(OMAHA, Neb.) For the fifth consecutive year, CLAAS of America Inc. has received the highest honor from the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers (ASABE) receiving four AE50 awards for excellence in industry advancements. CLAAS continues to lead the industry with breakthrough technologies that are powerful, efficient and produce winning outcomes for growers.

AE50 awards recognize companies for innovative engineering in the areas of agriculture, food and biological systems. Products are accepted globally and are judged on specific criterion; they must provide the most profound technology in their industry, improve user safety and benefit producers by saving them time, money and labor.

2009 CLAAS AE50 Awards Include:

LEXION Corn Head Auto-Pilot – This row-sensing guidance system is simple and effective – when the stalk of corn touches one of the sensors, which are connected directly to the steering system, automatic adjustments to the combine’s direction are made to follow the corn row accurately in both standing and lodged crop. The sensors act alone and do not require the combine to be equipped with GPS keeping cost-efficiency at the forefront. System operation is completed with a single zero steering angle calibration and a single engagement switch on the joystick. The steering correction dial on the console lets you fine-tune adjustments on the fly. And, this technology can be added to any LEXION combine as a factory-or field-installed feature.

LEXION QUANTIMETER – Using light-emitting measuring (LEM) technology to accurately measure the real time yield performance is made possible through a beam of NIR light. Created between two photo sensors, the harvested grain volume is measured and displayed in real-time (bushels per acre, tons per hectare, etc.) via the LEXION CEBIS in-cab monitoring system. Primary yield monitor calibration efficiency is improved as the QUANTIMETER utilizes a single volume or single batch calibration method versus multiple loads at different rates of travel used to simulate different flow rates. And CLAAS makes flexibility of this product key as you can add the QUANTIMETER to any LEXION combine as a factory-or field-installed feature.

CAM Pilot Guidance System – Offered with CLAAS pick-up heads, the JAGUAR forage harvester can now be outfitted with CAM PILOT. This system automatically steers the JAGUAR utilizing two cameras instead of lasers or GPS along a windrow so the operator can maximize efficiency and concentrate on keeping the machine running at top performance. The CAM PILOT gathers a continuous flow of information as it follows the path of swath on the straightaway, around corners and up and down hilly terrain. What’s better, the CLAAS CAM PILOT is a cost-effective alternative solution for GPS.

LINER 1750 Dual Rotor Rake – This twin-rotor rake allows for one single windrow with a working width up to 26 feet and is also equipped with 14-tine arms with four double tines per arm, per rotor. This gives the producer efficiency in production by increasing working output and time-savings with the swift raking speeds during harvest. The 3-D contour rotor articulation gives you the ability to rake quickly, while at the same time preserving high forage quality. The two-point inverted U-frame gives maximum clearance of the single, wide-angle universal drive shaft. And, transport is made easy with telescopic rotor baskets controlled directly from inside the cab, shrinking the rake down to 13.1 feet.

CLAAS of America Inc. offers a wide variety of technologically innovative hay tool, baler, self-propelled forage harvester and combine harvester products to provide growers optimum performance in the field. These products are designed by a dedicated engineering staff located at numerous worldwide factories focused on the production and design of harvesting equipment. The design, performance and reliability of this equipment have made CLAAS an international market leader. For more information, visit www.claasofamerica.com.