Steel Markets

Deere Reshoring Cotton Harvester Production Back from China

Written by Laura Miller

October 18, 2022

Investing further in its US operations, agricultural and heavy equipment manufacturer Deere & Co. is reshoring production of a certain cotton harvester model back from China.

The steel end user is expanding its operations in Thibodaux, La., with a $29.8 million investment, according to a news release from Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards.

A new production line and upgraded equipment will be installed at the Thibodaux facility in Lafourche Parish to produce medium-chassis cotton harvesting equipment that is currently being manufactured in China. Production on the new line will begin within the next two years with full production expected to be reached by 2025.

The Thibodaux facility currently manufactures a variety of agricultural and construction products and is a design center for sugar harvesting and earthmoving scraper equipment. It currently employs 284 people, and the expansion project will add another 70 new direct jobs.

Deere & Co. is a 185-year-old manufacturing company headquartered in Moline, Ill., with more than 100 locations around the world.

By Laura Miller, Laura@SteelMarketUpdate.com

Laura Miller

Laura Miller is a reporter and editor for Steel Market Update. She has held a variety of positions within the steel industry since 2007, including reporting and editing for Steel Business Briefing/Platts, the Association for Iron and Steel Technology, and Kallanish Commodities, as well as marketing for what was then known as ThyssenKrupp Steel USA (now AM/NS Calvert). After a five-year hiatus working across other industries, she returned to steel in 2021 and has covered the flat rolled, tubular, and trade areas of the industry. She is a member of the Association of Women in the Metal Industries and a past-president of the AWMI Pittsburgh Chapter. She holds a BA in Latin American Studies from Edinboro University of Pennsylvania. She can be reached at laura@steelmarketupdate.com or 724-759-7869.

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