Impressions from the new Big X shop floor. Photo: Krone

Spelle in July 2013. Construction work for the new production hall is in full swing at Krone's Spelle headquarters, where Big X production is scheduled to start on October 15. The new 265m by 27m building will feature the most innovative assembly lines and a high-shelf stockroom that meets a custom logistics concept as well as end-of-line test stands, where the finished machines will undergo extensive function checks.
"Currently our annual output of forage harvesters is 300. For the future, we are targeting an output of about 600 units. To reach this ambitious aim, we had to expand our Big X production capacity significantly. However, this could not be achieved by expanding our existing production hall and so we decided to build a new one. Of course, this is state of the art," Bernard Krone explains.
The targeted 50% increase in unit numbers is based on an increaing demand for Big X forage harvesters on the one hand and on our activities in new markets, such as China, Brazil, Chile and Paraguay on the other hand. On top of that, Krone will enter the 450hp+ power bracket in 2014 by introducing a new model line. After all, the market segment of smaller powered machines acounts for about 60% of the total forager market. Krone's new Big X production hall is a €10 million investment.