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Select a Mengele self-propelled forage harvester model:
Number of models: 10
- Mengele Mammut 5800
- Mengele Mammut 6300
- Mengele Mammut 6800
- Mengele Mammut 7300
- Mengele Mammut 7800
- Mengele SF 5200
- Mengele SF 5600
- Mengele SF 6000
- Mengele SF 6600
- Mengele SF 7000
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History of Mengele forage harvesters
The history of Mengele self-propelled forage harvesters began in the 1970s, although the German manufacturer had been producing forage harvesting equipment for many years before that. By the late 1960s, its range already included tractor-mounted maize forage harvesters and trailed machines, while the growing importance of maize silage encouraged the company to begin developing self-propelled models.
By the mid-1970s, the first self-propelled models, the SF 300 and SF 400, had appeared. They incorporated components from earlier tractor-operated forage harvesters and were powered by six-cylinder, air-cooled Deutz engines producing around 170-185 hp. These machines marked the beginning of a product family that would become one of Mengele’s most important ranges over the next two decades.
In the late 1970s, the considerably more advanced SF 3000 and SF 4000 were introduced. They featured a drum-type chopping system and a distinctive layout with large driven wheels at the rear. The SF 3000 was powered by an air-cooled Deutz V8 producing more than 200 hp, while the larger SF 4000 used a ten-cylinder Deutz engine delivering around 270 hp. These designs also formed the basis of forage harvesters that were marketed for a time under the Deutz-Fahr brand.
Over the following years, the SF range was steadily expanded. Models included the SF 5000, 5200, 5500, 5600, 6000, 6500, 6600 and 7000. A particularly significant change came in 1989, when Mengele introduced a new generation with a more conventional layout, featuring front drive wheels and a transversely mounted engine at the rear of the machine.
Smaller models in this generation, such as the SF 5200 and SF 5600, were powered by six-cylinder Volvo engines producing around 225 and 250 hp respectively. The larger machines received powerful Mercedes-Benz V8 engines. The SF 6000 produced around 330 hp, the SF 6600 approximately 354 hp, while the flagship SF 7000 delivered around 435 hp. By the early 1990s, Mengele therefore offered one of the broadest ranges of self-propelled forage harvesters on the European market.
Despite its innovative machines, the company ran into financial difficulties and was acquired by the Bidell Group in 1991. The new owner chose to continue developing the forage harvester range, resulting in the introduction of the Mammut series in 1994. The new machines featured more modern, rounded styling and became some of the most distinctive forage harvesters of the 1990s.
The range included models such as the Mammut 5800, 6300, 6800, 7300 and 7800. The smaller versions used Volvo engines, while the more powerful models were fitted with Mercedes-Benz units. The popular Mammut 6800 produced around 354 hp, while the flagship Mammut 7800 delivered approximately 480 hp and could operate with maize headers of up to eight rows.
For a short time, Mammut forage harvesters were also marketed under the Massey Ferguson brand as the 5100 series. This gave Mengele access to a much larger dealer network and was intended to broaden the market for its machines.
The company’s final major project was a powerful forage harvester developed jointly with the Fortschritt plant in Neustadt and later known as the Mammut 8790. The first pre-production machines were already working in 1996 in Mengele’s blue livery. The design was powered by a V8 engine producing more than 540 hp, making it one of the most powerful self-propelled forage harvesters in the world at the time.
By the late 1990s, however, the Bidell Group was facing serious financial problems. The forage harvester division and the Neustadt plant were taken over by Case Corporation. Mammut designs then began appearing on the market in Case IH’s red livery, with Mengele machines forming the basis of the Case IH Mammut 6900, 7400, 7800 and 8790.
Following the merger of Case and New Holland in 1999, the newly formed CNH group decided to end further development of the Mengele-derived designs and concentrate forage harvester production around New Holland machines. This brought the history of Mengele self-propelled forage harvesters to an end. The Mengele brand continued for several more years with products such as trailers, manure spreaders and forage wagons, but the distinctive Mammut machines remained the final generation of forage harvesters to carry the German manufacturer’s name.