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A new evaluation centre opened by Claas at its headquarters at Harsewinkel, Germany will help maintain its front ranking in harvesting technology.
The centre will be pivotal in its development of new agricultural products.
The NZ$25 million centre will have NZ$5.4m of testing gear to speed development of the company’s headers, forage harvesters and tractors.
It was formally opened by Catherina Claas Muhlhauser, daughter of Helmut Claas, after 22 months construction. It has 13 test cells to replicate real world and extreme situations worldwide.
The electrically driven rigs can run unattended 24/7, doing lengthy tests over concise timelines.
The largest rigs can accommodate combine cutter-bars up to 12m working width and will test engineering specifications and durability.
The building itself incorporates several firsts, not least a 600-tonne foundation slab that was cast in a single piece and sits on an air suspension system.
The building has a 1200kW cooling system reckoned equivalent to the heating systems found in 120 family homes.
A purpose built electronics lab develops and tests electronic systems used in harvesting machines.
Complete machine systems are housed in cabinet size enclosures, allowing systems that interact throughout a machine to be tested and improved before upgrades are built into production machines.
Claas has announced the arrival of its new Jaguar 1000 series forage harvesters, taking power delivery beyond 1100hp, aimed at achieving 20% more throughput, better chop quality, greater efficiency and more operator comfort.
With the biennial Agritechnica Event just a few months away, manufacturers are offering sneak peaks at new innovations, with Claas recently highlighting its new Cerex 700 RC round baler.
Well known for its dominance in the harvesting arena, Claas has channelled its engineering excellence and a deep knowledge of the ag industry with the Fieldays release of the 2025 facelift Claas Arion 600C Evolution and Claas Night Edition Arion 660 tractors.
Silage making is both a science and an art, but Claas says it offers onboard technology featured in its Claas Perfect Partners to help farmers make silage more efficiently and effectively.
Claas has recently celebrated the 250,000th CLAAS mower – a Disco 3200 FC – rolling off the production line in Bad Saulgau, south-west Germany.
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