John Deere is the worldwide industry leading producer of tractors and agricultural technology with branches in 27 countries. The company currently has around 47,000 employees in production and distribution and controls a wide spectrum in the production of agricultural machines. The company is also well established in the field of garden and landscaping. With the long-standing history of the firm, the brand name "John Deere" stands for constant innovations and progress in agriculture. Paving the way was the man who the company was named after: John Deere. Born in the USA, he learned to be a blacksmith and in the 1830's he developed self-cleaning ploughs with a polished steel blade, with which the workload on the rigorous prairie grounds could be made easier. After the requests for this new design were constantly increasing, Deere decided to start his company in 1852. Next, under the name "Deere, Tate, & Gould Company", he acquired a workshop that could meet the high demand. After his death, the company was expanded under the direction of his son .Additional agricultural machines like cultivators, harrows and sowers were then added to the product line. At this point, international expansion became attainable. After building eleven production factories in the USA, a Canadian factory was built in 1910. With the purchase of the Waterloo Engine Company and their specifically designed tractor models, John Deere began to finally focus on manufacturing tractors in 1918. In 1927 the first combine harvester was added to the catalogue and the leap to the European market became easy to see. In 1956, John Deere took over the Mannheimer Lanz Corporation, making a name for himself there. In the 1970's the company acquired a development plant in Bruchsal for the production of cockpits for combine harvesters, tractors and forage harvesters, laying the foundation for worldwide expansion.Today, the products offered by John Deere include not only tractors, combine harvesters, and forage harvesters but also machines for mowing as well as consumer and commercial forest vehicles. On top of that, John Deere is considered the preferred manufacturer of agricultural technology. The construction machines and motors from Deere belong to some of the well known brands of the industry: the crop attachments from Kemper as well as the cultivation technology from Frontier. In the newer design, precision irrigation systems for landscaping and gardening were added to the product line in 2006. The articulated steering caterpillar tractor with 560 horsepower is currently the most efficient tractor from the John Deere brand.