John Deere invests R$180 Mn in Technology Development Center with a focus on Tropical agriculture

The Brazil Technology Development Center will be built in Indaiatuba (SP) with opening planned for the end of 2024.

John Deere, a global technology company that provides software and equipment for the agriculture, construction and forestry sectors, has announced the construction of the Brazil Technology Development Center, its first development and testing center for tropical agriculture in the world. The company will invest around R$180 million in the project, with the aim of promoting synergy between the multiple R&D teams that are dedicated to designing and validating new products and technologies for the main production systems – grain, sugarcane, and special crops.

Now with this new Center the company is underlining the relevance of tropical agriculture as it continues investing in the country, both in product development and infrastructure. Its combined businesses in the country employ directly more than 9,000 people and produce equipment that is exported to more than 55 countries.

“Aware of the growing global demand for food and understanding the fundamental role that Brazil plays in this context, this Center will promote the development of everything that’s applicable to tropical agriculture. We’re going to be offering the Brazilian market a faster and more excellent service than we do currently”, points out Jahmy Hindman, CTO for John Deere.

The new Center, which will cover an area of 500,000 m², will be located in Indaiatuba (SP). Construction started in November 2023 and the finished building is expected to be delivered by the end of 2024. Around 150 employees will work at the Center in the engineering and R&D areas.

“The center will allow products to be conceived and tested in Brazil considering all the variables: soil, climate, connectivity levels, etc. This will ensure that solutions are delivered to local customers more quickly so small, medium and large Brazilian producers can work in an even more productive, profitable and sustainable way”, says Antonio Carrere, Vice-President, Sales & Marketing, Latin America.

With the setting up of the new Brazil Technology Development Center, John Deere expects to reduce the development time for new solutions by up to 40 per cent, depending on the type of project. The company has already launched products with a specific focus on the local market, such as its CH950 sugarcane harvester, a Brazilian project designed to meet the needs of the country’s sugarcane producers, and the S400 grain harvester, created for small and medium-size farms. This new Center will make it possible to speed up the delivery of solutions to the Brazilian market and considering its specific needs more and more.

The company’s Center for Precision Agriculture and Innovation (CAPI), which was set up in 2017 for research into and the development of the very latest trends in technological efficiency for farmers, with a focus on the use of hardware and software in precision agriculture, will now become an integral part of the new Center in Indaiatuba.

The Brazil Technology Development Center will be