CNH invests in harvester plant

New Holland Agriculture is to launch worldwide its new CR11 combine harvester. To a major extent, this is thanks to a €150 million investment by mother company CNH, in New Holland’s R&D and production facility in Zedelgem, Belgium.

The gentle threshing action of the CR11 minimizes damage to the grain, while new developments within the machine ensure almost all grain retained, as it passes through the harvester, meaning losses are close to zero, with only straw and chaff exiting at the rear.

The New Holland CR11 combine harvester gained international recognition during its global unveiling at Agritechnica 2023, where it received the only Gold Medal assigned at the fair’s Innovation Awards.

The New Holland CR11 has the potential to reduce harvesting time per hectare by up to 25%, and lower fuel consumption by around 20%.  Along with a wider 15m cutting width that means fewer field passes are required, this helps significantly reduce related carbon emissions.

The machine’s environmental credentials are further boosted by a new automated system to spread the straw residue back across the cutting width to the field surface, to aid soil organic matter content, and reduced ground compaction courtesy of large tyres or tracks that spread harvester weight over a large area, helping save on tillage before the next crop season, further reducing the fuel needed for a full crop cycle per hectare.

The new combine was designed and will be produced at New Holland’s Center of Harvesting Excellence in Zedelgem, Belgium. To prepare for full production of the new CR11, the factory has undergone a complete assembly line renovation, thanks to government-supported company investments in modernization.

One of the main improvements is the introduction of automatic guided vehicles (AGVs) which have replaced the traditional assembly line, allowing more flexibility in the manufacturing process and the accommodation of machines with different characteristics, significantly improving efficiency.

In keeping with New Holland’s  commitment to sustainability and better management of waste, new integrated oil filling stations improve production quality and minimize oil spillage risk when filling the machines with the fluids they require before leaving the production line.

Visitors to Zedelgem can now observe the full process of that production line thanks to a new factory tour format, with complete visibility of the full manufacturing process.

The new CR11 builds upon the success of the current New Holland flagship combine, the CR10.90, which has held the world record for the most wheat harvested in eight hours – 797.656 tons – for almost a decade, since August 15, 2014. The 50th anniversary of the introduction of New Holland Twin Rotor technology , which uses two longitudinal rotors to thresh and separate grain from straw and chaff, will occur in 2025.

The new CR11 is designed to meet the continued evolution of harvesting demands for greater capacity, minimal grain loss and maximum protection of grain quality. Higher-yielding crops and unpredictable weather can affect both one season’s crop and the next, and the new harvester overcomes these challenges by clearing fields quickly.