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Home My WebLink AboutTimes-Advocate, 1986-03-26, Page 30I Page 14A Times -Advocate, March 26, 1986 Over 60 farmers from area enjoy tours The scenario of a recent trip to a number of Deere & Company plants in Iowa and Illinois by a group of area farmers very much resembled that of the little boy with his nose pressed against the window wistfully looking at the display of toys inside the store. On one hand, the 60 farmers from Huron and Middlesex, joined for parts of the tow by a number of others from Southwestern Ontario, Quebec and Manitoba, looked wistfy at the long green line of farm machinery coming off the many production lines. On the other, the production workers and company personnel look- ed wistfully at the sea of faces that represented potential customers for that machinery. The glass that separated them in this case, of course, was the low com- modity prices that have plunged farmers and farm machinery manufacturers into the deepest reces- sion in decades and keeps both groups from fulfilling many of their dreams but still highlighting the dependence each has on the other to meet the market challenges. "Deere & Company can neither cause nor enable farmers to purchase equipment until they need it and can afford it," board chairman Robert Hanson and company president Boyd Bartlett commented in their year-end report to the shareholders and ex- plained they are helping that process by bringing the cost of their machines down, making their quality still bet - HEAR HOW — A John Deere production worker, right, leans over to explain to Bud Yeo, Dorothy Elder, Ed Kerslake, Gordon Hern and Mike Stewart. LADY EXPLAINS — A female employee at the John Deere engine factory explains some of the opera- tion .to Jack Lamont, Simon vanDam, Jim Wardell, Doug Cuddy, Charles Walkom and Jim McDougal. ON TOUR — Among those from the area recently touring John Deere plants in Iowa and Illinois were John Snell, Herb Verbeek, Wayne Overholt, Kees DeDrue, Greg Revington and J. P Rau. VIEW PRODUCTS — looking over some of the components in the John Deere engine factory in Waterloo, Iowa, are,,Reta Winters, Bob Feeney, John Elder, Harry Winters and Lawrence Plaetzer. LOOK AT CASTINGS — Examining some castings in the Iowa engine actory o Deere 8 ompany are Bill Quartet, Pat Patwell, Wayne McIver, Bernie and Jack VanBussel. ter and further increasing their productivity. "The economic environment sur- rounding our industries remains dif- ficult and uncertain," they wrote. "Nonetheless, we are determined to make the best of these challenging times. Our customers tell us they must have better products, lower costs, motivated dealers and com- petitive financing. We pledge to deliver all of these and more, as we have for 148 years." The area farmers, accompanied by a number of personnel from Huron Tractor, departed from London air- port on St. Patrick's Day, and after a frustratingly long customs clearance in Milwaukee, arrived in Ottumwa, Iowa, for the first factory tour. One of the oldest plants still operated by the company, the Ottum- wa factory turns out hay and forage equipment and it was here that the tour members were introduced to the "just in time" philosphy now being used by the company. Production on John Deere farm equipment starts only when a signed order is in place from a customer as the company continues to adjust the level of operations to coincide with the farm recession. Retail sales of John Deere equip- ment exceeded production and ship- ment to dealers during 1985 for the first time in several years, alleviating the huge inventories that previously sat in storage. The old brick structure was in sharp contrast to the computerized state of the art technology that was being utilized by the skilled machinists who turned the piles of rods, pipe and flat sheets of steel into 'finished products. In one small 29 -foot assembly line, two men were assembling all the company's rototillers. After a brief flight to Waterloo, the tour group booked into the Holiday Inn and enjoyed a recepton and din- ner at the adjoining civic centre. Following breakfast it was off to one of the company's showcase fac- tories, the mammoth 2,000,000 square foot tractor works which was built in 1979 on a.1300 -acre site, 48 of which are under cover. Once housing 1,700 employes, the production downturn has reduced that staff to just under 1,200 and runs far be14w the capacity of 210 tractors per day that can be turned out. The efficiency of the plant depends largely on its materials handling system to ensure that the correct parts and components arrive when and where they're needed. John Deere employs a high rise storage system thatis more than 80 feet high and has more than 16,000 storage compartments served by computer -operated cranes. When components are needed, the computer orders their delivery by overhead conveyors and they drive at their destination on the production line to meet the correct tractor chassis at the point of assembly. With the help of the computers, which abound throughout the plant, all the correct parts, components and subassemblies come together at the right time ,and in the proper se - quence to build a finished tractor. It was here that the tour groups also witnessed some of the robotics in ac- tion, as they were employed in the welding shop and in the painting section. After rolling off the assembly line, the finished tractor must pass a series of more than 30 operational tests in one of nine roller test calls. Periodically a whole tractor is pull- ed apart to check all components as part of the high degree of quality con- trol that the company and its employees practice. In a question and answer period following lunch. company officials ex- plained that the firm is going metric, although the transition will be slow. "We don't want you to have to have two tool boxes on your equipment," farmers were told. There were.questions pertaining to the proposed take-over of the Ver- satile factory in western Canada, a deal that has now been approved by the Canadian government and awaits approval from the U.S. justice department. When it was suggested that automation has reduced job oppor- tunities in some of the plants, it was explained that that was necesasry to reduce the product cost and it was also cheaper to provide incentives to challenge people to work at higher levels rather than add more staff. One farmer noted that only one woman was seen on the production line and the explanation was that the ratio was much higher six or seven years ago, but the lack of seniority en- joyed by the female workers meant they were among the first to be af- fected by layoffs, along with many of the younger workers. After a short drive through Waterloo, the next stop was at the engine works where rough castings and forgings from other company plants are transformed into precision diesel engine components for use in John Deere equipment as well as other manufacturers, such as General Motors. The factory, which is over one-third mile long, has one production line of some 800 feet in length that is almost totally automated and is operated by only five people. Othe lines in the fac- tory involve a higher level of human participation. From Waterloo, the tour buses headed for Moline, Illinois, and the HEAR GUIDE — A tour guide, left, explains some operation at a John Deere factory to Harold Elder, Marwood Willis, Lloyd McNaughton, Dale Passmore, Bill Baker, Henry Winters and Tom Needham. Plant your beans with Thimet* See how it pays to beat the sprays. IV 15-G •,r•I•®...r• Don't give insects a chance to get a headstart on your bean crop before you apply insecticide. Apply Thimet granular soil insecticide right away at planting. Thimet be1ps protect against Mexican bean beetles, leafhoppers, aphids, lygus bugs, thrips and mites. Ask your local farm chemical dealer about effective Thimet. MIr CYANAMID Serving those whose business is agriculture. 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