In an upcoming ceremony on Friday, August 29, Jan-Hendrik Mohr, CEO of CLAAS Group, will return to a familiar plot of land in Omaha, Nebraska, to break ground on a new 44,800 square foot Research and Development Center that will add new jobs and support the local economy.
More than twenty-five years ago, Mohr had a different title and a different mission: To turn an empty field on the edge of the city into the future home of CLAAS in North America. Today, the campus looks much different with the sprawling corporate offices of CLAAS of America, an assembly plant that has produced 10,000 LEXION combines for American farmers, and the recently added CLAAS Training Academy. It is home to more than 250 employees. The new CLAAS Research and Development Center will overlook the rest of the campus, sitting on the southwest corner of the property.
After returning to Germany from his multi-year assignment in Omaha, Mohr worked hard to ensure that his investment in the American market would continue to flourish. Now, more than ever, the US and Canadian markets are critical to the success of the family-owned, global ag equipment company.
CLAAS is fully dedicated to building ag equipment that enables North American farmers to be the best in their fields – and that includes the corn and soybean fields of the Midwestern US, the wheat and canola fields of the northern plains and western Canada, the rice fields in the Mississippi River Delta and beyond. As CLAAS develops next-generation technology for future machines, the company needs advanced R&D Center in Omaha to ensure its prototypes meet the demands of North American farmers and the fields they farm.
The new facility will have a 44,800 sq. ft. footprint, including approximately 12,000 sq. ft. under roof — creating a space that’s more than 25% larger than the temporary off-site shop currently used for research and development. The plans feature two stories of office space, an expanded room for instrumentation, greater utilization of space for logistics, and an internal, heated wash bay. The facility will also provide greater physical and electronic security measures for protecting critical intellectual property.
The new CLAAS Research and Development Center will be the hub for all North American testing activities. While much of the testing will take place on farms throughout the country under various soil, weather, and crop conditions, the analysis of those tests will be interpreted by engineers working in the new facility.
The company’s commitment to the US market, including the assembly of LEXION combines, where approximately 40% of the components are made in America, was established decades ago and will continue for many years to come, starting with this new Research and Development Center.
Source : Farm Equipment