The new BiG X series 680, 780 and 880 won machine of the year award at Agritechnica recently.

The prize was awarded to the Spelle-manufactured machine by a panel of German and international judges.

Of particular interest to the judges was the cab lift – a first of its kind in the world on a forage harvester. At the touch of a button, the operator can raise the cab 700mm on a hydraulic scissor lift.

This makes filling trailers and looking forward over the crop easier. It can be quickly lowered for road transport.

What also caught the judges’ attention was the multi-tank concept. It allows for seven different combinations of tanks on the machine. The reason for this wide range in options is for different applications around the world where different additives and volumes are used.

Some countries may use high-volume additive, some may use urea and others may use concentrated additives with dosage rates as low as 0.5l/t.

In the engine department, Krone scored well as now Liebherr engines are used. The exceptional service interval of 1,000hrs for engine oil, filters and fuel filters really impressed the panel.

This in combination with many other features on the machine give’s more “up-time” for the machine and in turn more output.

This is the third consecutive time Krone has won “Machine of the Year”. In 2016 the BiG X 630 won the title and in 2014 the BiG X 480/580 series.