Machinery designs from CNH’s global agriculture brands Case IH and New Holland have been honored with four Good Design Awards. The machines from Case IH were the Quadtrac 715, the world’s most powerful tractor, and the Farmall 75C Electric, the brand’s first fully electric tractor; from New Holland were the T4 Electric Power, its all-electric utility tractor, and the CR11, the brand’s next-generation flagship combine.

The Good Design Awards honor the most innovative and cutting-edge industrial, product, and graphic designs created around the world. Winners of the global prize for design excellence are determined by The Chicago Athenaeum Museum of Architecture and Design in Chicago, IL, and The European Centre for Architecture Art Design and Urban Studies in Europe. This year, submissions were received from over 55 countries.

“Our CNH Design Team is always thrilled to be recognized by the Good Design Awards,” said David Wilkie, Head of Design at CNH. “The unique talents within this global team are on full display in these designs which include our brands’ flagship products and world-first electric tractors with autonomous features.”

 

Quadtrac 715 tractor

Launched in 2023, the Quadtrac 715 was created to fulfill the customer need of increased productivity. Case IH focused on addressing the customer pain point of how to increase productivity by pulling larger implements at faster speeds while simultaneously enhancing the operator experience.

The most powerful Quadtrac tractor purposefully addresses this challenge delivering peak engine power of 778 hp (572 kW), greater traction with reduced compaction, enhanced LED lighting to extend daily operations into the night, and a new hood that provides both improved service access and a new look that designates new levels of technology and performance that Case IH strives to provide its customers.

“The principle behind the development of the Quadtrac 715 is not simply more power,” said Franz Josef Silber, Case IH Product Marketing Manager for High-horsepower and 4wd Tractors. “Our aim was to create a machine that matches the requirements of our region’s largest farms, to operate implements at their ideal speed, producing higher work rates and allowing operations to be performed at the ideal time, even in tough working conditions, to make the most of short weather windows. We also wanted to ensure soil protection via a bigger footprint and fewer passes, which also means greater efficiency and minimal trafficked land.”

The new heavy-duty track units are significantly different from those on other Quadtrac models. They are 305 mm longer for more ground contact, enhanced power transfer, greater traction, and reduced compaction.

The new hood is opened and closed via an electric actuator. It features new LED road and work lights that produce an output of 25,420 lumens, for 11% more illumination power. They are complemented by new cab-mounted work lights, with the top-level package delivering an additional 45,600-lumen output with 360-degree coverage.

The cab gets access provided by staircase-style rotating steps and a comfortable ride by a four-point suspension. The restyled lighting provides a new look as well as more output, while other practical new features include grab rails around the roof to aid safe window cleaning and a new front wiper that increases the total swept area.

Inside, there are new storage areas, a new headliner with LED lighting, and uprated sound system options. An integrated rail system can carry a second terminal for AFS AccuGuide steering, AccuTurn Pro headland management, and ISOBUS implement management and guidance. AFS Connect technology allows vehicle and agronomic data recording, including two-way transfer between the tractor and myCaseIH online portal, while also allowing remote machine monitoring/support by owners and, with permission, dealers.

 

New Holland and Case IH electric tractors

The New Holland T4 Electric Power is the brand’s first all-electric utility tractor. It represents New Holland and CNH’s most recent development in their strategic plan for electrification. As a BEV (battery electric vehicle), it is said to be the first zero-emissions light utility tractor with no internal combustion engine.

Developed in record time by CNH Industrial’s engineering teams in the U.S. and Italy, aided by Monarch Tractor, the project prioritized three important goals—customer experience, extended runtime, and outstanding performance—while committing to a sustainable and compact dimension.

The T4 Electric Power is designed for mixed farm, livestock, municipality, orchard, and specialty applications, with maximum ratings of 120 hp (89 kW), 440 N·m (325 lb·ft), and 40 km/h (25 mph). Its battery offers up to one full day of use depending on workload and a recharge time with fast-charging systems of just 1 h.

The tractor can be used as a backup power source for other devices/machines and provide energy for implements. It is compatible with all conventional utility tractor implements including mechanical versions.

Thanks to electric power, noise and vibration are reduced considerably. It enables adherence to stringent municipal noise regulations, allowing for nighttime operation, and improves livestock well-being especially when working inside covered areas such as barns.

The Smart Roof technology of the T4 Electric Power delivers several autonomous features designed to reduce the total cost of ownership, assist operators during driving controls, improve overall application performance/quality, and leverage operators’ skills. It provides 360-degree awareness and integrates sensors, cameras, and control units to detect and avoid obstacles, synchronize multiple machines, and check the status of processes.

One interesting feature is Follow Me Mode, from which the tractor follows the operator been him outside the cab. It is said to be very useful in dozens of ordinary farm daily events such as passing through gates or feeding cattle. Another is Shadow Mode, which enables the operator to guide the machine with gesture control from outside the cab.

With real-time Live View farmers have their fleet literally in the palm of their hands in their mobiles while, with Fleet Management, managers can assign tasks from the office to each tractor of the fleet in the field. Implement Recognition ensures the tractor seamlessly links with the required attachment. Offboard digital Services enable the operation of the tractor anytime from anywhere plus remote monitoring of performance.

Revealed publicly at the Farm Progress Show in 2023, the T4 Electric Power sibling, the Farmall 75C Electric, is Case IH’s first fully electric tractor. Sporting a brand-new design with diesel-like performance and power, the tractor is designed for agriculture’s toughest jobs.

The electrification of the Farmall coupled with the reduction in wear and tear on parts and maintenance costs, can provide users with a reduction in operating expenses when compared to diesel tractors. Offboard digital features and additional automation capabilities like Safety Mode let farmers operate the vehicle with far more efficiency.

 

New Holland CR11 combine

Unveiled with a preview at Agritechnica 2023 in Hanover, the New Holland CR11 is the next-generation combine in the flagship CR line. It is the largest combine ever made and has been redeveloped to provide higher productivity, with minimal grain loss, improved residue management, and more automation. These features aim to reduce the total cost of grain harvesting. It will be produced at New Holland’s Center of Harvesting Excellence in Zedelgem, Belgium.

The CR11 debuts a new design and style for the brand, developed through a close collaboration between industrial design and engineering teams, together with product specialists and brand marketing, and a combine design that is focused on customer needs with a form-follows-function ethic. The result is a refreshed design, with the flow of the harvest underlined on exterior panels by the dynamic blue feature that runs across the body.

“Farm consolidation, increased yields, and short harvesting windows are driving the need to continue the evolution of combine capacity with less grain loss and at the best grain quality,” explained Lars Sorensen, Head of Combines and Headers for New Holland Agriculture, at Agritechnica. “This new combine is a market game-changer designed to offer the next level of productivity with no comparison to anything available on the market today.”

The four pillars the CR11 combine is built on are more productivity, maximum grain savings, premium residue management, and enhanced uptime. They support the machine’s overall objective to reduce the total cost of harvesting, a combination of financial cost and time that, when optimized, results in the overall improvement of the farmer’s bottom-line profitability.

“Beneath the radical new styling is a very special combine design across individual areas that, together, create a package that will not replace the current CR range, but add a whole new productivity layer on top of the current offering,” stated Carlo Lambro, Brand President for New Holland Agriculture. “Our whole team has done a fantastic job of taking our world-record-holding combine and coming up with something even better.”

New Holland engineers worked to create a zero-loss harvesting machine, developing the new, larger, and fully automated TwinClean double-cleaning shoe with automated cross-distribution control. Its IntelliSpread radar system automates spreading control to ensure full and even residue coverage behind the combine, regardless of wind effects, crop type, or moisture conditions.

A new fully automated de-slug procedure was designed to reduce downtime. Downtime prevention is further aided by the combine’s revised driveline simplicity with approximately 25% fewer drive components and the elimination of all drive chains.

The first combine to come standard with PLM Intelligence features built in, the CR11 combine will include the new IntelliView 12 display, IntelliSteer guidance system, and other essential precision farming functions like telematics and remote screen viewing, further supporting optimal performance and productivity.

An optional NutriSense NIR sensor monitors crop composition in real time to analyze and map nutrient and moisture levels. Data can be used to help support harvest, storage, and sales decisions, and inform production plan changes for upcoming seasons to support profitability and future performance.