The John Deere Horst factory in the Netherlands has produced its 1,000th self-propelled sprayer – a 4,000L capacity R4040i.

This special landmark machine was handed over to a farm business from the Czech Republic at a special Gold Key ceremony held at the factory.

John Deere Horst has taken only nine years to reach this significant production milestone for self-propelled sprayers. Only one year ago, the factory also celebrated the production of its 10,000th trailed sprayer, since manufacture of the first 800 Series machines started in late 2000.

“The team at Horst can be proud of themselves for setting another milestone with the production of the 10,000th self-propelled sprayer,” said Matthias Steiner, the John Deere Horst Factory Manager. “We have created an advanced-technology machine that is tailored to meet our customers’ needs in western Europe.”

The Horst factory has a long history in the plant protection industry, with 70 years of experience in designing and manufacturing crop sprayers for the European market. In 1997 John Deere bought the business from Dutch manufacturer Douven, including the Horst facility, which has since been extended to boost production.

The Gold Key for the 1,000th self-propelled sprayer was handed over to Czech customers Miloslav and Zdenek Lukas at the new factory visitor centre, which only opened in 2016.

John Deere Horst

The Gold Key for John Deere Horst’s 1,000th self-propelled sprayer was handed over by Factory Manager Matthias Steiner to Czech customers Miloslav and Zdenek Lukas

The R4040i will be used this season on the brothers’ 1,800ha family farm. It is equipped with a 4,000L tank and a triple-folding 24/36m variable-geometry boom – with automatic control of boom height and tilt.

It also features hydraulic track width adjustment, for different tramline and row widths.

Located 40km north of Prague, the Lukas’ farm operation grows mainly wheat, barley and sugar beet. The brothers started farming in 1994 with only 4ha and they have continued to grow their business, with plans to expand up to 2,000ha. Their machinery fleet includes two John Deere T660 HillMaster combines and an 8345R tractor.

They have also ordered a new 6155R tractor – one of the latest 6R Series models produced at the Mannheim factory in Germany. Clearly having picked up the ‘green’ bug, Miloslav Lukas said: “We will switch our whole machinery fleet to John Deere.”