CLAAS has been developing and manufacturing balers for 95 years, 65 of which have been spent in Metz-Woippy. In 1996, the company unveiled its first round baler with a variable bale chamber developed in-house: the VARIANT 100 series. The name VARIANT has endured ever since – now in its fifth generation alongside the CEREX series, which was launched in 2025.
CLAAS is now celebrating the 30th anniversary of its variable round baler product range with two anniversary models.
Balers are deeply rooted in CLAAS’s DNA. 95 years ago, the family-run company began production of its first commercial baler, the PRESS-BU-BI. CLAAS had already filed its first patent 10 years earlier – the famous knotter hook, which was initially used on straw binders and later on straw balers. To date, CLAAS has built and marketed more than 400,000 balers worldwide.
Whilst CLAAS balers were initially developed and manufactured exclusively at the CLAAS headquarters in Harsewinkel for decades, a dedicated factory was established in France at Metz-Woippy, Lorraine (now the Grand-Est region) from 1958 onwards. It was the first CLAAS production plant outside Germany and the first factory founded by Helmut Claas. From 1961, the first CLAAS balers rolled off the production line in Woippy, and from 1994, development was also relocated from Harsewinkel to Metz.
To mark the anniversary, Usines CLAAS France has built one CEREX and one VARIANT, each featuring a special anniversary design. They are characterised by cream-white side panels, inspired by the first two generations of the VARIANT – the VARIANT 100 and VARIANT 200 – interspersed with an oversized ‘30 Years’ logo in seed green. The ‘30’ in the logo, in turn, consists of three stylised round bales of different diameters, which graphically reflect the anniversary’s theme and the technology of variable compression chambers. For one year, one of the machines will be on display at the visitor centre in Metz-Woippy, whilst the other will be a showpiece at the Technoparc in Harsewinkel.
To mark the anniversary, CLAAS has put together a special offer for farmers and contractors. From October 2026, buyers of VARIANT and CEREX machines will be able to take advantage of special and individual financing for twelve months. The terms and conditions vary between sales regions.
What’s more, all VARIANT and CEREX models built in Metz during those twelve months can be recognised by anniversary stickers on the side panels and the tailgate.
