Claas has manufactured over 150,000 tractors, since the takeover of French-based Renault Agriculture (Renault’s tractor division) in 2003.
To celebrate this milestone, the company is reportedly producing special-edition versions of its Arion 660 and Axion 870 models. Expect to see metallic paint finishes and 150,000th decals.
The special-edition tractors will also, apparently, come with a leather-bound seat, air-horns and a host of other add-ons.
At the tractor factory in Le Mans, France (formerly the home of Renault tractor production), Claas is reportedly “investing heavily” in the modernisation of the plant, including the use of AGVs (Autonomous Guided Vehicles) to carry tractors during part of the assembly/build process.
By the end of the project, Claas claims that the Le Mans facility will be “one of the most modern tractor manufacturing sites in Europe”.
Other milestone
Claas reached another milestone earlier this year when it built its 40,000th Jaguar (self-propelled forager) at its factory in Harsewinkel (Germany).
The celebratory machine (pictured below) was spotted at the recent SIMA show in Paris.
Since the start of production of its first Jaguar machines in 1973, Claas says that it has gone on to become the world market leader in the sector.
In fact, the Jaguar Terra Trac system was given a Gold Innovation Award at the aforementioned SIMA show.
The Jaguar 960 Terra Trac – in particular – is the latest member of the Claas forager family. It joined the line-up last year (2018). It is one of these units that happened to be the 40,000th Jaguar to roll (or track!) off the production line.
According to Claas, the Jaguar 960 Terra Trac is the first forage harvester to feature a factory-integrated crawler track system.
The manufacturer claims that this new concept offers “optimal soil protection under all conditions, while remaining narrow enough for on-road travel”.