DULUTH, GA - August 2005 - According to American Society of Agricultural Engineers' (ASAE) judges, "Operator-selectable conditioning of crop material and improvement in drying time," are just two of the features they cited in their selection of the Challenger(r) AHBT TwinMax header for the AE50 Award. 

The TwinMax conditioner utilizes two pairs of conditioner rolls - intermeshing steel rolls, positioned in front of two intermeshing rubber rolls - to double-condition the crop. Separate hydraulic valves and control switches also allow independent adjustment of conditioning pressure on each pair of conditioner rolls, which, according to the judges, "brings more flexibility [in conditioning] to a wider range of crops."

The panel of AE50 judges also highlighted in their winners' review, appearing in the June/July 2005 issue of Resource magazine, the AHBT's larger material transport augers, its simplified hydraulic header drives, and improved windrow and swath forming shields.

The AE50 program, which has been applauding engineering achievements for more than a decade, is the only awards program of its kind to reward companies for developments in specific areas of agriculture, food and biological systems. Winning products are selected on their ability to save producers time, cost and labor, while solving problems and improving user safety. 

"We're pleased to have the Challenger AHBT TwinMax header recognized by the AE50 panel," says Art Williams, general marketing manager for Challenger hay equipment. "However, we're even more excited about the response from Challenger TwinMax owners. On average, they've been saving about a day on crop drydown, while experiencing 'softer' hay, as they describe it, and improved palatability." 

For more information on Challenger AHBT TwinMax headers, or Challenger's full line of agricultural products, visit www.challengerag.com. 

About AGCO
AGCO Corporation, headquartered in Duluth, Georgia, is a global manufacturer and distributor of agricultural equipment and related replacement parts.  AGCO products are distributed in more than 140 countries.  AGCO offers a full product line including tractors, combines, hay tools, sprayers, forage, tillage equipment and implements through more than 3,900 independent dealers and distributors around the world.  AGCO products are distributed under the various well-known brand names AGCO(r), Challenger(r), Fendt(r), Gleaner(r), Hesston(r), Massey Ferguson(r), New Idea(r), RoGator(r), Spra-Coupe(r), Sunflower(r), Terra-Gator(r), Valtra(r), and White(tm) Planters.  AGCO provides retail financing through AGCO Finance in North America and through Agricredit in Australia, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Ireland, and Brazil.  In 2004, AGCO had net sales of $5.3 billion.