A few days ago, the thousandth XERION rolled off line four at the XERION production plant in Harsewinkel, Germany. The white giant was resplendent in a special white paint finish. The employees of the production plant turned out in force to witness the unveiling of the super machine and to bask in the glow of the photographers’ flashbulbs. «For every thousand XERIONs produced, there are a thousand satisfied customers», Managing Director Jan-Hendrik Mohr said during a small ceremony on the production line. In his speech, he stressed the many different applications of the XERION: «As we all know, it is a general-purpose working machine that is equally at home in cropland and in pasture, in municipal works and in forestry. However, the thousandth manufactured XERION is just the first milestone», he declared. In this context, he also thanked all the employees for their energetic support. Helmut Claas was a guest of honour at the event. He expressed thanks and appreciation to the entire team for their dedication, excellent teamwork and motivation — not only the employees of the production plant, but also all those involved in the development, production and marketing of the XERION. Helmut Claas also noted some «parallels between the launch of the XERION 4 x 4 large tractor and the launch of the combine harvester in Europe by August Claas almost 80 years ago». Then, as now, he said, a CLAAS development was highly successful despite going against the common opinion of many agricultural engineers and farmers. Jan-Hendrik Mohr took advantage of the opportunity to symbolically present Helmut Claas with one of the earliest drafts, made many years ago by Nils Fredricksen, one of the first designers involved in the development of the XERION. Fredricksen, too, was a guest of honour at the production anniversary. At the conclusion of the short ceremony, CSE Managing Director Ulrich Timcke wished all employees «many more successful XERION machines». The white supertractor will not be going on an exhibition tour, but will be put straight to work. «It will be in good hands», Jan-Hendrik Mohr said, adding: «A XERION customer from eastern Germany, who already owns one of our machines, will be the new owner of No. 1000».