Racine will become the headquarters for CNH Global N.V.’s farm and construction equipment business in North America, under a reorganization announced by CNH Global Inc.

The reorganization expands the responsibility of executives at the Racine office that was the headquarters of Case IH until its acquisition by New Holland N.V. in 1999, company spokesman Jeffrey Walsh said recently.

After buying Case, New Holland N.V. changed its name to CNH Global and moved its worldwide headquarters from England to the Chicago suburb of Lake Forest.

Since the acquisition, Racine has served as headquarters for the Case IH brand of tractors and other farm equipment.

In the three years since the merger, the company has closed plants and moved production. The company closed a tractor plant in Racine but recently opened a new plant that makes both Case IH and New Holland brand tractors. The company also is selling its Racine foundry and closing its factory in East Moline, IL.

Richard Christman, president of the Case IH agricultural business since July 2000, will be in charge of the CNH Global agricultural business in the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. He also will have responsibility for CNH Global’s farm equipment manufacturing plants, Walsh said.

In 2002, CNH named Jim McCullough, also based in Racine, to head CNH’s construction equipment in North America.

No job cuts are expected under the restructuring, Walsh said.

The decision to move to a regional-based business was planned since shortly after CNH was formed, but the company needed to be more centrally managed while the company combined Case and New Holland into one, Walsh said.

By sharing certain parts between the brands, CNH is able to save money while still able to differentiate the actual tractors and other pieces of equipment it sells.

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