Agritechnica, the world leading exhibition for agricultural machinery with 2,849 exhibitors this year, successfully ended on November 15 and attracted over 476,000 visitors from 171 countries. For a whole week, the event focussed on the challenges and future of the industry.
ROPA, being a traditional family company with Bavarian roots, but internationally recognised and highly innovative, presented its products in a modern ambience. The unique stand concept with a cosy beer garden invited the guests to enjoy informal conversations and good company.
ROPA focuses on technical innovations and their practical relevance. This year, the premium products and the latest innovations in the field of self-propelled sugar beet harvesters, loaders and the Keiler potato harvester were presented on a huge area of 1,075 m². The new ROPA Leguan celebrated its debut at Agritechnica.
ROPA machines
Debut at Agritechnica – ROPA Leguan embodies precision in planting technology
The company is presenting its first electrically powered potato planter, the ROPA Leguan, thereby expanding its product portfolio to machines for spring season. This machine combines utmost precision, intelligent control and consistent usability. A fully electric drive of the laying components via brushless servo motors with CAN bus control forms the core of the machine. The integrated 48 V power supply system enables precise speed control for perfect planting distances – regardless of driving speed or ground conditions.
With Section Control and Variable Rate Control, planting elements, seed treatment equipment and micro-granular spreaders can be controlled individually via GPS. This concept allows site-specific adjustment of planting distances, saving on operating resources and reducing nutrient inputs. The automatic depth guide via ultrasonic sensors regulates the planting depth in real time, ensuring constantly optimal conditions.
The milling cutter with a central gear unit ensures optimum weight distribution and even power transmission to the milling shaft. Thanks to its external width of 3 metres, the machine can be driven on public roads without requiring a special approval. The modular design with foldable and removable ridge shaper reduces weight when driving on public roads, simplifies filling of the bunker and provides options for quick change between different ridge shaping devices.
Keiler 2 RK22 – Cutting-edge machine with plenty of new developments
New: Drive axle
The Keiler 2 RK22 is now available with a fully driven axle. The Black Bruin motors integrated into both wheel hubs, combined with a separate hydraulic pump, deliver maximum thrust and traction. The ROPA has developed a control block that enables sensitive control of the drive axle and smooth engagement while driving.
An anti-skid control (ASC) prevents the wheels from spinning, which improves driving performance, protects soil and increases operational safety on wet ground and slopes.
DoubleSelect
The DoubleSelect system enhances the separation performance of the Keiler thanks to an additional triple UFK unit (rotating finger comb) installed on the second pintle belt. Early separation of clods and stones in the crop flow significantly reduces damage to the potatoes, thus ensuring that the potatoes are harvested even more gently. Each UFK can also be optionally equipped with rotating brushes (UBK) for optimum adaptation to the respective soil conditions. Rotational speed of the UFK rows can be adjusted independently. Optionally, the DoubleSelect has a separate trash track and an additional sorting platform. The system remains energy-efficient as compared to the standard 4-pintle model with the same drive power, which results in greater performance combined with gentle harvesting and higher harvesting speed.
Quick-change system for pickups
The ROPA quick-change system enables changing of the Keiler's pickup without any special tools and in just a few minutes, for example from potatoes to onions, carrots or other crops.
Various modules such as ridge rollers, skids and swath pickup offer great adaptability to local conditions. On the all-round pickup, the depth guide can be performed by support rollers instead of ridge rollers, which makes it suitable for various crops. The ridge rollers can be folded up hydraulically. This reduces downtimes, increases machine utilization and significantly improves flexibility for multi-crop farming.
Further highlights:
- The Keiler 2 Classic RK22 is now equipped with an XL bunker and articulation and therefore offers great power and efficient work in the field
- The new hydraulic tray filler in the overloading bunker ensures gentle direct loading while harvesting
- The innovative Twin Clean system offers smart separation of the first sieve conveyor into the lifter chain and the sieve conveyor. This solution is optimal for different soil conditions and can be flexibly retrofitted.
- The automatic bunker chain lubrication reduces maintenance requirements and extends the service life of the conveyor chains.
Keiler 1
The ROPA Keiler 1, a one-row trailed potato harvester with a 6 t bunker, which impresses particularly with its gentle harvesting and thorough cleaning. The model was developed specifically for farms that have the highest quality standards. The fully hydraulic drive with load-sending hydraulics enables automatic speed control of all cleaning elements, including the sieve conveyor and leaf chain. This keeps the optimal work speed constant regardless of the PTO speed; the maximum power can be achieved at just 450 rpm. It not only ensures quiet, low-vibration operation, but also reduces fuel consumption. Another highlight is the large finger comb, which provides exceptionally effective separation of clods and stones.
Fendt & ROPA: e-LS connect – digital hydraulic communication
In collaboration with Fendt, ROPA presented the new e-LS connect system at Agritechnica, which for the first time enables fully electronic communication of the hydraulic pressure via ISOBUS, without any load sensing hoses. Components such as pressure control valves, sensors and LS control lines are no longer required, which reduces potential causes of error, increases operational safety and simplifies the process of coupling and uncoupling. The e-LS connect system demonstrates its advantages in practical use, e.g. on the Keiler 2 RK22. The hydraulic functions respond more quickly, smoothly and precisely, while the energy consumption is reduced. It results in greater efficiency, improved quality of the harvested crop and increased profitability. Loss of oil and contamination are prevented as no separate load sensing line and coupling are required. Thus, ROPA and Fendt have jointly created a milestone on the path towards standardised, digital hydraulic connection in agriculture.
Advantages at a glance
- Purely electronic hydraulic communication via ISOBUS
- No LS line, i.e. no dirt, no oil leakage
- Faster, more stable and precise responses
- Reduced energy consumption = lower fuel consumption
- Less components = greater reliability
- More comfort and pleasure for the operator
Even more efficient and soil-friendly Tiger 6S with R-Soil Protect, R-Flow and combined steer
R-Soil Protect is the chassis in a class of its own
The ROPA Tiger 6S is the flagship of sugar beet harvesting technology, considered the most powerful beet harvester in the world. Its patented R-Soil Protect chassis provides maximum soil protection with the highest traction and driving comfort. The hydraulically coupled axle load distribution automatically transfers the load evenly to all wheels, thus reducing swaying movements by up to 2/3 and ensuring that the lifting unit remains precisely positioned at the correct height, even on slopes.
R-Flow is an intelligent system that manages the cleaning units and driving speed for maximum throughput
With R-Flow, ROPA introduces a new assistance system that monitors the cleaning units and automatically regulates the throughput. If an overload is imminent, the system adjusts the speed of the cleaning units and, if necessary, reduces the driving speed to maintain the throughput at the specified maximum. This helps to avoid blockages, keeps harvesting performance at an optimum level and significantly reduces the workload for the driver.
The combined steer for extreme manoeuvrability and soil protection
It's a new steering mode that combines U-turn steer and offset-steer in one smart operation. The combined mode offers the best of both steers: The maximum manoeuvrability of the U-turn steer and the soil-preserving characteristics of the offset-steer, which is usually activated when driving through the beet crop. The articulation and rear axles follow the steering movements of the front axle, thus ensuring the usual agility. When driving straight ahead, the rear end automatically assumes an offset-steer position allowing the machine to react dynamically, turn precisely in tight spaces, and simultaneously protect the soil.
This steering mode can be activated at any time via a button, and the side to which the rear end should swing out can also be selected directly via the joystick. The combined steer allows you to return quickly to the row without manual switching, especially at the headlands. This results in a significant gain in efficiency, comfort and soil protection.
Integrated joystick drive mode
The driver can choose whether to operate the machine as usually with the accelerator pedal or alternatively using the right joystick. The desired drive mode can be activated by pressing the corresponding button on the control panel. Thus, the machine can be operated even more simply and ergonomically either with the accelerator pedal or the joystick.
Development of MYROPA R-CONNECT
Interface for Agrarmonitor and ISOXML data
The customers who use Agrarmonitor software to manage, plan and invoice their vehicle fleets from different manufacturers can now transfer the telemetry data from their ROPA self-propelled machines (beet harvesters built in 2017 or later) live to Agrarmonitor via an interface. In R-Connect, the order management for beet harvesters has been expanded by an ISOXML export function for each completed harvesting order.
MYROPA
All errors saved in the machine control system can now be displayed both in the myROPA platform and on the machine terminal. This helps machine owners and service partners to further increase availability and operational reliability.
This function is available as standard on Panther 2S, Tiger 6S, Maus 6 and Keiler 2.
Maus 6 – more precise weighing and digital connection
ROPA also consistently refines the technical features of the Maus 6.
The latest weighing system has a new frame design for the truck conveyor articulated section. The support arms for the right and left weighing rollers are mounted on separate bearing units and each suspended on a separate CAN bus weighing cell. Load on the conveyor generated by the weight of the beets is introduced separately via 2 × 3 support rollers.
The new mechanism is resistant to twisting of the truck conveyor. With simplified wiring, the measured data can be transferred directly to ROPA's own electronics and software, eliminating the need for an additional computer module for weight calculation, unlike in the past. It reduces complexity and fault probability.
An inclination sensor compensates for different loading angles of the truck conveyor, while diagonally mounted support rollers are self-cleaning.
In the truck conveyor frame, there are now four rollers instead of two, for smoother feeding of the turnips into the weighing section.
For each loading or weighing operation, the machine settings and all scale parameters, such as calibration value, zero point adjustment, conveyor inclination and speed, are automatically transferred to the ROPA R-Connect platform, assigned to the loading position. The data for each load is digitally documented and can be analysed and exported for greater transparency in logistics and accurate invoicing.
If the Maus 6 is equipped with an R-Connect monitor, an image of the beet pile in front of the cab is also saved for each load. This gives the organisation and operation management even better insight into the conditions during loading without them being directly on site.
A new interface of the Maus 6 allows to transmit the weight of each load determined by the Maus scale via WLAN to the logistics computer of the sugar factory installed in the cabin. The logistics computer can then compare it with the actual payload of the vehicle being loaded. A comparison report between the weight recorded by the Maus scale and the sugar factory scale can also be generated automatically without any paperwork for the Maus operator.
ROPA FAN SHOP - CURRENT COLLECTION
The special Keiler model with the slogan “Nothing is hotter than the Keiler” proved to be a real crowd-pleaser at Agritechnica and was completely sold out during the trade fair.
So that we can offer all ROPA fans the opportunity to obtain this hot collector's item, a few were held back for the ROPA Media Contest. You can participate until December 1, 2025 and win one of the last models.
ROPA TEAM AGRITECHNICA 2025
The ROPA team at the ROPA booth with its unique booth design. It represents a traditional, down to earth family company with our roots in Bavaria, an international outlook and great powers of innovation. It's a tradition at ROPA to design, plan and construct the exhibition booth in-house. Design and construction of the stand house by Carolin Paintner. We place great value on continuing the company's unique marketing and booth design with log cabin and beer garden.
Warm thanks to everyone involved and to our visitors, who made Agritechnica 2025 an unforgettable event!
SPECIAL THANKS TO OUR GIRLS
This year, our girls and all ROPA employees provided an outstanding service, good cheer and relaxed atmosphere at the ROPA trade fair location.Thank you very much!
IMPRESSIONS FROM AGRITECHNICA 2025
