CLAAS invests over 50 million euros in Bad Saulgau: new logistics centre and expanded assembly areas

The CLAAS site in Bad Saulgau is being continuously modernised and expanded under the project name ForageGO! To date, more than €50 million has been invested in the site infrastructure, production facilities and a new logistics centre with a total of 9,600 m² as part of the project.

As one of the world's leading manufacturers of forage harvesting technology, CLAAS embeds the highest standards of production quality and efficiency. The company is investing 50 million euros in a new logistics centre for production and additional assembly areas in order to expand production capacity at the Bad Saulgau site, the CLAAS Group's competence centre for forage harvesting and current employer of 850 employees.

"Bad Saulgau is a central part of the CLAAS Group and stands for innovation and quality in forage harvesting. The location enjoys an excellent international reputation - and this is exactly what we are building the next growth steps on," says COO Thomas Spiering.

New logistics concepts, customised assembly layout and sustainable energy management
After just under a year of construction, the new logistics centre will go into operation in time for the new season. 90,000 metres³ of soil had to be moved to prepare for its construction right next to the existing assembly hall.

The new logistics centre consists of a fully automated system for small load carriers and Euro pallets, a picking area, storage areas for large, painted components and an incoming goods area where up to three trucks can be unloaded at the same time.

The new logistics area was built in accordance with building energy efficiency class KFW 40 and the entire roof area is equipped with a photovoltaic system with an output of 990 kWp.

New forage harvester series ensures additional production volume
The product portfolio at the CLAAS site in Bad Saulgau is constantly evolving which places high demands on production. With the recently introduced JAGUAR 1000 forage harvester series, CLAAS is adding a new performance segment to its range. The innovative high-performance crop flow and the large-sized front attachments ensure additional production volume in Bad Saulgau.

At the same time, the production of numerous other new large forage harvesting machines is commencing. These are now being manufactured in the modernised assembly layout, which is optimally tailored to meet the increased capacity requirements.

"The project is an impressive demonstration of what is possible when everyone pulls together. Our project teams, the general contractor and the warehouse technology suppliers have done a great job and stayed on schedule and within budget. The start in the new plant layout has come at exactly the right time and deserves the highest recognition," emphasises Ulrich Nickol, Site Manager CLAAS Saulgau.

In order to be able to deliver all products on time for the 2026 harvest season, a significant number of contract employees are already working in the production areas again.

Preparations for the next growth steps are underway
The foundry at the site, which is no longer in operation, is currently being demolished. This will create an additional area of 10,700 m² in the centre of the plant site, which can be built over in the coming years.

The construction of a new configuration centre with around 1,700 m² is already planned for 2026 in order to carry out customer-specific conversions, product audits and reworking.

Spedition Grieshaber opens a new site in Bad Saulgau in 2025
In April, Spedition Grieshaber's new site was opened on 70,000 m² near the CLAAS plant, where all shipping-related activities will be bundled.

Immediately after production, Spedition Grieshaber takes over the finished products. These are first stored temporarily, then picked and finally dispatched to customers all over the world. This is done both by lorry transport directly to the CLAAS sales partners and in containers by sea. Due to the increased volume, the capacity of the previous location was no longer sufficient. The long-standing co-operation will thus be continued with significantly improved framework conditions.