Advanced Engineering Keeps Deere At Forefront Of Technology
MOLINE, 111. There’s
little doubt we live in a tech
nology-driven age. And while
technology is absolutely essen
tial in today’s agriculture, the
ongoing challenge for equip
ment manufacturers is to
apply new technology in ways
that provide tangible returns
to the producers who pur
chase and use these compa
nies’ products.
The mission of the Ad
vanced Tractor Engineering
Group, part of the John Deere
Product Engineering Center
in Waterloo, lowa, is to vig
ilantly look for new technolo
gies that can be applied to
John Deere equipment to de
liver even more value to cus
tomers’ operations.
“In simple terms, we’re the
eyes and ears to the future,”
says Merv Kizlyk, manager,
Advanced Tractor Engi
neering. “Our task is to look
for current and future tech
nologies that may exist in
other industries automotive,
space exploration and so on
to see if we can adapt them in
ways that help us address our
customers’ challenges and
make them more productive
and more efficient.”
Bob Mayfield, a colleague
of Kizlyk’s said, “It’s never
technology for the sake of
technology. Our challenge is
to sort through the bells and
whistles and focus on technol
ogies that will make our cus
tomers more profitable at the
end of the day,” according to
the John Deere staff engineer.
Focusing On
The Near Future
While you might assume
Advanced Tractor Engi
neering concentrates on some
pretty space-age stuff, Kizlyk
said most of the group’s work
is focused on a timespan of
anywhere from two to 15
years in the future.
“Obviously, we look at
things that are more futuristic,
that reach out beyond this
timeframe. ‘ But our critical
focus has been, and will con
tinue to be, product innova
tions that can help our cus
tomers sooner rather than
later,” Kizlyk said.
Customers need look no
further than the new John
Deere 8020 Series Tractors for
examples of real-world inno
vations made possible by the
work of the Advanced Tractor
Engineering Group.
The John Deere Active-
Seat" combines electrohy
draulic technology with air
suspension to provide the
smoothest ride in the industry
and a significant reduction in
operator fatigue.
Independent Link Suspen
sion 1 ' 1 (ILS) is an independent
front suspension system that
transfers more power to the
ground. ILS virtually elimi
nates power hop, enhances op
erator comfort, and increases
productivity because of higher
field and transport speeds.
“These innovations are
great examples of John
Deere’s investment in ad
vanced engineering,” Kizlyk
said. “Both were put on the
fast track to market because
of the value and benefit they
would provide our custom-
ers.”
While customers serve as
the ultimate judge for any new
product innovation, it is inter
esting to note that two John
Deere suspension technolo
gies, including the Active Seat
and a fully suspended tractor
design, recently received pres
tigious awards for excellence.
Each innovation received a
gold medal at the 2001 Agri
technica Fair in Germany. Ag
ritechnica is a major interna
tional farm equipment
exposition conducted every
two years. Gold medals are
awarded sparingly. In fact,
John Deere received two of
only three gold medals award
ed on more than 260 product
innovations submitted for con
sideration at this past year’s
event.
MOLINE, 111. The pace
of change in the agricultural
marketplace seems to acceler
ate with each passing year,
and with this change come
new challenges and opportu
“Earning recognition for nities.
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our leading-edge technology is
definitely rewarding,” Kizlyk
said. “But even more reward
ing is the knowledge that this
technology can help our cus
tomers do their jobs better,
faster, more efficiently, more
productively and more profit
ably than ever before.”
AutoTrac: Tomorrow’s
Technology Today
John Deere’s operator-less
concept vehicle, the Autono
mous Tractor, has helped the
company capture headlines
and imaginations in recent
months. More importantly,
though, the research and de
velopment effort on this proj
John Deere AMS Delivers Solutions
To Agriculture’s New Challenges
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ect has helped yield one of the
more intriguing product inno
vations in recent years: the
GreenStar® AutoTrac Assisted
Steering System.
The Autonomous Tractor is
equipped with “smart” tech
nology that enables it to effec
tively perform a broad range
of functions without an opera
tor. While such an operator
less tractor is still years from
becoming a market reality,
Merv Kizlyk said the engi
neering involved in this proj
ect was key to the develop
ment of the AutoTrac System
available on John Deere
Track Tractors in 2002.
Providing producers with
solutions to address these
challenges and capitalize on
the opportunities is the critical
role played by John Deere
AMS (Ag Management Solu
tions).
Lancaster Farming, Saturday, March 16,2002-A23
“AutoTrac is a valuable tool
that can help operators shift
their focus away from mun
dane tasks like steering to
tasks that add more value to
their operations,” said the
manager of the John Deere
Advanced Tractor Engi
neering Group. “That’s the
real benefit of the investment
in an effort such as the Auton
omous Tractor project. It
helps us research and acceler
ate the development of real,
tangible innovations that will
help customers in their opera
tions today and in the very
near future.”
“We see several trends hav
ing a profound impact on ag
riculture in the years ahead,”
said Barry Schaffter, vice
president, John Deere AMS.
(Turn to Paqe A 24)