Harvest Milestone: New Holland’s twin rotor technology marks 50 years of innovation

ITALY – New Holland Agriculture has marked the 50th anniversary of its Twin Rotor combine technology, a system first patented in 1975 that continues to shape modern harvesting.

The company announced a yearlong celebration highlighting the history of the design and its impact on farming around the world.

The roots of the twin rotor date back to 1964 when New Holland acquired Belgian manufacturer Leon Clay Co. At the time, Clay’s engineers had already begun work on a prototype. New Holland’s team took over and brought the concept to life, creating what became the TR 70 combine in 1975.

“This was at a time when grain quality was becoming more important to farmers, because farming had shifted from producing for local markets to producing grain more as a globally marketed commodity,” explains Ryan Schaffer, New Holland’s vice president for North America.

“The twin rotor design works because it utilizes physics to thresh the grain faster and more gently than other combines of its time.”

Schaffer compares the concept to the popular Gravitron carnival ride of the 1990s. “The two hollowed out rotors spin at high speeds, creating enough inertia and force to toss the heavier material, in this case the harvested grain, into the grain tank and lighter material like chaff and pieces of stalk is blasted out the back of the combine.”

The twin rotor system has endured through decades of change. Today it forms the backbone of New Holland’s flagship CR 11, a massive machine packed with sensors and automation. Case IH has also adopted the setup in its AF-11 combine.

“When we built the CR 11, we clearly set out to produce a larger machine with a higher (grain tank) capacity, but it also had to help improve the operator’s bottom line,” Schaffer says.

“A focus on lowering the total cost of harvesting, which calculates everything from maintenance costs to harvest losses, for our farmers powers every design update we make to our combines.”

Farmers keep the tradition alive

As part of the anniversary, New Holland partnered with Indiana farmers Jacob and Brittany Loftus, who still run a 1975 TR 70 with its original four-row corn head.

“We acquired this in early 2000 when my Dad decided to upgrade combines, and then we ran it for about 15 years as our main combine. Back then we probably did about 400 acres of beans every year, so it’s done a lot of beans in its lifetime,” says Jacob Loftus.

“You can just set it and forget it, basically. I rarely have to do any adjustments on this machine year to year; it just picks good, clean corn,” he adds.

Brittany notes how neighbors react when they see the vintage model in the fields. “A lot of the little kids in the neighborhood, he’s like their idol because they’ll stop and watch and go, ‘oh, Jacob’s out in the field, Mom,’ and they are just like mesmerized by big equipment, so that’s really cool.”

While the TR 70 stands as a reminder of the past, New Holland’s current focus is clear. The company continues to invest in machines that help farmers cut costs while improving grain quality.

East Africa strategy takes shape

New Holland also announced that it appointed CMC Agri Limited as its official distributor in Tanzania. The move makes its full range of tractors and TC Series combine harvesters more available and strengthens technical support for farmers.

“We are very excited about this collaboration in Tanzania. Our long-standing commitment to agriculture in Tanzania continues and we want to maintain New Holland as the number one brand in the country,” says Middle East and Africa Business Director Özkan Eren

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