WAYNE, Neb. — CLAAS of America is pleased to announce that the newly rebuilt Nebraska Harvest Center is open for business, nearly two years after an F4 tornado tore through Wayne, Neb. After the tornado struck, community members rallied together to rebuild the city, and among them was CLAAS of America.

"Its been a long time coming," said John Buse, executive vice president retail, CLAAS of America. The twister hit in October 2013, forcing Nebraska Harvest Center to react quickly on behalf of their customers. Immediately after the storm, CLAAS leapt into action to ensure that customers had access to the support needed, and they diligently worked toward a long-term solution.

"Within days, we moved our service and parts operation to a farm just outside of town to support our growers who were still in the field," said Buse. After harvest, the CLAAS dealership moved to a temporary building adjacent to their location while work began to rebuild the property that had been destroyed.

"We not only re-built, we expanded," noted Paul Westbrook, complex manager for the Seward and Wayne locations of Nebraska Harvest Center. "The new dealership has an additional 4,800 square feet of shop space, a better space for spare parts, and a conference room above our offices.

"With our new dealership in Wayne, we have the structure in place to serve our current customers as well as those who are just now getting to know our dealership and the excellent CLAAS equipment we support."

Even though the tornado resulted in extensive damage, CLAAS combined its available resources and drive to rebuild and support the community and quickly find a solution to ensure that the Nebraska Harvest Center stayed in Wayne.

"We're very proud to be a part of rebuilding the community," said Buse. "Moving into our new, larger facility will allow us to continue to grow our business and provide the after-sales support our customers in this area deserve. We are happy to have rebuilt our facility in the great community of Wayne."

Nebraska Harvest Center carries all CLAAS equipment lines, including LEXION combines, JAGUAR forage harvesters, XERION tractors and CLAAS balers and hay tools. LEXION combines, which are built in Omaha, were originally introduced in the North American market under the Caterpillar name. The distinctive yellow and black combines still carry the CAT color, but are now being marketed with the CLAAS badge on the side.

CLAAS is the fourth largest agricultural equipment manufacturer in the world with facilities spread across the globe, from India to their state of-the-art LEXION combine assembly plant in Omaha. Headquartered in Harsewinkel, Germany, the 102-year-old, family-owned company offers a complete line of harvesting equipment.