Meanwhile, John Deere became extremely interested in the Waterloo facility because it had the potential for opening up vast opportunities for Deere and Company. Indeed, John Deere executives believed the Waterloo Boy was an excellent product that could be purchased by the average farmer. Frank Silloway, who was employed with John Deere sales, stated his feelings about Deere and Company and tractor production when he said "Here we have an opportunity to, overnight, step into practically first place in the tractor business . . . I believe that we would be acting wisely if we purchased this plant."1
That is exactly what Deere & Company did in March 1918 when it purchased the Waterloo Gasoline Engine Company for $2,350,000. Almost immediately the city of Waterloo praised the company's decision. On Saturday, March23, the Waterloo Courier stated that it was "the largest transaction of its character consummated in the history of Waterloo and it is doubtful if many business deals of the like proportions have taken place in Iowa." At the time of its purchase, the factory had a daily capacity of producing one hundred stationary gasoline engines and twenty-five Waterloo Boy tractors. It employed more than one thousand men and had a weekly payroll of around $25,000.2
Two weeks after John Deere's purchase of the factory, Charles Velie, grandson of John Deere, came to Waterloo to inspect the newly acquired plant. Plans had been set in motion to increase the productivity of the factory. The Courier stated that a new foundry would be completed around April 5 and it would be one of the largest in the country.
Otto Borchert, of Milwaukee, can be credited with bringing John Deere to Waterloo. Borchert visited Waterloo in the fall of 1917 and mentioned the subject of selling to the Gasoline Engine Company's owners. Deere and Company was the logical purchaser. Once a price was fixed, Borchert played an instrumental role in getting Deere interested.
