25 Years Ago:​ A Quarter Century of Made in the USA

​The foundation stone for the first CLAAS combine harvester plant in North America was laid 25 years ago. The plant in Omaha opened its doors two years later and began a success story that has continued to this day. What began with a small team evolved over the years into a site with around 120 employees.​

Over 9,000 combine harvesters have rolled off the production line in Omaha since then. Merging the sales company CLAAS of America and the production company CLAAS Omaha at a single location was an important milestone. The sales company had previously been headquartered in Indiana. “It was a big change for everyone, but impressive nonetheless how smoothly we got everything up and running in Omaha,” recalls Bob Armstrong, then Product Manager and now Head of Sales for forage harvesters and tractors in Omaha.​

Aside from the geographical location and strong support from the state of Nebraska, the local communities were another important reason for selecting the site. “Most people in Nebraska have a background in agriculture, understand harvesting technology, and know how vital it is for the machinery to run reliably. And we were looking for precisely this kind of employee, so people who place high standards in their work. And we definitely found them, looking back,” says Theo Freye, former CEO at CLAAS Omaha and CLAAS of America, a veteran of the earliest days at the site in Omaha.​

Particular highlights and successes in Omaha include the switch to the production of seed-green combine harvesters in 2019 and the opening of the Academy in 2021. Another defining feature of CLAAS in Omaha is its special training program that applies the highest standards to educating its future specialists.​

The CLAAS site in Omaha can look back on a successful 25-year history and forward to a promising future.