There’s been a shift in the construction equipment industry in the last several months as John Deere ended its 30-year partnership with Hitachi and now entered a cooperative agreement with Wacker Neuson for the manufacturing and development of mini and compact excavators for the North American market.
The new agreement with Wacker Neuson covers compact excavators weighing less than 5 metric tons, including battery electric excavators. Leveraging input from John Deere, Wacker Neuson will manufacture the less than 5 metric ton machines at its facilities in Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin, as well as Linz, Austria. Also, per the agreement, John Deere will develop, and manufacture 5 to 9 metric ton excavators based on technical information acquired from Wacker Neuson. The excavators will be distributed under the John Deere brand via John Deere’s global dealer network.
From the CEO on down, leadership from both companies considers the far-reaching benefits of the new agreement a plus.
“We are targeting profitable growth, so a strategic partnership with John Deere makes sense,” said Gert Reichetseder, president and CEO North America at Wacker Neuson. “It’s a win-win situation for both parties."
He notes that the arrangement helps them achieve greater volume in the United States and makes local production of excavators feasible, which has been an ongoing strategy.
“Last, but not least, we can expand our market access for zero emission machines in the Americas region,” the Wacker Neuson CEO said.
From John Deere's perspective, the agreement is almost an immediate advance of the intent to have more technical control of the development of their machines following the end of the more than 30-year joint venture with Hitachi. As part of the closure of that alliance, Hitachi has assumed distribution and support of these products and has established an independent network of dealers. Deere dealers will continue to support their existing field population of Hitachi-branded excavators. In addition, John Deere will continue to source its existing lineup of 0-9- metric-ton excavators from Hitachi until further notice.
