Six Case IH Products Win AE50 Awards

No organization understands excellence in agricultural design quite like the American Association of Agricultural and Biological Engineers (ASABE). Every year, the ASABE sponsors the prestigious AE50 awards, celebrating the best and brightest agricultural products developed around the globe. In 2008, six Case IH products were honored with an AE50 award:

--  Steiger® 485 tractor -- features compound turbocharger engine
    technology for improved fuel efficiency
--  True Tandem 330 Turbo vertical tillage tool -- manages crop residue
    and provides leveling for seedbed preparation
--  2600 Series Chopping Corn Header -- chops cornstalks for residue
    management at the same time corn is harvested
--  MagnaCut Straw Chopper -- provides tailored chop performance in any
    condition
--  O-Ring Sealing -- allows the use of thin-walled tubing for liquid
    plumbing to lower costs and increase flow
--  ST Rice Rotor for Axial-Flow® rice combines -- increases
    productivity by up to 25 percent
    

For two decades, the AE50 awards have annually recognized the best products in agricultural, food and biological systems. The AE50 expert panel reviews all entries to select products that are expected to save producers time, costs and labor while improving user safety.

"Case IH customers deserve credit for these awards," says Jim Walker, Case IH vice president of North America. "At Case IH, our engineers work directly with our customers to design equipment that specifically meets their needs. And our customers demand more -- more productivity, more power, more fuel efficiency."

More about the winning equipment...

Case IH Steiger 485 Tractor

The standard engine in the new Steiger 485 model uses turbo compound technology for the first time in an agricultural tractor application. This technology uses a second turbocharger to convert energy otherwise wasted as exhaust to provide additional power -- for increased fuel efficiency. This engine also operates more quietly, weighs less, and takes less space than the engine it replaces. In addition, the use of two types of turbochargers provides a more even response over a wide range of engine loading.

Case IH True Tandem 330 Turbo

The True Tandem 330 Turbo is a vertical tillage tool designed to create ideal seedbed conditions. By surface leveling, cutting and mixing crop residue, and maintaining uniform soil density, this tool creates an optimum seedbed prior to planting -- with no additional pass. It also maximizes germination by leveling the seedbed and aerating to help warm the soil and maximize yields. The 330 Turbo is designed for one-pass leveling and mixing of the seedbed's top inch in fall or spring.

Case IH 2600 Series Chopping Corn Header

The 2600 Series Chopping Corn Header is a new-design header that allows the combine operator to more efficiently chop cornstalks for residue management at the same time the corn is harvested. It features a high-capacity rotary chopping device integrated with the row units in a header specifically designed to match the feeder house of Case IH combines. The larger-diameter stalk rolls are designed for greater capacity and force the stalks into the stalk chopper, allowing for faster harvest speeds with consistent crop residue size.

Case IH MagnaCut Straw Chopper

This is the solution for cereal grain customers who require very fine straw-chopping performance over a broad range of straw-moisture conditions. The MagnaCut Straw Chopper is equipped with 126 fixed-blade rotating knives and 41 adjustable intermeshing counter knives to provide a tailored chop performance in any straw condition, meeting no-till residue management spreading requirements globally.

Case IH O-Ring Sealing

Spray bars carry chemicals on many sprayers and use stainless steel pipe with pipe threads. Case IH engineers designed a new method, using thin-walled tubing to act as the spray bar while sealing and connecting with an o-ring and fittings. The thin-walled stainless steel tubing weighs less, costs less and allows more flow while maintaining the same tube outer diameter for spray nozzle mounting. Tubes can be made in various lengths and diameters with many combinations of outlets for any boom width.

Case IH ST Rice Rotor

The Case IH ST Rice Rotor, standard for Case IH Axial-Flow 7010 and 8010 rice combines, can increase productivity by 25 percent. It allows growers to comfortably run higher throughput capacities while maintaining high grain quality and low loss levels. The rotor's design handles tough straw with less rumbling, lowers likelihood of slugging, and lessens component wear while protecting the grain -- even when the crop is wet and tough to separate, or dry and vulnerable to cracking.

Case IH is a global leader in agricultural equipment, committed to collaborating with its customers to develop the most powerful, productive, reliable equipment -- for those who demand more. With headquarters in the United States, Case IH has a network of dealers and distributors that operates in over 160 countries. Case IH provides agricultural equipment systems, flexible financial service offerings and parts and service support for professional farmers and commercial operators through a dedicated network of professional dealers and distributors. Productivity enhancing products include tractors; combines and harvesters; hay and forage equipment; tillage tools; planting and seeding systems; sprayers and applicators; and site-specific farming tools. Case IH is a brand of CNH (NYSE: CNH), a majority-owned subsidiary of Fiat Group (FIA: MI).

For more information, call 1-877-4CASEIH or visit us on the World Wide Web at http://www.caseih.com/na.