Charlene Was Right

February 1, 2019

Today we visited the John Deere Assembly in Catalao, where they assemble two different models of sprayers, and two different models of sugar cane harvesters. We started off our morning with our usual breakfast and not enough coffee, and then had a short drive to the facility.

We were greeted by their university relations team who are volunteers that in addition to their normal job help with visits by any university that visits their facility. We learned about the history of the facility as well as their role in exporting sprayers and sugar cane harvesters to other countries around the world.

After their presentation, they introduced to a product engineer from Iowa that is working in Catalao for two years, helping with fixing customer’s machines when a problem occurs. We were all excited to hear that all to familiar midwest accent. We also found it interesting to hear about international job opportunities that may arise as we enter the workforce.

We then took a tour of their production line which produces around 3,000 machines a year. They first showed us the beginning of the production process, where they receive steel sheets and cubes and use lasers and other machines to create desired parts. We then saw the welding area, where they took the newly cut pieces of steel and began to form them into larger parts. We also saw from a distance the painting area, as they couldn’t let us see the secret way they make that “John Deere Green” look so good. We then saw the final area of the production line.

Once all of the big parts of the machines are assembled they begin to put the final product together. It was much like watching adults put together huge Legos, as they put them together so easily and quickly.

Finally, we got to see some finished harvesters and sprayers and got to sit in their cabs and act like we knew what every control does. After that we ate lunch with our guides, and as always enjoyed the Brazilian cuisine. We thanked the team for their amazing tour and for giving us an in depth look at their production process, and we headed back to the hotel for much needed naps and project work!

Thank you John Deere for the tour!

-Evan Callicoat

 

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *