Claas is justifiably proud of having sold half a million combines over the 88 years that the company has been producing them for sale, marking 1936 as the first year of production.

However, new harvesting technology did not just fall out of a tree, the company had already been working on the concept since the late 1920s when two German academics, Prof. Karl Vormfelde and his assistant Dr. Walter Brenner approached August Claas with their ideas for adapting the American concept to European conditions.

August Claas was responsible for popularising the combine harvester in Europe

In America, combine harvesters were by no means a new invention.

The first machine that combined cutting, threshing and winnowing is credited to Hiram Moore of Michigan, 100 years before Claas created its first commercial unit.

In 1853, one of Moore’s mule driven machines was shipped to California, where it worked two harvests before catching fire at the first available opportunity, so setting the noble precedent for combines ever since.

California adopts concept

Although the machine was cumbersome and eventually unsuccessful, it had inspired other farmers on the American west coast to have a go at creating a similar machine themselves.

This, in turn, prompted a rash of small companies to start building and patenting their own versions which enjoyed various degrees of success.

These included a certain Benjamin Holt, who went on to create the Caterpillar company.

Mule powered harvester — Thought to be from around 1912, this mule powered Case Combine harvester is operating somewhere in north America

The great advantage of California, was that the crops and the climate were favourable to mechanised harvesting and the goldrush ensured labour was scarce, further motivating farmers and inventors to develop their own machines.

This was not the case further east and certainly not in Europe where crops were heavier and the weather more likely to be be wet – factors which led to a significant delay in the adoption of harvesting mechanisation over here.

Belated European interest

It was not until the 1920s for combine harvesters to catch the interest of European entrepreneurs, despite their huge success in America.

There appeared to be no manufacturer who wanted to adopt the idea until Claas took up the challenge.

It was Dr. Brenner who joined Claas to develop a machine that would work in less conducive conditions, creating the first prototype in 1931.

The Brenner type combine was built around a Lans Bulldog with a transverse flow through the threshing drum

This was a semi mounted unit PTO driven unit fitted to a Lanz Bulldog with the cutter bar in front of the tractor and an elevator transferring it to the rear.

At the rear, there was a conventional threshing drum and bagging arrangement to separate and collect the grains.

Rather than fit straw walkers, the straw is taken from the drum via a chain elevator, which further contributes to the separation.

Claas goes it alone

Although a product of Claas, the prototype was demonstrated to a group of other manufactures – no doubt in the hope of a joint venture to developing it, but there were no takers, so Claas went for it alone.

After two years, it was eventually decided a complete ground up new design was called for, which resulted in the first Mah Dresch Binder (MBD) or Mow Thresh Binder – a transverse flow machine which was first demonstrated in 1935.

It was the Claas MDB of 1936 which got the ball rolling with the first sale being made in southern Germany

The Claas MBD then underwent an intensive period of development with several machines being made and tested, one of which caught fire in the time honoured way, although, to be fair, this was caused by sparks from the Lanz Bulldog’s exhaust, rather than through any fault of the machine itself.

Rear of MDB — The rear of the MDB showing the straw elevator/separator on the left

Claas date the start of commercial combine sales as 1936, based on the sale of several MBDs to a large estate in Bavaria following a demonstration in the field.

Mass production started the following year, with 1,000 units being produced by 1941, however, it was then interrupted in 1943 when the factory was obliged to switch to the manufacture of munitions.

Super puts Claas on the map

Despite the rude interruption of the war, Dr. Brenner continued to work on improving the combine, resulting in the launch of the ‘Super’ series in 1948.

These were still trailed machines but crop flow is now transverse, for threshing, and longitudinal for separation, with straw walkers, rather than an elevator to sort the grains from the stalks.

It was the Claas Super that firmly established the company as a leader in harvesting technology

Later versions could be equipped with such niceties as a grain tank and baler, and, as the concept developed, it also became available in different sizes.

The overall soundness of the design can be judged by the fact that they stayed in production up until 1978,with a total of 65,000 units being sold in total.

Restored Super combines — The Claas Super is becoming a popular subject for restoration here in Ireland

There are still plenty of retired examples to be found tucked away on Irish farms, with a good number of them being restored.

It was the machine that finally saw off the mobile thresher and the attendant hassle of bringing the crop to the farmyard for processing.

The combine as we know it today

The Claas Super was a huge success for the company, yet it was still a trailed machine and self-propelled units were becoming popular in America thanks.

Claas responded with the SF model, sometimes known as the Hercules, a name that, it turned out, was already registered so it was only the first year’s production that were officially known as such.

SF type combines — The Hercules, later known as the SF, was the machine from which all subsequent combines evolved

Settling instead on the name SF, which stands for Selbstfahrer, the German word for self-propelled, the company introduced this model in 1953 with either a 56hp petrol engine or an air-cooled 60hp diesel unit of its make.

Once again, this proved to be a hugely successful combine, staying in production for ten years with a later option of a Perkins water cooled engine of 60hp, along with many other updates and adaptations.

The half million mark

No marketing department worth its salt would allow the production of half a million combines pass with drawing attention to the fact, yet Claas has a good deal more than production numbers to boast about.

There is a constant theme running throughout the company’s history and that is one of a willingness to take on a challenge, whether it be getting combine harvesters to work in European conditions or the purchase of a tractor factory that needed turning around in a shrinking market.

Modern combines — Combines have come a long way since their inception, but beneath the skin there are still many similarities with the first models

Both these decisions, and others, have turned out to be great successes. Claas has secured its place as the European harvesting specialist, even taking the fight back over the Atlantic to steal significant market share in the home of the combine harvester

All this has been achieved because August Claas made a brave decision to go against the flow nearly 100 years ago, and stuck with his decision until it bore the fruit we see today.

California adopts concept

Belated European interest

Claas goes it alone

Super puts Claas on the map

The combine as we know it today

The half million mark

Related Stories:

Machinery: Phil Breen collection to go under the hammer

Claas streamlines digital machine management

Machinery: Valtra to the fore at Paudy Buckley demo day

Claas MDB

Creating an appetite for Irish meat and dairy in France

Machinery Focus: Claas combines mechanise the European harvest