The company says it has signed an agreement with the Russian government and local authorities to invest approximately UU$80 million in a central operations center which includes a distribution, replacement parts and training facility in the Kaluga region, 38 miles southwest of Moscow.

Deere & Company chairman and chief executive officer, Robert W. Lane, said this was one of the largest single investment projects of a non-Russian farm and forestry equipment manufacturer in Russia.

"Our strategic investment reflects Deere's confidence in the Russian and other Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) markets," Mr Lane said.

"It also recognises the commitment of our dedicated Russian employees and the support of the Russian government and local authorities."

In its initial stage, the new 39 hectare facility in the Kaluga region will accommodate a 322,000-square-foot replacement parts distribution centre, a training facility for dealer personnel, including a product demonstration site, and a whole goods distribution facility.

The site will leave room for further expansion potential as the Deere business in Russia continues to grow.

The new centre will be operational in 2010.

John Deere has a long history of agricultural and forestry equipment sales to Russia. In the late 1920s, the company sold a significant number of plows and its famous Waterloo Boy tractors in Russia.