John Deere celebrates 75 years of advancing the bulldozer

How the Deere dozer has evolved — a complete timeline

By
Heavy Equipment Guide Staff
October 31, 2024

John Deere began producing its dozers in 1949 in Dubuque, Iowa and has kept at the forefront of the dozer market by listening to customers. John Deere

John Deere is commemorating its 75th year in the dozer market. Since entering the dozer business, John Deere has focused on meeting contractors' needs to improve job site efficiencies. Beginning production in 1949 in Dubuque, Iowa, the John Deere lineup of dozers has evolved through the years with innovation to solve industry-wide challenges.

"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," says Matt Costello, product marketing manager, dozers for 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."

John Deere dozer milestones

Looking back at key milestones for its dozer family, John Deere debuted various industry-first solutions and innovative designs that paved the way for today's reliable, powerful, and tech-packed models.

1949 - John Deere began manufacturing MC Dozers in Dubuque, Iowa.
1958 - The 440 Crawler Dozer entered the market as the first all-yellow machine built specifically for industrial applications. This model stood out as the industry's first all-hydraulic bulldozer with six-way power-angle-tilt blade, leading the charge with its ground-breaking design.
1965 - John Deere introduced dozer T-Bar blade controls, as well as the first integral machines with the new industrial model numbers. These models included the JD350 and JD450 crawlers, which were configured distinctly as dozers or loaders.
1976 - John Deere became the first North American manufacturer to utilize dual-path hydrostatic drive on its dozer line-up.
1988 - 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.
1999 - Dual path hydrostatic drive was introduced on the 450H, 550H, 650H models and continues to this day in the full John Deere dozer lineup.
2001 - John 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.
2010 - John Deere unveiled the industry's first 764 high speed dozer, the first new machine form in decades, boasting travel speeds of up to 16 mph.

In the last decade, John Deere's dozer lineup has featured many technological advances like SmartGrade and Slope Control. John Deere

In the last decade, John Deere has elevated its lineup with innovations that have helped shape the current state of the construction industry. Through its investments and developments in productivity-enhancing technologies, job site 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.

2016 - John Deere introduced factory-integrated 3D grade control, SmartGrade on the 700K model. This factory integrated solution is equipped on over 20 models in the Deere lineup today.
2017 - The 950K with SmartGrade became the industry's largest power-angle tilt (PAT) blade configuration.
2020 - John Deere introduced its Slope Control feature to assist operators in maintaining the mainfall and cross slope while grading.
2021 - The new suspended double-bogie undercarriage made its debut on the 1050K, offering a reduction of peak vibrations in the cab by up to 75 percent.
2023 - John Deere rolled out its innovative EZGrade feature, which aids operators in manually grading smooth finish passes by making small blade corrections automatically.
2024 - The 1050 P-Tier model was upgraded to feature the new JD14 (13.6L) engine, enabling enhanced power and operation on the job.
2024 - John Deere expands its Dozer SmartGrade offerings with the Next Generation of SmartGrade into the 450 P-Tier and 550 P-Tier and updated on the 650 P-Tier. This will provide SmartGrade offerings on the 450-950 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.

In recognition of its 75th year in the dozer market, John Deere will begin decaling its dozer lineup with a commemorative badge. This badge will be available on all dozers built for the remainder of 2024 and 2025.