“We stood here together in May 2017 to lay the foundation stone for the new validation centre,” said Cathrina Claas-Mühlhäuser, recalling the start of construction. “Twenty-two months later, everything is now ready and functional. We would like to thank all those involved from CLAAS and our service providers for this.”
CLAAS aims to achieve shorter development times for its combine harvesters, forage harvesters and tractors with the new building. 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.
“The technical specifications of the building are quite impressive,” says Dr Thomas Barrelmeyer, responsible for the engineering of all grain harvesting machinery. “For example, it has an installed cooling capacity of 1200 kW. This corresponds to the installed heating capacity of 120 single-family houses. But it is not only the technology that is important to us. A modern workplace should also be established for our employees.” As a result, modern offices for around 200 employees with attractive communication areas have also been created on the more than 7,000 m² of total floor space.