Deere & Co. last week announced it plans to establish a European Technology & Innovation Center in Kaiserslautern, Germany. Deere plans to have the center operational in the spring of 2010.

The facility will accommodate up to 200 engineers to further enhance Deere’s advanced engineering capabilities in Europe with a focus on developing and applying technological advances to serve customers in the region.

"Our customers expect John Deere products and services to increase their productivity by integrating technology with machinery," said Mark Von Pentz, president, Agricultural Division – Europe, Africa and South America. "This center allows John Deere the opportunity to provide even more focus to our industry- leading research and technology efforts."

In addition, the new center will provide engineering support for Deere's work in intelligent mobile equipment technologies and agricultural management solutions.

"The new European Technology & Innovation Center will be both an integral part and extension of our existing technology and engineering network in support of Deere's global growth strategy," says Klaus Hoehn, vice president, Advanced Technology and Engineering. "The ETIC will allow us to develop and leverage critical technologies in order to meet the requirements of our growing customer base throughout the world."

Deere said Kaiserslautern provides an excellent environment with such activities as the highly specialized research operations at the University of Kaiserslautern, providing John Deere excellent opportunities to recruit talented employees. Deere said the ETIC location also is beneficial because it is located between the product engineering centers at John Deere factories in Mannheim and Zweibruecken, Germany.