From the assembly line to the boardroom, women are key at Claas

From the top down, women play a pivotal role at Claas. The German-based company designs and builds innovative agriculture machinery including combines, forage harvesters, and tractors.

I had a chance to tour the Claas of America plant in Omaha, Nebraska, while attending the American Farm Bureau Young Farmers and Ranchers conference. Combines destined for farms in the United States and Canada are assembled in this plant.

Claas is the largest family-owned equipment company in the world. August Claas and his three brothers started the company in 1913. His son, Helmut, took over as chairperson of the supervisory board before passing it to the third generation. His daughter, Cathrina, now serves as the company’s chairperson. According to our tour guide, Mike, the farmer is her focus.

Walking through the plant, which is overseen by a woman, we could see combines being assembled at each stage. It takes an average of 8 to 10 days for a combine to be assembled from start to finish. The plant is designed with a center aisle, where the combine starts at Station 1 and ends at Station 19. There is an A-line assembly on one side of the combine and a B-line assembly on the other.

The combine is moved down the assembly line using air pallets, being built to the customer’s request. Claas has more than 800 different variances a customer can choose from when selecting the specifications for their combine. These can vary from an automatic greaser to a fridge under the buddy seat in the cab.

We saw several women working on the assembly line and spoke with one installing a battery box. The reconfiguration area, where combines can be modified to meet customer specifications, is also overseen by a woman. 

Claas of American invests in its employees by offering benefits including paid health insurance, paid Christmas vacation, and free ice cream on Wednesday. They host a yearly picnic for employees’ families, giving employees the opportunity to give a tour of their station and share what they do for the company. Mike told us how he witnessed one woman's pride and passion as she talked about her job putting on shielding during the most recent picnic.

The company also invests in developing current and future employees through trainee, apprentice and graduate programs. Mike shared that in one program, students attending college have a summer job at Claas of America with a full-time position waiting upon their graduation. 

When I found out our group was touring Claas of America, I had to look up the company. I’d seen Lexion combine toys at a produce show in Germany but wasn’t familiar with the company. After our tour, I walked away with a new appreciation for a family-owned company that empowers not only women, but all of its employees.