[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 15]
[House]
[Page 20193]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                  CONGRATULATING JOHN DEERE & COMPANY

  (Mr. BRALEY of Iowa asked and was given permission to address the 
House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. BRALEY of Iowa. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate Deere & 
Company on their 90th anniversary in Waterloo, Iowa. John Deere has 
been in Waterloo since March 14 of 1918, when it bought the Waterloo 
Gasoline Engine Company, maker of the ``Waterloo Boy'' two-cylinder 
tractor, for $2.35 million. That model is still located at the 
Smithsonian Institution.
  Today Deere's facilities in Waterloo include a foundry, the engine 
works, and the tractor assembly plant, making Deere & Company a 
multibillion-dollar corporation.
  Over the past 90 years, John Deere has been an integral part of the 
Waterloo economy. The company employs thousands of Iowans and is 
currently the largest manufacturing employer in Waterloo. John Deere is 
in the midst of a fifth consecutive year of record earnings. If that 
continues, it would match the previous 5-year record run in the 
nineties and would have produced record earnings 10 times in the past 
15 years.
  That's quite a feat for a company that was down and out during the 
1980s farm crisis, which saw mass layoffs at its facilities. A strong 
John Deere is fundamental to promoting a healthy and stable economy in 
the Cedar Valley.
  Due to its successes, Deere has been able to give back to the 
community in a big way, and I congratulate them on their successes.

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