In 1949 in Dubuque, Iowa, the first John Deere MC dozer entered production. Since its entry into the dozer business, John Deere has focused on meeting customer needs to improve jobsite efficiencies.
This year, Deere commemorates its 75th year as a leader in the dozer market.
“This important 75-year milestone of dozer manufacturing recognizes the tremendous teamwork of everyone involved including our factory teams, engineers and our dealers that support our customers every day,” said Matt Costello, Product Marketing Manager for Dozers at John Deere.
“We’re incredibly proud that this lineup has continued to provide the durability and performance that our customers rely on to work smarter and more efficiently getting the job done right the first time.”
In recognition of its 75th year in the dozer market, John Deere will begin adding a commemorative badge to its dozer line-up. This badge will be available on all dozers built for the remainder of 2024 and 2025.
Deere’s dozer history
Looking back at key milestones for its dozer family, John Deere has introduced numerous industry-leading solutions and breakthrough designs that paved the way for today’s powerful and tech-packed models.
In 1958, Deere debuted the 440 crawler dozer as the first all-yellow machine built specifically for industrial applications. This model stood out as the industry’s first all-hydraulic bulldozer with a six-way power-angle-tilt blade, leading the charge with its ground-breaking design.
Deere introduced dozer T-Bar blade controls, as well as the first integral machines with the new industrial model numbers in 1965. These models included the JD350 and JD450 crawlers, which were configured distinctly as dozers or loaders.
By 1976, Deere became the first North American manufacturer to utilize dual-path hydrostatic drive on its dozer line-up.
In the late 80s, new full powershift transmission models were introduced, including the 400G, 450G, 550G and 650G models, which offered four forward and four reverse speeds, expanding capability on the jobsite. Dual path hydrostatic drive was introduced on the 450H, 550H, 650H models in 1999, and continues to date in the full John Deere dozer lineup.
Two years later, Deere introduced its largest dozer ever with the roll-out of the 1050C. The 1050C led the way for the updates and innovations you see in the 1050 P-Tier today.
In 2010, Deere unveiled the industry’s first 764 high speed dozer the first new machine form in decades, boasting travel speeds of up to 25 km per hour.
This decade in dozers
In the last decade, John Deere has elevated its dozer line-up with innovations that have helped shape the current state of the construction industry. Through its investments and developments in productivity-enhancing technologies, jobsite safety solutions and comfort improvements for operators, the current state of the dozer market has been strongly influenced by the milestones met in recent years.
In 2016, John Deere introduced its factory-integrated 3D grade control, SmartGrade, on the 700K model. This factory integrated solution is equipped on more than 20 models in the Deere lineup today.
The 950K with SmartGrade became the industry’s largest power-angle tilt (PAT) blade configuration in 2017.
To assist operators in maintaining the mainfall and cross slope while grading, Deere launched its Slope Control feature in 2020. The following year, the manufacturer debuted a new suspended double-bogie undercarriage on the 1050K, offering a reduction of peak vibrations in the cab by up to 75 per cent.
More news from John Deere:
- John Deere adds SmartDetect on select loaders
- New dozers join John Deere’s P-Tier lineup
- John Deere and Trimble partner on grade control
Last year, Deere rolled out its innovative EZGrade feature, which aids operators in manually grading smooth finish passes by making small blade corrections automatically.
This year, the 1050 P-Tier model was upgraded to feature the new 13.6 litre JD14 engine, enabling enhanced power and operation on the job.
Deere also expanded its dozer SmartGrade offerings into the 450 P-Tier and 550 P-Tier and updated on the 650 P-Tier. This will provide SmartGrade offerings on the 450 to 950 size dozers going forward. The next generation of SmartGrade is John Deere designed and supported and can soon be equipped with either Topcon or Leica.
“Since its introduction to the construction market in 2016, SmartGrade has been a proven solution that enables our customers to get jobsites to grade quickly and accurately,” said Matt Costello, Product Marketing Manager at John Deere.
“Now, as we build upon this technology with the rollout of the next generation of SmartGrade, starting with our small dozer line-up, customers will benefit from improved and expanded capabilities that help increase user confidence and productivity. We are confident that any customer looking to improve their day-to-day operations will greatly benefit from implementing SmartGrade on the jobsite.”
The next generation of SmartGrade helps customers easily complete grading tasks and supports new operators to hit target grade more quickly and efficiently. Customers can get to work sooner, as no daily setup or calibration is needed at the start-up of the machine. When issues arise, customers and dealers can easily troubleshoot their machine with Wireless Data Transfer and Remote Display Access integration through the John Deere Operations Center.
The split screen capabilities on the new G5 25-cm touchscreen display allows the operator to see jobsite plans and the selected grade management option simultaneously, helping enhance operator flexibility. In addition, machine calibrations can be done easily through the monitor in the cab.
