Mannheim really is a melting pot of invention. According to John Deere, the car, the bicycle, and the tractor were invented there and while no cars or bikes are produced in the city today, tractors continue to roll off the line in the Lindenhof district. The Heinrich Lanz company laid the foundation stone for one of the most successful tractor factories 102 years ago with the Bulldog, and John Deere tractors have been produced there since 1956.
About 3,300 employees help produce 40,000 tractors a year at the site, before the machines are exported all over the world.
Due to the sharp increase in production, the factory is now the largest John Deere production facility outside of North America. It is also the largest tractor-production facility in Germany, as two-thirds of all tractors manufactured in Germany are produced in Mannheim. The factory benefits from its convenient location on the Rhine, on which about 250 tractors are shipped twice a week to Rotterdam or Antwerp, and then overseas, including the UK and Ireland.
However, the plant is not only a production site, but also a development site for all medium tractors from John Deere, where more than 250 engineers work on the tractors of tomorrow and beyond, the company says. Developers also put a lot of effort into clean fuel combustion as the same strict exhaust-emission standards apply to tractors as they do for other vehicles. At the same time, engineers are working on alternative concepts, such as the use of biofuels. Electric drives are also being developed, albeit only for smaller tractors, as the battery capacity for larger machines is not yet sufficient. In 2026, the first fully autonomous and battery-driven tractor delivering approximately 100hp will be presented.
John Deere 6R and 6M tractors
The development department led the way with the introduction of the frame design on the Mannheim tractors. The sturdy bridge steel frame gives the tractors enormous stability when using heavy implements. In addition, the other components of the tractor can be built lighter. For example, the gearbox housings are made of aluminium. After the introduction of the frame design in the 1990s, production figures went steadily upwards. For more than 20 years, John Deere has been the market leader for tractors in all major Western European countries. The current success is due, among other things, to the flagship of Mannheim production, the 6R 250. With a maximum output of 300hp, it is the largest tractor ever built in Mannheim. Overall, Mannheim tractors cover the range from 90-250 hp rated power in the ‘luxury’ class.
A milestone
The two millionth tractor, the 6R 250, was unveiled at the Mannheim plant recently in the presence of John Deere CEO, John C May. The tractor was wrapped in portrait photos of more than 300 employees, as a thank you to the production team. In the long-term, it will be given a place of honour in the factory museum next to its little brother, the one millionth 6400. It took 70 years from the start of production for one million John Deeres to be produced, but the second million rolled off the line in about 30 years.