The Largest Machine Ever from Pella, IA
Aug 31, 2012
It weighs in a 400,000 lb. When it’s fully assembled, it’s 24’ high. The price tag is in the neighborhood of $6.5 million. And the T1655 Terrain Leveler (which is used in surface mining applications) is the largest piece of machinery ever made by Vermeer Corporation, which you most commonly know as the hay and forage equipment company. What’s known as the Vermeer Mile, the expansive stretch of manufacturing facilities in Pella, Iowa, is mostly dedicated to producing machinery for industrial, mining and environmental industries. The company stays true to its roots, and is commonly credited with inventing the round hay baler, with a lineup of hay balers, rakes, tedders, bale processors and other haying equipment.
However, it’s hard to not be intrigued by the giant muscle provided by the T1655. Its grinding drum will grind a 15’ path of solid rock at a rate of 5 to 8 feet per minute, and it leaves behind pieces that are no more than 8” in diameter.
The first T1655 machine was shipped to Perth, Australia in April 2011. When dissembled for transport, the machine filled 6 shipping containers.
