Joint Venture Between Caterpillar And Claas

Joint Venture Between Caterpillar And Claas COMBINES Miscellaneous 21-2-24 I just got back from the SIMA farm show in Paris which is the premeire showcase for farm equipment in Europe. One hot topic that had everyone talking was the just-announced joint venture between Caterpillar in the U.S. and Claas, which is the European market leader in combines. Under the agreement, Cat will market the state-of-the-art Lexion line of combines in the U.S. under its own colors, and Claas will market the rubber-belted Cat Challenger in Europe in its own green and white colors. The venture is a perfect fit for the two companies since it has been well-known for some time that Caterpillar has wanted to get into the combine business. Last year it almost purchased the rights to a new rotary combine developed by a pair of Kansas farmers before Deere snatched it away. And the Cat Challenger gives Claas - which does not have its own line of tractors - a shot at the growing high horsepower segment of the European tractor market. Caterpillar hopes to begin marketing the Claas combines in North America by the end of the year. The biggest crowds at SIMA gathered around two hot new tractor models that have set a new standard for style. Renault unveiled its all-new Ares tractors (85 to 165 hp.) and Deutz-Fahr came out with the latest model of its stylish Agrotron tractors (68 to 145 hp.), which were first unveiled with much fanfare last year. We'll have more new products from SIMA in the next issue of FARM SHOW.

To read the rest of this story, download this issue below or click here to register with your account number.