Celebrations mark the opening of new UK headquarters

The 10-bay workshop provides space for current machines, and those expected in future.

Claas has had its UK headquarters at Saxham since the 1930s when Bill Mann – a local farmer and the Claas combine importer at that time, established his Manns dealership there.

Many of the buildings used by Claas UK until recently dated back to the 1950s, and although they had been modified and modernised since then, the constantly growing Claas and Manns businesses both needed new facilities to optimise working efficiency and to cope with increasing demand for products and services from customers.

Continued customer support

The new building was opened by chairwoman of the supervisory board, and chairwoman of the supervisory committee, Cathrina Claas-Muhlhauser.

Work on the redevelopment started in November 2017 and was completed in three stages, allowing the 130 members of the Claas UK and Manns teams to continue working with minimal disruption.

The previous buildings were demolished, and the new buildings stand on their former locations, although some operating areas have been relocated to improve efficiency and customer experience.

Six-storey showroom

Central to the redevelopment is a state-of-the-art 33,000m, 16.5m high, headquarters building. The main feature is a Technopark product showroom with full-height glass windows and a view to and from the A14 nearby. Beside this, on the ground floor and right beside the main entrance, are the Manns team’s sales and administration offices, and the five upper floors are occupied by Claas nance, sales, marketing, product support and management teams. The new 10-bay Manns workshop is directly behind.

Capacity for future growth

One of the biggest improvements is a new UK parts facility, replacing the previous stores which were composed of five separate but linked buildings. The new parts warehouse accommodates 47,000 line items totalling 850,000 separate parts and weighing more than 700 tonnes and has space for future  expansion.

The Claas training Academy is also on the Saxham site, with a team of 11 staff to provide specialist training for dealer sales, service and parts teams. The facility is also used to train machine operators.

Dealer viewpoint

Claas dealer Manns looks after customers in Suffolk, Norfolk, Essex, Kent, Cambridgeshire and parts of Leicestershire and Northamptonshire from seven depots across East Anglia, including its main base within the Claas UK building at Saxham.

New sales offices and workshops for the dealer team were part of the first phase of the Claas building redevelopment, and sales director Paul Moss says that the improved facilities are providing real benefits to his team as well as to customers.

“We moved into our new sales offices in Spring 2019, and the new workshops became operational

at the same time,” he explained.

“Now, for the first time since the Saxham business opened in the late 1940s, we have the sales, parts and workshop teams all located in one area, within a few steps of the entrance door. This means that customers are seen as soon as they enter the building, and whichever department they require there will be someone nearby to assist.”

Positive feedback

Paul said that feedback from the Manns’ teams has been very positive, and customers have appreciated the level of investment made by Claas in the UK’s agricultural industry.

“There hasn’t been anything like this level of investment at Saxham since the company started trading, and the whole operation was set up initially to provide facilities for wholesaling machinery, rather than as a retail operation,” he continued. “Now we have what is probably the best farm machinery showroom in the UK, which is appropriate for the Claas product range plus the other premium brands we offer.

“It’s also had a very positive effect when we are recruiting new staff as the working environment is modern, comfortable and attractive and everyone is proud of it.”

Firm commitment

With its attractive and imposing new UK headquarters, there is no doubt that Claas sees a positive future for UK farming and its machinery industry. The brand remains the market leader for combine and forage harvester sales in the UK, and its tractor range has received huge investment in recent years and includes models to compete with other major brands in all market sectors. Claas senior vice-president

(Western Europe and Oceania) for Claas Group sales and service, Trevor Tyrrell has for many years stressed that one of the biggest issues facing farming in future is the shortage of young engineers and apprentices joining the industry. Claas runs its own successful apprenticeship scheme to attract new team members for its own operation and for its dealers, and the impressive new buildings at Saxham will convince those arriving for their inductions that they have made the right choice.