[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 4]
[House]
[Page 5714]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




            DEERE-HITACHI CONSTRUCTION MACHINERY CORPORATION

  (Ms. FOXX asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. FOXX. Mr. Speaker, recently I had the opportunity to visit Deere-
Hitachi Construction Machinery Corporation in North Carolina's Fifth 
District. This plant manufactures hydraulic excavators which are used 
widely in the construction industry as earthmoving and utility-type 
tracked digging machines.
  The company is a joint venture between John Deere and Hitachi 
Construction Machinery located in Tokyo, Japan. The company, formed in 
1988, is a rare mix of American and Japanese cultures. This combination 
manifests itself in an extraordinary safety, quality, and delivery 
record.
  As a result, Hitachi has grown significantly in the past 3 years. 
Production volumes of both John Deere and Hitachi-brand models have 
risen to over 6,000 units. This is remarkable given the machines are 12 
to 33 tons in operating weight. In addition, employment in the facility 
has doubled in size to over 750 direct employees.
  A portion of this growth has been fueled by the localization of 
models that were formerly produced in Asia to Kernersville, North 
Carolina. This has had a positive impact on the local economy in North 
Carolina, as well as nationally. I am honored to have a facility such 
as Deere-Hitachi located in my district.

                          ____________________