Historic 200,000th combine returns to harvest after 58 years
A landmark piece of agricultural machinery history has returned to the field after nearly six decades, with the 200,000th CLAAS combine ever built successfully harvesting wheat once again.
The 1968 CLAAS SENATOR originally marked a major manufacturing milestone when it was presented by company founder August Claas to Scottish farmer John Steven on 16 August 1968. At the time, CLAAS had doubled its combine production in just six years, cementing its position as one of the world’s leading combine manufacturers.
Following decades of work in Scotland, the combine returned to CLAAS UK headquarters at Saxham in 2025, where the Technical Service team embarked on a sympathetic restoration. Rather than creating a museum exhibit, engineers aimed to return the machine to working condition while preserving its original appearance and the patina gained through years of harvesting.
Support from the CLAAS World Parts Centre in Hamm enabled many original components to be sourced, allowing the restoration to be completed without compromising authenticity.
The restored SENATOR returned to harvesting on 24 July, cutting around 20 tonnes of wheat over five hours on the Suffolk farm of George and Freddie Gittus. In a demonstration of how agriculture has evolved, the machine’s progress was monitored in real time through the CLAAS connect digital platform.
The celebrations concluded on 31 July at Honey Hill Farm, Little Saxham, where three generations of CLAAS combines worked together in the same field. A 1953 CLAAS SF, the restored SENATOR and a current TRION 720 illustrated more than 70 years of combine development.
While the SF achieved around four tonnes per hour, the modern TRION harvested approximately 40 tonnes per hour, highlighting the dramatic improvements in harvesting capacity, efficiency and technology achieved over successive generations of CLAAS combines.
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