John Deere invests in new test lab at Research Park

Deere & Company will be constructing a new facility in the Iowa State Research Park, to be completed by summer 2019.

The new 33,000-square-foot facility will be a design and test lab for agricultural spraying and applications technology. This facility comes after the 2017 opening of a John Deere strategic technology innovation center in the Research Park.

“As a leader in precision agriculture, John Deere is focused on providing customers with innovative, high quality products and services,” Aaron Wetzel, Deere’s vice president of the global crop care platform, said in a news release. “Our customers will benefit from this investment as the spray lab is expected to enhance product design and improve our development cycle.”

The completion of the facility by summer 2019 is dependent on "final due diligence" and "required approvals and incentives that are typically available for projects of this nature," according to a news release about the investment.

“We are thrilled that John Deere continues to recognize Iowa State’s exceptional return on investment," Iowa State President Wendy Wintersteen said in the release. "The plans announced today for the ISU Research Park will enhance John Deere’s access to our expertise, research and development opportunities and to ISU’s student workforce."

John Deere is an international company, founded in 1837, delivering "products and services to support those linked to the land," according to their website.