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Select a Fiat Agri self-propelled forage harvester model:
Number of models: 8
- Fiatagri 7720
- Fiatagri 7725
- Fiatagri 7820
- Fiatagri 7835
- Fiatagri 7840
- Fiatagri 9630
- Fiatagri 9640
- Fiatagri 9645
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History of Fiat Agri forage harvesters
The history of Fiatagri self-propelled forage harvesters is closely linked to the American manufacturer Hesston. In 1977, Fiat acquired a controlling interest in the well-known forage equipment manufacturer, giving the Italian group access to modern forage harvesters, balers and other machines used for forage production. In the years that followed, a number of Hesston designs began to be marketed in Europe in Fiatagri’s distinctive red-brown livery.
Some of the first self-propelled forage harvesters associated with Fiatagri were machines developed from Hesston designs. The 7700 series became particularly important. The original Fiatagri-Hesston 7700 was powered by a Fiat engine producing around 200 hp, while later models offered significantly more power and higher harvesting capacity.
Among the best-known machines were the Fiatagri-Hesston 7715, 7720 and 7725. All three were built at the factory in Coëx, France, and were fitted with 13.8-litre, six-cylinder Fiat engines. The 7715 produced around 240 hp, the 7720 around 300 hp and the 7725 around 345 hp. The machines featured hydrostatic drive, four feed rollers and a 660 mm-wide cutterhead.
Another particularly interesting design was the Fiatagri-Hesston 7730. The machine featured four equal-sized wheels, articulated steering and could be equipped with a dedicated tank for collecting chopped crop. This meant that a tractor and trailer did not have to travel continuously alongside the forage harvester, which was especially useful when working in wet or waterlogged fields. The 7730 was powered by a six-cylinder Cummins engine producing around 350 hp.
A major change came in 1991, when Fiat acquired Ford-New Holland. Around the same time, Fiat ended its ownership involvement with Hesston, which became part of the AGCO Group. From then on, Fiatagri self-propelled forage harvesters were based primarily on New Holland designs.
One result of this change was the Fiatagri 7800 series, comprising the 7820, 7825, 7835 and 7840. These machines were counterparts to the New Holland 1905, 2205, 2305 and 2405 forage harvesters and were built in Antwerp, Belgium. All were powered by 11.6-litre, six-cylinder DAF engines. The respective models produced approximately 300, 340, 360 and 400 hp.
The final generation of self-propelled forage harvesters to carry the Fiatagri name was the 96 series. The 9630, 9640 and 9645 appeared in the mid-1990s and were based directly on New Holland’s new FX family. The Fiatagri 9630 was the equivalent of the FX 300, the 9640 corresponded to the FX 375, while the flagship 9645 was based on the FX 450.
The 96 series was produced in Antwerp between 1995 and 1997. The machines were powered by 13.8-litre, six-cylinder Fiat-Iveco engines. The 9630 produced around 300 hp, the 9640 around 375 hp and the 9645 around 450 hp. By this stage, they were modern forage harvesters equipped with features such as a metal detector, an automatic knife-sharpening system and a substantially larger crop-flow channel.
By the late 1990s, Fiat was gradually phasing out the Fiatagri brand as its agricultural operations were integrated with New Holland. In 1999, the Fiatagri name disappeared from new machines, and development of self-propelled forage harvesters continued exclusively under the New Holland brand. This brought to an end the story of Fiatagri’s red-brown forage harvesters, which had begun with Hesston-based machines and concluded with models that were direct predecessors of later generations of New Holland FX forage harvesters.