Amazone opens new test centre

Amazone has invested around €2 million in buildings and equipment within the new test centre at the Hasbergen-Gaste factory, in Germany. Significantly expanding the capacity for research and development, the new building includes a 2,400m² hall for prototype construction and testing facilities, plus 600m² of offices and laboratories. Located close to the development engineers at the technology centre, employees in the test centre look after the assembly, commissioning and testing of current models and prototypes of Gaste-made machines, which include fertiliser spreaders, sprayers, seed drills, ploughs and electronics. The new test centre provides new possibilities with R+D, and includes an isolation unit for endurance tests with large agricultural machinery, and a spray boom test bench for working widths of up to 60m. Water for sprayer testing comes from an integrated 16,000l storage tank, with supply lines routed under the floor. Amazone invests 5% of its annual turnover in R+D, and during the past few years has recruited 18 new engineers.