John Deere Construction & Forestry Company today announced the introduction of the new Integrated Grade Control (IGC) option on 750J and 850J dozers. These machines now can be shipped from the factory with hardware, software and wiring ready to support the grade control system of the customer's choice.

John Deere is working under separate development agreements with two of the leading suppliers of grade control systems to provide this technology for dozers, graders and other machines. The 750J and 850J dozers are the first to be available with this technology for integrated grade control. An open architecture approach enables these two dozers to operate software from aftermarket grade control systems, offering "plug and play" convenience, according to Dan Drescher, product marketing manager, John Deere Construction & Forestry Company. "As a result, grade control system installations will be cleaner, quicker, highly reliable, and less costly," he said.

The Deere product delivers faster response and enhanced performance compared with competitive add-on systems due to factory-sized hydraulic valves that are tuned for the specific machine.

"John Deere's approach to integrated grade control provides the machine owner with the greatest flexibility," Drescher said. "Regardless of which of the top brands they choose, John Deere machines can come ready for plug-and-play installation."

Hydraulic valves and hardware components installed at the factory will be covered under John Deere's machine warranty.