Area Development
Deere & Company plans a $20 million, 100,000 square foot, expansion of its Valley City, North Dakota crop seeder and tillage equipment manufacturing plant, with the company planning to hire from 50 to 100 additional workers in the next five years based on market conditions.

David Bradford, plant Chief Operating Officer said the expansion is another important step as the company strives to meet increasing worldwide customer demand. He said the expansion will increase the company’s 15-year old building along Interstate-95 to 300,000 square feet.

“This business expansion means more jobs and opportunities for North Dakota,” Gov. Jack Dalrymple said. “Deere & Company is a global business with many options in selecting its manufacturing locations. The fact that they chose to expand their Valley City plant is a credit to our quality workforce and North Dakota’s positive business climate.”

In meetings with Deere & Company officials, Dalrymple said he encouraged company officials to support its growing production demand by expanding in North Dakota. "I was impressed with the plant’s efficiency, the quality of its workforce and with John Deere’s commitment to the community,” Dalrymple said about plant and its 320 member workforce. “John Deere’s Valley City plant is a good example of the innovation and expertise that continues to drive our state’s manufacturing growth while other states are experiencing declines in this important economic sector.” Valley City and the state offered the firm sales and property tax incentives to help with its expansion.

In October, Deere & Company completed an expansion of Fargo-based John Deere Electronic Solutions. Its Fargo, North Dakota, expansion will strengthen John Deere’s global business and create as many as 60 new jobs. JDES has completed construction of a 90,000 square-foot building that provides additional office space for its growing engineering staff, test labs and enable the company to expand its power electronics capabilities. JDES employs more than 1,000 people in Fargo.