete with CommandPro joystick.
