7B Industry Applications: Automated Tractor Assembly

Abstract

Deere & Company started in 1974 to build a new tractor assembly plant. It turned out to be “flexible manufacturing,” or automated batch production. The mix includes 10 different models of tractor transmissions and 5,000 configurations of tractors. The new factory, completed in 1981, gave Deere the ability to make a profit while tractor production dropped as low as 45 percent of capacity. The lesson learned was that excellence on the factory floor, rather than in the accounting, marketing, or acquisitions departments, can be the main key to success. A reemphasis on production and process engineering has led to use of the flexible manufacturing approach, developed a decade ago by such leaders in robotics and automation as Cincinnati Milacron, says Russell Mattox, Deere’s manager for manufacturing engineering at the new plant. The flexible approach permits relatively low-volume output of custom-tailored products, at a profit. Other advantages are fewer assembly lines, smaller factories, and lower downtime and changeover.