German agricultural machinery maker CLAAS announced plans recently for a new research and development facility in Nebraska. But across state lines in Iowa, the company is also expanding, this time looking to make service appointments a little easier.
Taking Customer Service to the Field in Iowa
The company is opening a new service center in Fort Dodge, Iowa. They’ll have service options on site, but company leaders want to bring the shop to the field.
Service teams will bring parts and repairs directly to customers’ locations. They say the traditional dealer model doesn’t always work out, and they’re excited to get this service to Rural America.
Breaking Ground on Innovative Field Research Facility in Nebraska
Claas executives also broke ground on a 44,000-square-foot research facility recently in Nebraska. While the center will have labs full of equipment, field work will be a big part of the process.
“And I think that’s the thing, too -- all these people are not going to be sitting in there all day,” explains CLAAS executive Eric Raby. “We’re going to have them in the cornfields of Iowa, in the rice fields of Northern California, wherever they need to be, chopping forage wherever, and then bring that information back and say, ‘Okay, what are some of the things that we saw? What are some of the things that we need to do?’ And it’s not always about particularly performance increases. It could be reliability improvements. It could be a whole host of things.”
Claas right now uses an off-site building for research and development. The new space will be around 25% larger at nearly 45,000 square feet. It will also serve as the hub for all North American testing activities for the company.
