Deere & Company awards Michelin for supply excellence

Michelin group has earned multiple recognitions from US heavy equipment manufacturer Deere & Company for products and support delivered by Michelin’s operating units around the world to various John Deere equipment segments. The Michelin group’s Agricultural and Earthmover operating units were named “Supplier of the Year” as well as a partner-level supplier for 2014. Partner-level supplier is Deere’s highest rating for suppliers under its ongoing “Achieving Excellence” initiative.

Under Deere’s Achieving Excellence programme, participating suppliers are evaluated annually in key performance categories such as quality, cost management, delivery, technical support and “wavelength,” which are various measures of responsiveness. Deere created the programme in 1991 to provide suppliers with evaluations and feedback that promote continuous improvement.

Additionally, Michelin Tweel Technologies received the John Deere “Innovation of the Year Award” for the Michelin X Tweel Turf tyre. This particular award is presented to a select group of suppliers that have demonstrated innovation in a product or service they provide to John Deere. Award selections are based on four factors: creativity, feasibility, collaboration and bottom-line impact. John Deere created the supplier innovation awards in 2010 to promote innovation in the company’s supply base and recognise suppliers that think creatively. In 2014, Michelin announced an exclusive partnership with John Deere to equip its ZTrak 900 Series line-up of zero-turn commercial mowers with the X Tweel Turf as original equipment to replace a standard 24x12x12 tyre.

Emmanuel Ladent, group president of Michelin’s agriculture tyre division, accepted the Supplier of the Year Award on Michelin group’s behalf during a ceremony hosted by Deere in Bettendorf, Iowa. Michelin also was represented by members from its Agriculture, Earthmover and Tweel Technologies division teams. “Our business teams have worked very hard indeed to establish a spirit of mutual partnership with our associates at John Deere, which has resulted in a strong and growing relationship between our companies,” said Ladent.

Michelin delivers products to multiple Deere manufacturing sites globally, including: Davenport, Thibodaux, Waterloo, East Moline, Des Moines, Augusta, Fuquay-Varina, Valley City, Dubuque (USA) Horst (the Netherlands), Mannheim, Zweibrucken (Germany) and Indaiatuba (Brazil).