John Deere will set up its new manufacturing facility in Madhya Pradesh near Dewas.
The company will be investing $80 million on its Dewas facility and would create 1,000 jobs, the majority of which would be given to local people.
The ground breaking ceremony for its new tractor factory was held at its plant site near Dewas on Thursday with the State Industry and Commerce Minister, Mr Kailash Vijayverigya, and other officials of the company formally laying the foundation stone.
Mr Ranjeet Nair, Managing Director and CEO, John Deere, India, said the annual production capacity of the Dewas facility would be 49,000 tractors and its commercial production is likely to begin from 2013.
Mr Nair said the reason why the company chose Dewas near Indore for the manufacturing of its tractor, was due to its strategic location and being nearest to Indore, Madhya Pradesh's largest city, which will provide a large pool of trained persons due to the large number of engineering and other technical institutions in the region.
Madhya Pradesh is not only a strategic location but also a friendly place to do business, said Mr David C. Everitt, President of John Deere's worldwide agriculture and turf division, adding that the new factory in Madhya Pradesh will also allow farmers in this key region to access technological expertise that will help them improve their crop yield.
Mr Samuel R. Allen, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Deere & Company, said the company's new Dewas facility in addition to creating employment opportunities for the local people, will also enhance opportunities for ancillary industries to develop as suppliers.
Mr Vijayvergiya speaking at the ground breaking ceremony, asked the company to train farmers for achieving higher yields in the State by taking into consideration the State's climatic conditions..
Dewas will be the second manufacturing location for John Deere for tractors. The company had set up its first tractor manufacturing facility in Pune, where it manufactures 72,000 tractors annually.