Deere & Company and Hitachi Construction Machinery Co. Ltd. jointly announced the intent to create a 50/50 joint venture for wheel loaders in Japan.

Hitachi has operated its wheel loader business through Hitachi Furukawa Construction Co. Ltd. ("Hitachi-Furukawa"), a 50/50 joint venture between Hitachi and Furukawa Machinery and Metals Co. Ltd. ("Furukawa") and through TCM Corporation ("TCM"), of which Hitachi is a 13 percent shareholder. In order to implement the formation of the joint venture, Hitachi has transferred its interests in Hitachi-Furukawa and TCM to Hitachi Kenki Loader Co. Ltd. ("Hitachi Loader"), currently a wholly owned subsidiary of Hitachi.

Deere will acquire 50 percent of Hitachi Loader, and the company will change its corporate name to "Hitachi Kenki Deere Co. Ltd." The joint venture will, for the time being, function as a holding company holding interests in Hitachi-Furukawa and TCM. It will then focus its business operations primarily in Japan and Asia. In the future, Hitachi and Deere will continue to discuss the formation of a global wheel loader business.

Deere and Hitachi have operated Deere-Hitachi Construction Machinery Corporation in North America, for manufacture and sale of hydraulic excavators. The two companies have conducted discussions with a view toward deepening their relationships and ways to expand their relationship globally.

The formation of the wheel loader joint venture in Japan is the first tangible result of this new initiative.