Workers at the John Deere Harvester Works in East Moline recently rolled a very special 9870 John Deere combine off the assembly line -- the machine was the 500,000th self-propelled combine built since 1947.

Harvesting equipment has been built on the site since 1912, and began with horse-drawn grain binders, mowers, rakes and corn binders. In 1927 the company introduced the first combine -- a harvester and thresher in one machine - and 20 years later built the first John Deere self-propelled combine.

Katie Dierker, division marketing manager for the Harvester Works, says the harvesting capacity of the company's self-propelled combines doubled in the first 20 years of production, then double again between 1980 and 2000. "Within the past 10 years, we've seen productivity nearly double again," she adds, noting "This means farmers can get more done in less time, and more adeptly meet the world's growing food demands."

The Harvester Works exports to more than 35 countries and currently builds four models in its 70 Series lineup. About 2,400 employees work at the factory which also includes the John Deere Product Development Center.