For the past two years, the CLAAS site in Bad Saulgau, Germany, has been undergoing an extensive program of restructuring and expansion under the project name ForageGO! By 2025, more than 50 million euros will have been invested in plant infrastructure and production facilities. A new logistics centre with a total footprint of 9,500 m2 is currently under construction.
As one of the leading global manufacturers of forage harvesting equipment, CLAAS demands the highest standards of manufacturing quality and efficiency. The Bad Saulgau plant, the company’s group’s centre of excellence for forage harvesting, currently employs around 800 people. To expand production capacities at this site, CLAAS is investing 50 million euros in a new logistics centre for production as well as additional assembly areas.
One of the first phases of the project was to modernize production of VOLTO tedders and JAGUAR crop flow by transferring these to a new assembly hall on the site. “Bad Saulgau is proud of the high customer satisfaction ratings its products achieve,” reports Uli Nickol, Site Manager and Managing Director of CLAAS Saulgau GmbH, “Thanks to the biggest single investment in the site to date, we have an opportunity to modernise and expand the production facilities here. This phase marks a major milestone on our road map and lays the foundations for future growth.”
Optimised material flow, adapted assembly layout and sustainable energy management
The product portfolio in Bad Saulgau is continuously developing; the products are becoming larger, more complex and more intelligent. The resulting demands placed on production are now being implemented even more rigorously and existing structures are being adapted. The aim is to work more efficiently, increase cycle rates and introduce greater flexibility into the system, fundamental to further increasing production volumes and optimally adapting to the harvest season of customers all over the world. Flow-optimized assembly layouts with a high level of standardization, and optimized logistics processes such as order picking and sequencing are key. All work is scheduled for completion by late summer 2025, when the new material flow system will be installed.
The new logistics area will be built to the KFW 40 energy efficiency standard. In addition, the entire roof will be covered with a 950 kWp photovoltaic array.
Partner in outbound logistics invests in the neighbourhood
Freight company Spedition Grieshaber takes delivery of the finished products immediately after production. Goods are temporarily warehoused, then picked and finally shipped to customers throughout the world. This is done either by truck for delivery straight to CLAAS sales partners or by container shipment for transportation by sea. Grieshaber’s current site no longer has sufficient capacity to meet the increased volumes. So based on their long-standing and successful partnership with CLAAS, they too have decided to build a new site with a floor area of 70,000 m2, also in Bad Saulgau.
