John Deere and Wacker Neuson have announced an expanded relationship collaborating on the development of compact excavators. John Deere and Wacker Neuson will collaborate on the development of excavators less than five-metric-tons, including battery electric excavators, that will be manufactured by Wacker Neuson at its Menomonee Falls, Wis., manufacturing facility. Deere will have control of the design, manufacturing and technology innovation for the five- to nine-metric ton models, leveraging a solid foundation from Wacker Neuson.
Wacker Neuson will design and manufacture machines at its Wisconsin facilities as well as Linz, Austria, for the requirements of John Deere mainly for North America. The excavators will be distributed under the John Deere brand via John Deere’s global dealer network. The companies plan a phased introduction of models. All Wacker Neuson models in the same product range will continue to be distributed under the Wacker Neuson brand through Wacker Neuson’s own distribution network.
“Excavators are an integral part of our customers’ jobsites, and we anticipate growing demand to continue,” said Domenic Ruccolo, senior vice president, sales, marketing, and product support, global construction equipment, John Deere. “As we look to the future of our excavator line-up, this agreement will allow us greater flexibility as we continue to deliver a robust product portfolio that prioritizes the operator experience.”
Distribution, parts, service, and support will continue through Deere’s dealer network.
“We’re excited about the expanded agreement as it supports our goal of bringing productivity-driven features and industry-leading technology to customers with greater agility,” said Jerred Pauwels, vice president, excavators, strategy and business development, John Deere. “Through this relationship, we’ll innovate faster, and offer additional features and performance differentiation for our customers.”
Wacker Neuson management is confident that this alliance will substantially accelerate the group’s profitable growth trajectory in the medium term. It does not, however, expect significant contributions to sales and earnings within the next three to four years. The Wacker Neuson Group plans to invest an amount in the low double-digit-million-euro range to expand production capacity accordingly.
Technical collaboration
The agreement also covers a technical collaboration between John Deere and Wacker Neuson in relation to five-to-nine metric-ton excavators. John Deere will purchase and incorporate design and technical IP provided by Wacker Neuson, adapting and evolving to meet its own manufacturing and innovation requirements. These models will be produced and launched on the market exclusively by John Deere, while Wacker Neuson will independently continue to develop, produce and distribute its own five-to-nine-metric-ton excavators under its own brand.
“We are very much looking forward to adding another layer to our growth strategy through this OEM agreement with John Deere for mini and compact excavators,” said Dr. Karl Tragl, chairman and CEO of Wacker Neuson Group. “Our relationship with John Deere has been a successful collaboration that spans many years in both the agricultural and construction sectors. Our product and manufacturing excellence complements John Deere’s established market reach in North America to open up outstanding business opportunities in the attractive mini and compact excavator market segment.”
“This agreement with John Deere ideally complements our market and employee growth strategies for the Americas region,” added Gert Reichetseder, president & CEO North America for Wacker Neuson. “In particular, we are excited to manufacture excavators in the United States for the United States. We already offer our customers excellent products under the Wacker Neuson brand, and we will continue to place a strong focus on expanding our product portfolio for the North American market in the future. The cooperation with John Deere opens up additional sales channels for our high-quality mini and compact excavators and excellent employment opportunities for the community in Southeast Wisconsin.”
