In a move designed to improve the speed of decision-making and customer support, Deere & Co. and Hitachi Construction Machinery Ltd. will integrate their marketing operations in North, Central and South America.

The integrated operation will have responsibility for sales and distribution of the Deere and Hitachi brands of construction, forestry and mining equipment and solutions in the Americas. While the action is not expected to affect net income until 2003, it will result in higher reported sales beginning next year.

Currently, the Hitachi-branded hydraulic excavators and mining equipment are marketed by wholly owned subsidiaries of Deere-Hitachi Construction Machinery Corp., the 50/50 joint venture formed by Deere and Hitachi in 1988. The Construction & Forestry division of Deere & Co. currently markets Deere-branded hydraulic excavators. The Deere-Hitachi joint venture, located in Kernersville, N.C., will continue to produce hydraulic excavators for the North, Central and South American markets.

“This strategic initiative is yet another step to strengthen the Deere and Hitachi business relationship,” said Ryuichi Seguchi, president of Hitachi Construction Machinery. “Hitachi and Deere will continue to look for opportunities to improve operating efficiencies and add customer value.”

Under the plan, marketing operations for Hitachi-branded products in Houston, Toronto, and Vancouver will be closed and integrated into Deere's construction and forestry marketing operations in Moline, Ill. Deere-Hitachi Specialty Products, a subsidiary of Deere-Hitachi also located in Vancouver, is not affected by this announcement.