CLAAS Opens New R&D Center in Omaha

OMAHA (DTN) -- For a couple of hours on Thursday, Oct. 8, state leaders, community members and the media were granted a rare look inside CLAAS's new Research and Development (R&D) Center in Omaha, Nebraska. The 44,800-square-foot facility, including 12,000 square feet of enclosed space, will soon be off-limits to unauthorized personnel as it will be the company's North American hub of testing, engineering and product development.

The center was mostly empty during the grand opening and ribbon-cutting ceremony. Only four machines were on display inside the cavernous building for attendees to look at: a Xerion 12.590 TERRA TRAC tractor, an Axion 9.450 tractor, a Jaguar 960 forage harvester and a Lexion 8800 combine. All models are commercially available.

That was by design, according to Jan-Hendrik Mohr, CEO CLAAS Group, based in Germany.

"So, we kept the hall (mostly) empty because you are all here one time in your life," he said, drawing laughter from the crowd. "Beginning tomorrow, everything done in here will be absolutely top secret because it is the technology for tomorrow."

The new $10 million R&D Center is part of CLAAS's multi-year $100 million growth project for North America. The center is part of the Omaha campus, which also includes the company's North American headquarters, the Lexion combine assembly plant and the Customer Experience Center.

The two-story R&D Center has office space, expanded instrumentation, logistics and equipment areas, an internal heated wash bay and enhanced physical and electronic security. It's also outfitted with multiple 20-ton overhead crane systems for disassembling machines.

The next generation of CLAAS tractors, combines and forage harvesters will continue to be tested on farms across the U.S. and Canada in various soil, weather and crop conditions. Engineers at the center will analyze data and evaluate performance of new equipment to ensure it meets the needs of North American farmers.

"We are constantly developing new solutions and new innovations because our competitors are not sleeping," Markus Koch, head of research and development at CLAAS Omaha, told DTN. "We have to be the best of the best to support farmers."

Improving the capabilities of equipment, technology and autonomy will continue to be a focus of the company, Koch continued. "Our customers in North America farm in some of the most diverse agricultural conditions. The ability to test machines in these conditions, bring the data back to Omaha and work directly with our global engineering teams helps us develop solutions with significant relevance to North American farmers."

CLAAS employs more than 400 people across North America, including more than 250 at its Omaha campus. Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen, the first farmer to lead the state, called the new R&D Center another major investment in both the local community and the nation, saying it underscores CLAAS' long-term commitment to supporting North American farmers.

"This is a significant investment, not for the next quarter or next year, but for generations to come," Pillen said. "It's an investment where top secret stuff is going to happen that is going to transform agriculture."

Learn more about CLAAS at https://www.claas.com/….

Read more about CLAAS equipment at https://www.dtnpf.com/… and https://www.dtnpf.com/….

Matthew Wilde can be reached at matt.wilde@dtn.com

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