Deere offers look at manufacturing giant’s big local footprint

When Master Sgt. Germán Ortiz began preparing for retirement, he set out to find a place his family could call home and a private-sector employer who could use the skills, education and training he amassed during two decades in the U.S. Air Force.  His research led him to the Quad Cities and Moline-based John Deere […]

When Master Sgt. Germán Ortiz began preparing for retirement, he set out to find a place his family could call home and a private-sector employer who could use the skills, education and training he amassed during two decades in the U.S. Air Force.  His research led him to the Quad Cities and Moline-based John Deere via the company’s partnership with the Department of Defense's SkillBridge Program. The first-generation American and Colombian immigrant’s story was among the ways in which key Deere & Co. leaders shared a glimpse of the company’s large impact on the Quad Cities with local media during the inaugural John Deere Media day Monday, Sept. 18, at the John Deere Pavilion in Moline. That unique museum and top tourist attraction is itself a demonstration of the contributions of founder John Deere, the manufacturing giant he gave birth to and the impact that he and his invention continue to have on the community the global company still calls home.

The draw of that modern-day archive remodeled extensively during the COVID-19 pandemic was on display Monday as speakers including Neil Dahlstrom, Deere’s manager of branded properties and heritage, took the podium. Visitors who had just departed a tour bus crowded around to peek through a wall of glass to see the massive machinery featured prominently in the pavilion’s giant showroom. Also Monday, Mara Downing, Deere’s vice president of corporate communication and brand management, shared an overview of the economic and social impact on the Quad Cities that is made each year by Deere’s 9,700 employees and the 6,200 retirees who live in the QC.

Impact measures in billions

The work those employees do in Deere’s Quad Cities plants and its parts distribution center has a $9 billion annual impact, Ms. Downing said. And the company and its suppliers’ collective output generates a total of $12.9 billion in local area economic activity. Of that $4.5 billion is generated within the region, which is equivalent to 15% of the Quad Cities gross domestic product, she said. That still represents only part of Deere’s overall Quad Cities impact, Ms. Downing, a third generation John Deere employee, added.  “Our story isn’t just about our equipment. It’s just a small part of it,” Ms. Downing said. “Our focus remains on our people and on our communities, the places we call home.” For example, she said, “We’re proud to be a part of the economic engine that propels this community forward and proud of the positive changes that we have helped to contribute to in this region.” That includes the life-changing impact being made through the John Deere Foundation – which is celebrating its 75th anniversary this year – to those who need it most in Deere’s home communities. The company’s efforts there also are multiplied by the army of Deere employees and retirees who volunteer throughout the community. “We know that we must be community minded, because we are community made,” Jen Hartmann, Deere’s global director of public relations and social media, said Monday. “Our economic success is contingent on the success of our broader community and our ability to create an amazing place to live, work, learn and play.”

Deere's technology leader

The company also remains a leader in technological advances including artificial intelligence, which among other things is making work more efficient and safer for employees at John Deere Davenport Works, according to its General Manager Mary Pat Tubb. The focus of Monday’s Media Day wasn’t just on the present, however. Leaders shared how John Deere is helping young Quad Citians prepare for their future through programs including the John Deere Inspire Partnerships. That pilot program – outlined Monday by Pat Barnes, Deere’s global social responsibility lead, education and equity – is now at four schools on both sides of the Mississippi River. That includes the East Moline School District where Superintendent Kristin Humphries said Inspire is engaging students in STEM education in a district where dozens of languages are spoken and 100% of its students participate in the federal lunch program.  David Ottavianelli, Deere’s director of workforce development, also shared how students, including young immigrants, have leveraged participation in Deere’s high school apprenticeship program into long-term employment at Deere and other Quad Cities companies.

Partnering for success

Mr. Barnes also works with the SkillBridge program that brought Mr. Ortiz to John Deere. That relatively recent Deere hire originally came to America as a 17-year-old when his parents grabbed an opportunity to leave Colombia, a poor and unstable nation, for new opportunities here. Their son, Germán, graduated from high school in New York with no idea what he wanted to do next. “I knew I wanted to do big things, I just didn’t know how to get there,” he told the QCBJ. He grabbed a chance to sign up for four years in the Air Force in exchange for educational benefits provided by the G.I. Bill. “It took no more than a few weeks to realize, I can do this thing. Let’s see how long it goes,” he said of that new military gig. Before he knew it, he said, his 20th anniversary and retirement loomed, so Mr. Ortiz began planning for the next phase of his life. The military financial analyst put together an economic analysis complete with spreadsheets of the pros-cons of various communities, and selected the Quad Cities. He did a similar analysis of potential employers and used the SkillBridge program to find John Deere and has never regretted it. “I can’t tell how excited I am. I wake up every day and I love it,” Mr. Ortiz said. “I loved the service I did. But I love it even more now that I have my family (which includes his wife and three children). They all love it.”