John Deere exhibited a selection of its construction equipment at this month’s Bauma show in Germany.
John Deere has not officially shown these machines in Europe in recent times, so it represents a significant change in policy for the company.
“Our strong relationship with Wirtgen Group and its experience with Bauma has allowed us to introduce John Deere construction equipment to a broader set of global customers,” explained David Thorne – a senior figure in the company’s global construction and forestry division.
“We believe they will be impressed with the quality and innovation we build into each one of our machines.”
Loading shovels
Among the machines that were exhibited were loading shovels, including the 624L and 944K.
The recently-introduced 624L has a bucket capacity of 2.3-4.0m³. It was shown at Bauma with the standard Z-bar boom.
The 944K (pictured below) is the company’s largest wheel loader. It has a hybrid-electric drive-train. Each wheel is driven by an electric motor.
Image source: Moderner Landwirt (www.moderner-landwirt.de)
John Deere’s wheel loaders are currently sold in the US and Canada and, depending on model, some other markets (but not Europe at present).
However, very few John Deere branded machines are actually destined for Europe at the moment. For now, only motor graders will be offered; these will be sold via Wirtgen Group’s German sales companies and via French outlet Wirtgen France SAS.
Other machines that were exhibited at Bauma included tracked excavators (E210 LC and E360 LC), articulated dump trucks (460E), backhoe loaders (315SL) and skid-steer loaders (312GR, 318G and 324G).
Image source: Moderner Landwirt (www.moderner-landwirt.de)
However, at this time John Deere has not indicated that it will bring any of these machines (even the aforementioned motor graders) to the Irish or UK markets.
German outlet/publisher Moderner Landwirt further reports that John Deere showcased several new technologies at Bauma, including “a fully-integrated SmartGrade levelling system alongside bulldozer levelling systems”.
It says that visitors were also able to “try out simulators for excavators and motor graders”.