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Visitors to last week's National Fieldays were able to check out the new home for CLAAS Harvest Centre, Waikato and the parts, training and demonstration hub for the network's five other branches in the North Island.
The facility includes a six-bay service workshop, a 1,000 square metre parts warehouse and a 700 square metre showroom, administration and training centre. The centre also houses a high-tech remote diagnostics facility that enables technicians to monitor the location, operating performance and potential service requirements of any CLAAS, JCB, or AMAZONE machinery fitted with telematics in New Zealand.
Located on a three-hectare site adjacent to Hamilton Airport, the area also includes a 6,500 square metre 'hard stand' area, alongside a product demonstration and training area. The site hosts more than 35 sales, administration, parts and service staff under the leadership of branch manager, Stephen Harrison.
Landpower chief executive, Richard Wilson, says the complex will underpin increasing demand for high performance farm machinery and after-sales service and support.
"Hamilton is our largest dealership in the North Island and has developed a solid business based on forage harvesting technology," Richard says. "This expansion will spearhead the continued growth in sales of our extensive range of other lines, including tractors, cultivation, seeding, spraying, spreading and handling equipment.
"Our goal is to gear up farmers for success by providing access to some of the world's leading farm machinery brands and providing an unmatched level of aftersales service. A large part of that promise relies on recruiting, developing and retaining quality staff.
"Having a purpose-built, well-equipped workplace and being able to provide ongoing training throughout our network will enable us to meet that challenge."
The recently released Claas Jaguar 1000 Series has seen its flagship 1200 set a new official Guiness World Record in forage harvesting, harvesting 4096 tonnes of whole crop silage in 12 hours, alongside an efficiency record of just 0.49 litres of fuel consumption per tonne of silage harvested.
Innovation awards at international agricultural events are always on the wishlist of manufacturers.
Claas has announced the arrival of its new Jaguar 1000 series forage harvesters, taking power delivery beyond 1100hp, aimed at achieving 20% more throughput, better chop quality, greater efficiency and more operator comfort.
With the biennial Agritechnica Event just a few months away, manufacturers are offering sneak peaks at new innovations, with Claas recently highlighting its new Cerex 700 RC round baler.
The arrival of new F8 and F9 designations for its 8000 and 9000 series forage harvesters, signals a swag of upgrades from John Deere, highlighted by topping the 1000hp mark for the first time.
Three New Zealand agritech companies are set to join forces to help unlock the full potential of technology.
As the sector heads into the traditional peak period for injuries and fatalities, farmers are being urged to "take a moment".
Federated Farmers says almost 2000 farmers have signed a petition launched this month to urge the Government to step in and provide certainty while the badly broken resource consent system is fixed.
Zespri’s counter-seasonal Zespri Global Supply (ZGS) programme is underway with approximately 33 million trays, or 118,800 tonnes, expected this year from orchards throughout France, Italy, Greece, Korea, and Japan.
Animal owners can help protect life-saving antibiotics from resistant bacteria by keeping their animals healthy, says the New Zealand Veterinary Association.
According to analysis by the Meat Industry Association (MIA), New Zealand red meat exports reached $827 million in October, a 27% increase on the same period last year.
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