Kuhn mowers, half century of innovations
The Kuhn GMD disc mower is reaching its fiftith anniversary this year. Back in 1967 the French manufacturer brought its GMD 4 mower equipped with oval discs to the market, a model which ensured a great advance in cutting speed, reduced the risk of clogging due to the greater volume of cut forage discharged and eliminated the troublesome work of sharpening blades.
The Kuhn Group has no intention of celebrating the anniversary but is marking this step in future progress in forage harvesting with the Saverne company committed to guaranteeing top quality through ongoing investments in research and development coming to 4.5% of Kuhn earnings.
Kuhn’s excellence in the hay and silage mowing sector has been achieved through a series of important phases: the arrival of mower conditioners in the mid 1970s; the first trailed FC 300 mower conditioner in the 1980s; the first trailed mower conditioner Alterna 500 with side pull transport in 1992. To anticipate developments in farming around the world, Kuhn now comes up with targeted answers to productivity, safety and lowering maintenance costs by meeting these goals through the development of highly evolved technological solutions. Many of these achievements are patented, including the Kuhn Lift-Control hydro-pneumatic suspension and the Non-Stop safety break-back system equipping most of the manufacturer’s mowers and mower conditioners. With the patented OPTIDISC cutter bar and the PROTECTADRIVE safety system, if the mower unit in operation encounters an obstacle it shifts efficiently thanks to the pivot point near the machine axis and the LIFT-CONTROL system and returns to work with the Non-Stop system to save any downtime.
