Innovation meets tradition CLAAS

innovation meetS tradition

CLAAS, one of the world’s leading manufacturers of agricultural machinery, has recorded continued growth despite a volatile market environment, confirming that commitment to introducing innovative machines that anticipate future requirements is the way forward. Romana Moares reports.

CLAAS, a family business founded in 1913, is the European market leader in combine harvesters and the world leader in self-propelled forage harvesters. CLAAS is also a top performer in worldwide agricultural engineering with tractors, agricultural balers and green harvesting machinery. In addition to machines, the CLAAS product portfolio also includes state-of-theart farming information technology.

The company has experienced an extraordinary growth phase in the last two decades and in the last financial year was able to increase sales to a new record of €3.88 billion. “We have continued our growth in a volatile market environment and once again significantly improved our profitability. We have continued to expand in Germany and Western Europe in particular,” said Hermann Lohbeck, speaker of the CLAAS Executive Board.

A focus on innovation has been one of the factors that have made CLAAS a leader in the industry. Last year, investments made in research and development reached a new record of €233 million. Particularly worth mentioning are the fast developing agricultural machines equipped with intelligent technologies to communicate with each other and to automatically coordinate working processes.

At the cutting edge

The latest additions to the extensive product range include the NEXOS narrow-width tractor which is now available with a suspended, 4-wheel-drive front axle, ensuring greater comfort when working in the fields and driving on roads. All NEXOS models can be fitted with the new PROACTIV front axle suspension. Thanks to the two slanted, outwards-facing suspension cylinders, the tractor’s weight is optimally supported by the front axle, ensuring passive roll stabilisation when turning around curves. It also guarantees optimal driving comfort when travelling along roads or rural tracks and when working.

There have also been major innovations in forage harvesting: in addition to the newly developed ROLLANT 540 round baler, the DISCO MOVE front mower was also launched which features optimal ground contour adaptation. And, with the JAGUAR 960 TERRA TRAC, CLAAS has been the first manufacturer to bring a forage harvester with an integrated crawler solution to the market. The new, award-winning concept offers the best soil protection in all conditions. An intelligent headland protection system prevents damage to the grass cover and enables year-round operation.

For the 2019 model year, CLAAS is fitting the AQUA NON STOP COMFORT knife sharpening system with LED interior lights and a sharpening chamber rinse function, for an even more user-friendly knife sharpening operation for balers and self-loading forage wagons. This is the first fully automatic knife sharpener on the market. The device accommodates up to 51 knives per cycle. More than 90 templates are available, providing precise sharpening along the knife contour for the knives from practically all manufacturers.

Sustainable business

More innovations have been achieved also on the digital front - CLAAS machines are now even better integrated into 365FarmNet, the innovative software solution for an agricultural business, by means of automatic interpretation of telemetric data. This marks an important step toward automatic documentation for CLAAS. The new data exchange system is secure in several respects. Unlike data transfer by USB stick, the risk of data loss or user error is minimal and a reliable state-of-the-art data

transfer is guaranteed. The farmer has complete control over what data is transferred. The system provides accurate results even when field work is interrupted for example by bad weather.

CLAAS has not only invested in new products and information technology but also in an innovative working environment. The course remains set for growth in the tractor business with the modernisation of the main assembly line started in Le Mans. The customer oriented service and replacement parts business is also being expanded. Moreover, a new high-bay warehouse is being built in Hamm, which will double capacity to 58,000 pallet bays. In addition, substantial investments were made in new distribution centres in the United Kingdom and France.

Just recently, CLAAS opened an evaluation centre for the development of new agricultural machinery at the Harsewinkel site, an investment worth €15 million, of which €3.2 million was spent just on testing technology. With the new building, CLAAS aims to achieve shorter development times for its combine harvesters, forage harvesters and tractors. Thirteen test cells can be used to simulate various forces encountered during harvests around the world. The tests on the electrically driven test rigs run 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Backed by the investment, CLAAS expects stable development in the global agricultural engineering markets for the near future, driven by increasing demand for professional agricultural technology. In response to this demand, the company is set to continue to provide excellent quality of both products and services to sustain competitiveness in the future, while being fully committed to its corporate responsibility agenda to ensure a sustainable and responsible business for the future. n