Tech On Display At Fendt’s Minnesota Factory

Tech On Display At Fendt’s Minnesota Factory Ask a U.S. auto owner to name a high-performance German automobile, and you’ll likely hear names like BMW, Mercedes, AMG or Porsche. The equivalent in German farm equipment is Fendt, and its high-tech manufacturing is on display at the company’s North American production facility in Jackson, Minn. Looking more like a rustic mountain hideaway than a manufacturing plant, the plant’s Fendt Lodge entrance showcases advanced equipment technology through educational displays, interactive, hands-on simulators, and an up-close look at autonomous farming solutions. Visitors can slip into tractor and sprayer cabs to marvel at their fit and finish, then walk through interactive displays to learn about advanced components of Fendt planters and Ideal combines. Fendt tractors and sprayers are designed and engineered at the company’s German headquarters and built in Jackson. A 1.5-hour plant tour, narrated by a former company engineer, gives visitors a bird’s-eye view of assembly using high-tech tools and advanced manufacturing technology. The build process begins with a truck-box-sized bare transmission rolling into the first assembly station and ends with a fully functional, high-horsepower Fendt tractor being carefully detailed several hours later. Along the way, each unit receives all its components, including the engine, hydraulic system, electronics, cooling system, and cab, and undergoes more than 1,000 quality checks. Assemblers use specialized tools, torque equipment, and coded parts for each tractor. Every unit is built to a customer’s order. Its electronic build sheet is continually updated on large-screen monitors at each assembly station. Each action is time-stamped and verified during the quality control process. Fendt builds two tractors and sprayers per day at the plant. Engines and transmissions are built in Germany, while outsourced parts and components are delivered to Jackson for just-in-time assembly. The plant manufactures several parts from raw steel. Lasers cut sheet and tubular steel to precise dimensions. The CMM measurement arm uses laser technology capable of measuring to 0.002 in. accuracy. Layout accuracy is measured to microns (millionths of an inch). Custom-made jigs hold pieces for spot welding by hand, then completion by robotic welders. Electronic and hydraulic components are assembled on the vehicles, then subjected to shake and electrical testing at various frequencies to ensure compliance with engineering specifications. The Fendt ONE cabs are built at the plant and designed for comfort, sound control, clean air and operator convenience. A touring visitor who owns a Fendt says that driving and riding in his tractor is like sitting in his living room easy chair. Completed tractors run through load stations that test electronics, gauges, hydraulic systems, heating, air conditioning, horsepower output under load, and cab decibel levels. Equipment also simulates field conditions and loads, and tests suspensions, transmissions and engine output. Fendt factory tours are open to the public and can be scheduled online through the Fendt Lodge website. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, The Fendt Lodge, 202 Industrial Pkwy., Jackson, Minn. 56143 (ph 888-434-2426; jacksontours@agcocorp.com; www.fendt.com/us/fendt-lodge).

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