CLAAS on track to deliver 1000th LEXION combine

CLAAS Harvest Centre is celebrating a new milestone in its LEXION combine harvester journey Down Under, as its local fleet nears 1000 units.

In the next three months alone, the company is expected to deliver almost 100 new combines to grain producers and contractors in time for the 2021/22 harvest, setting a new record.

“We are very happy with sales growth over the past decade, and particularly the successful launch of the new LEXION 8000/7000 series,” said CLAAS Harvest Centre Product Manager for LEXION, Steve Reeves.

“This is the biggest upgrade in the brand’s 25 year years and it’s effectively a new machine. Every aspect has been re-engineered to meet the needs of today’s grain producers.”

The LEXION 8000/7000 series, launched into the Australian market in 2019, delivers 10 per cent more capacity than the previous 700 series thanks to a bigger and improved APS SYNFLOW HYBRID threshing and separation system, CLAAS Harvest Centre said.

In addition to the unique technology, the CLAAS LEXION is also known for its holding and unloading capacities, which are 18 tonnes and 180l/sec respectively.

The 7600, 7700 and 8700 models are fitted with a 12.5-litre six cylinder Perkins 2206D engine, which delivers a maximum power of 461, 524 and 571hp, respectively.

The top-of-the-line 8800 model is equipped with a 15.6-litre six cylinder Mercedes-Benz OM 473 LA engine delivering 653hp.

CONVIO draper fronts or VARIO variable cutterbars are available in 13.8, 12.3 and 10.8m operating widths.

On-board technology includes CLAAS’ award-winning CEMOS AUTO machine optimisation system, which continuously reviews and automatically adjusts the threshing, cleaning and separation settings for maximum throughput, grain quality and fuel efficiency.

Reeves added there are currently no plans to release the new CLAAS TRION series of medium-sized harvesters in Australia.

“TRION replaces the very popular TUCANO series and brings CLAAS’ medium-sized offering into line with technology previously only found on LEXION, including CEMOS AUTO and TERRA TRAC,” he said. 

“However, TRION is unlikely to get a start in Australia.

“We are constantly reviewing our product, model and configuration mix to ensure we can meet the current and future harvesting needs of our customers.

“We are quite sure LEXION is the right series for Australia because it has that extra capacity, a choice of wider draper or variable cutterbars, a larger grain bin and the dynamic engine cooling system.”

Reeves said this season’s record delivery of new harvesters opens the door to a once-in-a-decade opportunity for medium-sized operations to cost-effectively upgrade to a pre-owned machine.

“Purchasing a late-model machine is a smart way to boost the efficiency of your harvesting operations without tying up precious capital or cash-flow,” he said.

“All of these machines have been driven by professional operators and meticulously serviced by their local dealership.

“Many of these trade-ins have 1000 to 1500 separator hours on the clock and still have many years of harvesting left in them.

“Alternatively, LEXION is available in a straw-walker configuration for those operations that don’t require the capacity of the HYBRID system but still want the technological benefits of new machine.”

Reeves said high performance LEXION combine harvesters actually cost less to own on a per hectare or tonne basis compared to single rotor machines.

“Put simply, LEXION allows you to harvest more grain per hectare, cover more hectares per hour and operate for more hours per day,” he said.

“Even small differences in grain loss, throughput and fuel efficiency can easily add up to more than $100,000 over three, four or five years.

“These potential savings can be even greater once the ability to replace two single rotor machines with a single LEXION combine harvester or the opportunity to increase the size of your cropping operation are considered.”