Claas has invested 44 million euros in what’s currently the world’s most modern combine harvester production line at its Harsewinkel site in Germany. Using the latest production and logistics technologies, two model ranges can be constructed, incorporating an unprecedented variety of specifications and options, on just one line.
With up to 15,000 individual parts, combine harvesters are among the most complex agricultural machines ever built. Production planning, parts logistics, shell construction and assembly therefore represent a particular challenge – especially if they come with a broad variety of basic and optional features.
Redesigned and rebuilt, the Trion and Lexion combine harvester assembly facility at Claas’ headquarters at Harsewinkel enables precisely that: unparalleled variety, highly flexible production and uncompromising quality – at state-of-the-art workplaces with significant CO2 savings.
Until 2021, combine harvesters were built on two assembly lines at Harsewinkel. However, the production facility was increasingly pushed to its limits as the machines grew bigger and incorporated a wider range of technical features. For example, because the two old assembly halls, that were built between 1952 and 1958, had ceiling heights ranging from just 4.2m to 6.0m, it wasn’t possible to conduct functional checks of the grain hopper on the Lexion series flagship products.
Moreover, the launch of the Trion in summer 2021 called for a fresh approach. It meant that a future production facility would have to build more combines per day and cater to an increasingly wide range of models – but with greater use of identical parts. The refurbishment has enabled the construction of more than 30 combine harvester types on a single assembly line.
Completed in record time, the new assembly hall has floor space of 15,000 square metres and ceilings of up to 14m in height. Dismantling the two old halls and erecting the new one took just 22 weeks. And that’s not all: LED lighting provides bright, almost naturally illuminated workplaces, no matter the time of day. A new ventilation system circulates 80,000 cubic metres/hour of indoor air, creating a pleasant working environment all year round. The new hall alone saves about 470t of CO2/year thanks to efficient energy management, excellent insulation and LED lighting.
Employees can use new common rooms, and the office workplaces used for production planning and logistics were refurbished as well. The combine harvesters now move silently through the entire assembly line and test benches on electrically powered automated guided vehicles. When combined, these factors create a motivational working environment that promotes maximum concentration at the workplace – another vital ingredient in the accustomed Claas quality.
Product diversity and increased output – up to 28 combines per day in single-shift operation – also demand adjustments in shop floor management and intralogistics. Parts and modules for each combine harvester are delivered just in time to the main assembly line from sub-assembly lines that feed in from each side. Smaller supplier parts are stored in the “supermarket”, while larger components such as engines and axles are prepared for assembly and mounted shortly after delivery.
Directly adjacent to the new assembly hall, shell construction cycles for components such as the threshing unit, residual separation, grain tank or grain tank unloading tube and downstream painting run like clockwork to ensure a perfect fit. This takes experience, coupled with state-of-the-art IT systems and the seamless tracking of all production steps in real time.
https://excellence-harsewinkel.claas.com/
