Founded in 1828 in Saverne, France, Kuhn has a strong pedigree in manufacturing farm machinery.

The company produces 60,000 machines across 1,500 base models per year. A Kuhn spokesperson highlighted two trends they have noticed in the past 10 years.

Firstly, they have noted that the size of new machines has grown by 30%, and secondly, 40% of their total orders are customised in comparison to just 20% 10 years ago.

The company unveiled a selection of both new and updated machines at a recent event in France.

Variable chamber belt baler

Kuhn has introduced a new range of belt balers, the VB 7100 series. These variable-chamber round balers were designed to be high-capacity machines, with Kuhn claiming they have the ability to get through up to 30t/hour in various crop conditions.

The series features Kuhn’s patented i-DENSE system. This twin-tension-arm system provides bale densities of up to 140 kg/m3 in straw.

This system combines with the moisture sensor measurements to adapt the baling pressure according to the different crops and crop conditions, without the interference of the driver.

The baler comes with the previously used four-belt and three-roller design of the bale chamber and uses Kuhn’s integral rotor. This is a single rotor that spans the entire width of the machine.

The bale chamber has a four belt and three roller design.

Tailgate

Kuhn claims the VB 7100 balers feature the fastest tailgate operation in the market, ejecting the bale and closing the tailgate in just four seconds. However, in the video that we took, it took six seconds.

The VB 7100 series has a heavy-duty design. It is equipped with wear-resistant and oversize chains (1.5in main drive chain), which are greased with an automatic continuous chain greasing system.

The rotor is fitted with double hardox tines while the main driven rollers have 50mm sealed spherical roller bearings.

The net binding system can be loaded from both sides of the machine. New support brackets allow the net to be slid from the net storage into the net binder without lifting the entire roll.

The operator can load the net roll while standing on the ground. The baler comes with either 14 or 23 knives and has a five-tine bar pickup reel.

The baler comes with either 14 or 23 knives and has a five tine bar pick-up reel.

The VB 7100 series is made up of two models, the 7160 and 7190, which produce bale diameters of 1.60m and 1.85m respectively.

Both machines are Isobus-compatible, meaning the interface can be displayed on an Isobus tractor terminal or on the CCI 50 or CCI 1200 terminals supplied by Kuhn.