With 470,000 visitors from 149 countries and 2,813 exhibitors, Agritechnica, the world's leading trade fair for agricultural technology, came to a successful conclusion on November 18. For a whole week, it was devoted to the challenges and future questions of the industry.

ROPA, a traditional, down-to-earth family company with Bavarian roots, an international outlook and great powers of innovation, presented itself in a modern ambiance at the trade fair. The unique booth concept with cozy beer garden put the focus on personal conversations and sociability.

At ROPA, the focus is on technical innovation. ROPA is presenting the company's premium products and the latest innovations in the field of self-propelled sugar beet harvesters, loaders and the Keiler potato harvester and potato planting technology for pre-sprouted potatoes at a large booth covering a total area of 865 m².

A premium potato harvester

On the occasion of Agritechnica ROPA presents the latest generation of its two-row trailed potato harvesters. The ROPA Keiler 2 RK22 introduces a new era in the potato harvesting technology. A blend of innovative technical solutions and aesthetically pleasing design features together with an advanced hydraulic and operating concept create this top-quality machine of the premium class. The new Keiler 2 embodies sustainable agriculture based on innovation, digitalization and networking. 
The striking image of the new ROPA Keiler 2 represents digitalization and Agriculture 4.0. The light blue line symbolizes the connection of the Keiler to the R-Connect telematics system.
For its general concept and technological leadership, the potato harvester was recently presented with the German Innovation Award 2023. 

The ROPA Keiler 1 is a one-row trailed potato harvester with a 6 t bunker. The Keiler 1 has been specifically designed for customers with increased demands for the highest quality (table potatoes) and, at the same time, thorough and extremely gentle cleaning and excellent haulm separation. The load-sensing hydraulics enable fully hydraulic adjustment of the speed of all cleaning components, particularly sieving conveyors and leaf chain. The complete harvester is very low-vibration and low-noise thanks to its fully hydraulic drive. All cleaning devices maintain their optimal speed regardless of PTO speed. The fuel consumption is reduced with the reduced tractor engine speed. The controls and the touch terminal for the Keiler 1 can be ergonomically integrated into any tractor cabin. ROPA Keilers are compatible with every ISOBUS terminal.

an advantage when cultivating early potatoes

In cooperation with farmsupport, ROPA has created a planter for pre-sprouted potatoes. Gecko, the new hand planter from ROPA, combines gentle planting of pre-sprouted potatoes without breaking the sprouts with high effectiveness and good working conditions for the personnel. 

Two operators work on each planting row. They put the sprouted potatoes lengthwise on the gentle and protective belts, which convey potatoes without any further stress and grinding contact until the tubers are deposited precisely in the soil. This technology allows optimal planting of potatoes with up to 12 cm length at a driving speed of 3.5 km/h. The distance between plants can be variably adjusted in 16 stages.

Patented chassis with 10% slope compensation

With up to 796 PS/585 kW, the ROPA Tiger 6S is the most powerful sugar beet harvester in the world. The cabin with panoramic view feels spacious and offers the driver very comfortable working environment. This high-tech machine is the epitome of innovation, digitalization, and networking in agricultural technology. As compared to the Tiger 6, the Tiger 6S has two 12.1" operating terminals with high pixel density and still-sharper resolution. Operation at the terminal with interactive buttons is even more intuitive and uses the same logic as tablets and smartphones. In addition to the machine functions, the camera images can also be displayed on the terminal on the left A-pillar. The Tiger 6S has digital cameras as standard. With the new ergonomic control element on the left armrest, the discharge conveyor and bunker emptying can be controlled more easily. On the right multi-function joystick, five function keys are available for programming, for example for the large-area windshield wiper. The standard integrated telematics module is the basis for fast assistance and diagnostics if service is required on any continent.

More spacious cutting-edge driver's cabin

The ROPA Maus 6 is a premium model from the leader in the sugar beet loading and harvesting technology, which manifests a successful combination of the field-proven technical solutions and modern design. Perfected in capacity and efficiency concept with 10.2 m wide pickup system combines practice-oriented developments with the most recent technical innovations from ROPA. The extremely economical Mercedes Benz OM 936 LA engine of 260 kW / 354 hp with 7.7 l volume capacity, 2-stage turbocharging, 1,450 Nm max. torque at 1,200 - 1,600 rpm is integrated in the most efficient drive concept. It is automatically driven at reduced engine rpm during loading, while at the same time preserving enough power for extreme conditions. The standard integrated telematics module forms the basis for forward-looking Service 4.0, especially predictive analytics, as well as quick help and diagnosis in case service is required - on all continents. For machines with integrated weighing equipment, the individual loads can be listed and analyzed in the R-Connect.

The newly designed panoramic cabin gives a generous feeling of space and can be raised to 5.10 m. Compared to the Maus 5, the cabin of the Maus 6 is 16 cm wider, 40 cm longer and, with an enormous total volume of 4,400 l, offers 1,125 l or 35 percent more space and room. The cabin of the Maus 6 is thus the largest cleaner-loader cabin on the market. It now offers more room also for a foldable passenger seat [1], e.g. for a supervisor or for coordination in case of a driver change.

Status and data of all machines at a glance

R-Connect is the ROPA telematics solution for intelligently networked farm and logistics management with live assistance, documentation, diagnostics and Service 4.0.
The telematics module thus forms the basis for proactive Service 4.0, particularly for predictive analytics and fast assistance and diagnostics on any continent. When service is required, if desired the service technician can switch directly to the terminal and the machine control and assist the driver, e.g. with problem-solving.The R-Connect dashboard shows the current status of the machines and the daily output. The location, road travel along and current loading progress of the machines can be seen in the individual view along with detailed data. For machines with weighing device (Maus 6), weighed loads are transmitted individually, including the associated machine data, to the R-Connect portal, where they can be viewed, evaluated and downloaded by the machine schedulers.