Deere Sets Access Terms For Russian Investment

Story from Des Moines Register

Deere & Co. said Monday that it is prepared to invest up to $500 million in its Russian operations "under the right market access conditions."

Deere's statement marked negotiating at the commercial level as President Barack Obama meets with Russian leadership this week. A Russia-U.S. business forum is scheduled in conjunction with the summit in Moscow.

The phrase "market access conditions" is key because since the fall of communism in 1991 many U.S. companies have approached Russia only to be disappointed by Moscow's attitudes toward open markets.

Deere already has about 2,000 employees in Russia at factories and it also has a U.S.-style dealer network there, too.

The company has a manufacturing operation in Orenburg in southwestern Russia that makes seeding and tillage equipment for the Russian market and exports to other locations. In addition, John Deere is developing an operations, training and parts center near Kaluga in western Russia.

Deere President Samuel Allen said the company "could envision a series of significant investments over the next five to seven years in expanded capacity for manufacturing and supporting all types of Deere equipment," with the support of the Russian government. Allen said the investment could reach $500 million, according to Reuters.