Tractor News New Holland going out of business???

[JoeinTX]

"The track & under carriage, Cat powershift are the only CAT built things. CLAAS builds the best combine PERIOD...."

Cat management in the 1990s fancied a pi$$ing war with Deere & Co. in response to JD's expansions in the construction markets. They thought it a personal attack and in response jaunted into the Ag markets with first the Challenger line and then the Claas licensed Lexion combines in Cat livery. By the early 2000s the Cat mindset changed and they divested themselves of the ag product venture to each AGCO (giving them the Challenger line in a kabuki dance involving Cat's purchase of Perkins and AGCO's purchase of Valtra engine) and basically turning cards on the Omaha Cat/Claas combine factory and handing the largely unwanted experiment over to Claas management. They remained a subcontractor and licensed paint schemes for each for a period of time. Cat wants nothing to do with each today and makes no public mention of them. Cat today is a construction and mining juggernaut. They have no official connection with ag.

 

[JoeinTX]

The "diversified" company versus the "centric" company in any particular economic situation is not really definable.

I understand what you're saying and see the itinerant logic in it. But, it's not universal by any means.

When a company, diversified into many fields, runs into a company centered upon one in any given sector, the math does not always work out. Komatsu has followed the Cat model of solidifying and centering upon the construction field. JD and CNH had diversified themselves like all get out.

None of them have blundered, yet, upon the model they've chosen. Mitsu has a reasonable hand in everything from airplanes to ship building..........their management system can handle that. Cat is all about big yellow machines that make big noise. They are fantastic at it.

 

[Farmwithjunk]

CLAAS builds the best combine PERIOD.

^^^^Spoken as someone who doesn't own or operate a combine.....^^^^ You ever wonder why they're a distant 5th in combine sales in the US, the biggest combine market in the world.....There is no piece of farm equipment even CLOSE to that of a combine in regards to the NEED for parts and technical service support, ESPECIALLY so with the combines rolling off the line now days. Claas/Lexicon/et al.. suffers with spotty regional (limited) support at best. Where, Deere and Case shine, Claas suffers painfully. Even Massey Ferguson and Gleaner have Claas covered in the "grain belt" portion of the US.

Throw out the service and support, Claas STILL doesn't live up to Deere and Case when it comes to on the farm performance.....Just building a "big combine" doesn't make 'em the best....

 

[Farmwithjunk]

"Last time I looked, Deere Inc and Caterpillar (if you want to count them in as an ag builder based on their interest in Challenger tractor line/Lexicon combines) are the only ag manufacturer in Dow Jones 30 industrials....(30 largest industrials NOT a utility or rail)...."


Except the Challenger tractor line is AGCO's (has been since 2002 in a sweetheart deal with Cat) and the Lexions are Claas's that carried the Cat name for a brief time but carry the Claas name today. Cat does not actively participate or market in the ag field today.

There's why I "qualified" CAT's place in the AG world.... CAT dealers still have Challenger tractors sitting on their lots, but even with that, their involvement is a stretch at best....My point was/is, (if you go back to the post where my comments were taken from) Mahindra is nowhere near at the same level as Deere or a number of other AG brands as far as bottom line, total sales, ect.....With Deere and CAT being the only brands that have ANY connection whatsoever to the AG world that are Dow 30 Industrials....

 

[WilliamBos]

^^^^Spoken as someone who doesn't own or operate a combine.....^^^^ You ever wonder why they're a distant 5th in combine sales in the US, the biggest combine market in the world.....There is no piece of farm equipment even CLOSE to that of a combine in regards to the NEED for parts and technical service support, ESPECIALLY so with the combines rolling off the line now days. Claas/Lexicon/et al.. suffers with spotty regional (limited) support at best. Where, Deere and Case shine, Claas suffers painfully. Even Massey Ferguson and Gleaner have Claas covered in the "grain belt" portion of the US.

Throw out the service and support, Claas STILL doesn't live up to Deere and Case when it comes to on the farm performance.....Just building a "big combine" doesn't make 'em the best....

Hop on over to the combine forums, & NAT. You will have to removes your green shades though.

You need to get past the size and look at ease of repair, and the internals of the beast.

 

[jaymar421]

Between all the sophisticated words and corporate scuffle, does this mean I won't have to worry about my warranty and parts will be available years from now? Or should I just trade my NH in for a Deere or Kubota

 

[Farmwithjunk]

Hop on over to the combine forums, & NAT. You will have to removes your green shades though.

You need to get past the size and look at ease of repair, and the internals of the beast.

You'd be better served by speaking of what you actually KNOW from hands on experience, than of repeating the nonsense you pick up from the anti-green crowd on some internet website. I've spent a little time on those sites. They tend to frequently be a little short of facts and long on brand bashing.

And since when was a Case combine "green"?

And you need to look at the latest offerings from Deere.

There's a good reason why the top 2 selling brands have such a huge market share.....

Oh....and try to find a Claas combine that's been in the field more than a couple or 3 years....They're few and far between. Not the "best" when it comes to life span....Not to mention nearly no resale value relative to Case and Deere. No one with their right mind spends several hundred thousand bux with the knowledge their investment will be sand down a rat hole in short order.

 

[Farmwithjunk]

Between all the sophisticated words and corporate scuffle, does this mean I won't have to worry about my warranty and parts will be available years from now? Or should I just trade my NH in for a Deere or Kubota

I wouldn't worry about warranty or parts being available in the future....

 

[DAY]

I wouldn't worry about warranty or parts being available in the future....

My wife's Pontiac Vibe is really a Toyota Matrix in disguise. Even though Pontiac has gone the way of the Ford Edsel, parts and service are still available from General Motors. Or Toyota. . .

Whatever tractor you have, parts and service will still be available long after you and the tractor have been parted out.

 

[BlacknTan]

I just noticed orange tractors on the local NH dealer's lot...

Seems they have taken on Kioti as their second line equipment. Kind of unusual, because I've only ever seen blue there.