john deere harvester works factory tour

John Deere is the best of the best. We took this tour with a business group through the factory, which was very clean and organized. The guides as others have said are retired workers who have put in their entire career at John Deere, so they are extremely knowledgeable. One of the coolest things about the tour was that even though you were riding the tram through the active factory while everyone was working, many of them would see us going through and they would look over and wave, or ask how it was going. Many factory tours are not like this.. To see the total magnitude of how a combine was built from start to finish would take a much more in depth tour because there is just so much to the process, but this was a very neat and educational tour. I highly recommend it!

A very well done tour - we were on the locomotive type of train for about 2 hours, while the man told us of everything in the plant. Our friends who came with us were farmers, and they were very pleased. For us, (non-farmers), it was interesting on a business level - how a company started up in a tent, and today spreads out in a factory 70 acres big! Loved all the details, very well done.

Visited the John Deere Harvester Factory for the free 1-1/2 hour tour on 2/26/2015 and it was well worth the time. Calling to make reservations was easy (phone number on the John Deere website) and I received a confirmation email. We arrived early and checked out the displays in the reception area as well as a fully assembled combine. The tour guides are all former J.D. employees who retired from the company. The tour was a ride on tour with one stop to take a look at the paint area. Our guide was very knowledgeable and explained each work station and area of the plant as we passed by along with what some of the equipment was and its purpose. After the tour we asked questions about the company & its history. One thing that stood out to me throughout the tour is how clean the plant is and how J.D. has implemented practices to help keep the air pollution to a minimum by installing machines to suck the fumes & contaminants out of the plant (especially evident in the welding area) and how they use water from the Mississippi and it is returned to the river cleaner than when it was taken by running it through its own filtration system and then the city's filtration system. Even if you are not interested in the equipment, it is a very interesting tour.

Wow! Lived in Midwest for many years. Finally took time to visit this JD combine factory and take the tour. It is eye-opening. The tour is very well managed and tour guides we had knew their stuff and made the tour very interesting with some history and also "inside" insight into the operation.When I took the tour, I was added to a tour for a group of Russian college ag students which was very interesting to watch their reaction to it all. I will be taking this tour again as you just can not absorb it all the first time through.

I have been taking this tour almost yearly for the past 11 years and no two tours are ever the same. Different tour guides - all retired John Deere employees - talk about different things and tell different stories, so each tour is a bit different. Additionally, as the factory and Harvester design changes, the tour includes all new sights each time. For those who have never been in a factory, this is a great first time visit. All tours are taken riding carts and trailers, so no need to walk through this huge plant. Sit up front if you want to ask the driver and guide questions.

Deere & Co is a top notch company and John Deere Harvester Works gives a top notch tour. Everything was handled well. I have no tie to Deere or farming, but enjoyed the tour. Phone reservations were easy. I arrived a bit early and had time to browse the small display room that held the biggest combine you can imagine. I turned down an offer of coffee. At tour time we started with a short introductory video. There were about 15 of us in the group to board a tram. Our guide spoke to us through headsets while his colleague pulled us 3.5 miles through the factory with a lawn tractor. It is an amazing factory, too large for me to comprehend. Our guide gave us a good idea of the manufacturing process from the making of small parts to the assembly into a finished combine. Less able tourists stayed on the tram to watch a video while the rest of us went up and down stairs to view the painting process.The cutaway model of a combine was particularly interesting to me. Questions were welcomed, but not practical while riding on the tram. Sit up front next to the guide if you are the type to ask a lot of questions. The 25 guides are Deere retirees with 800 years of service between them, it was nice to see our guide interacting with old co-workers. If the automated laser sheet metal cutting machines have I name, I did not learn it.Photography is not allowed. Cell phones are banned, too, but no one checked for them. I left mine in the car. Exit through the gift shop.Everything I saw, from toilets, to the theater, to the trams was first class. A wheelchair user climbed into the tour tram. You would have to phone to see if they can handle someone who is less mobile than that. I found the route to the factory from I-74 a little confusing and unmarked and was glad I had a map. John Deere fans visiting the Quad Cities will want to consider visiting the John Deere Pavilion and John Deere World Headquarters. I still have to make it to the John Deere Historic Site in Grand Detour, Illinois and to the Deere attractions in Waterloo, Iowa.

As someone who grew up on farm and still has many family members who farm it is very interesting. They show and talk about about the way JD has adapted to survive. The efficiency and speed to how such a machine in made is incredible. The retired workers turned guides add so much to overall experience. They truly are the leaders of the industry. And it's free!

I was very impressed with this tour. Very informative and I liked it that you didn't have to walk so it would be a tour that elderly people could take that can't do a lot of walking.

This is best factory tour that we have taken. They show a short video before you hop on a tram that runs through the entire factory which takes about two hours. You get to see the entire operation from start to finish and the narration given by retirees is thorough. The employees working in the factory are friendly and seem to be glad that we are there. It is probably the cleanest factories that we have ever been in. The only drawback is that you have to be thirteen or older to take the tour.

A tractor pulls visitors seated in open cars with everyone having a headset to hear the tour guide. The factory is huge and you get to watch every step in making the largest harvesting machine in the world. We got to walk up close to the painting operation and all our questions were answered by the tour guide, who was a retired Deere machinist

Whether your a city slicker or from a small town, make time to take the tour at the John Deere Harvester works! Very interesting seeing how the combines are made and the tour guides are retired workers. Very impressive to see how everything comes together. While waiting for the tour to start, crawl into the cab of the combine on the lobby and just marvel at the size of the beast and yet the controls seems rather basic.NOTE - The one draw back is getting a reservation. The level of customer service is rather disappointing! E-mails reservations are very slow to get out and the staff don't return calls in a timely matter. When calling - make sure you write your reservation number down. There was a group of people the morning we arrived that were told they had a reservation only to be told that they didn't. BUT it is well worth the effort once you take the tour.

Nothing is more interesting that seeing how these giant machines come together. Can you imagine how you PAINT them? That alone is worth the cost of admission - which is ZERO, free, nada, zilch. The factory is spotless and you have folks who have worked and retired from here giving the tours. Can't beat first hand knowledge and these folks know their machines. Great opportunity for anyone.

Fascinating to see a big combines being made! Tour guides are very knowledgeable and are happy to answer questions. The plant is clean and well organized. Modern manufacturing knowledge is on display everywhere from safety and kanban and robotics to product quality and process controls. Very interesting from start to finish and a great way to spend a few hours!

was so interesting to see how those big farm combines are put together. the tour lasts about an hour and a half or so and it is guided on trams a must see when in the quad cites best to call in advance not really a walk in tour

If you are someone who is into John Deere, farming, tractors/combines, or are just generally fascinated by how things work this tour is a MUST.My husband works at a John Deere dealer and farms with his dad and they of course own John Deere equipment. My father in-law also owns an extensive collection of antique John Deere tractors and implements. So needless to say my husband and father in-law were dying to go on the tour and my mother in-law and I tagged along.I didn't think I would enjoy it too much but man was I wrong. Even if you aren't into farming the size of the factory and the size of the combines coming down the assembly line is so impressive. You learn a lot about the farming industry in general, and of course, John Deere.I can't remember for certain but I believe the tour lasted about an hour or maybe a little longer. Each person receives an audio pack and headphones to wear for the tour and eye protection. The entire time you are riding on a cart which is pulled by a John Deere (of course) lawn mower. There is one stop where people are encouraged to get off to see the painting tanks. I think for me the painting tanks were the most amazing part of the tour just because of how big they were and the process they use to paint the combines.After the tour there is a small gift shop with anything and everything John Deere. Everything is a little spendy as you can imagine, but it is in the only place in the world you can get John Deere HARVESTER WORKS items. I think this is also something that young people would enjoy, though I believe they did have an age limit on the tour. I can't remember for certain but I think my husband arranged the tour a few weeks in advance which I believe is required. So if you are interested be sure to contact Harvester Works to schedule a tour before your trip.