The U.S. Department of Defense awarded John Deere Construction & Forestry Co. an estimated $125 million contract to build up to 540 Medium Crawler Tractors (MCTs).

The MCTs are being built for the Marine Corps Systems Command in Quantico, Va., for delivery to military bases throughout the United States and overseas. Based on the John Deere 850J crawler dozer, these machines will be modified to meet the Marine Corps’ unique specifications.

“These units will be used in combat and combat support, so they have to operate over the worst possible unprepared terrain, including sand, snow and mud,” said Sandra Bridge-Chase, manager of government sales for John Deere Construction & Forestry Co. “We'll customize the machines to deliver optimum performance and durability in all sorts of extreme-duty conditions.”

The units will be manufactured at John Deere’s Dubuque Works facility in Dubuque, Iowa, with an initial delivery of seven MCTs targeted for completion in mid-2008 and full production starting in late 2008.

John Deere is a leading provider of advanced products and services for agriculture and forestry, and a major provider of advanced products and services for construction, lawn and turf care, landscaping and irrigation.