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Opener Assemblies

20% more wear life than OEM / Ingersoll / Bellota. The Forges de Niaux takes it to the next level with a unique steel and special heat-treat process. Same dimensions as OEM. Uses Peer double-row 205 bearings, whereas OEM and other aftermarket are double-row 204 bearings (smaller diameter). They also use 5/16" rivets instead of 1/4".
$55.08

Forges de Niaux’s superior blades for JD MaxEmerge PLUS (Pre-XP) and Kinze. Same dimensions as OEM, but with the greater durability of the Forges de Niaux!  Harder on the periphery, for 20% greater wear life. Peer 204 bearing and ¼" rivet. Stays sharper longer.

$47.92

Forges de Niaux’s for John Deere XP & ME5. 15" x 3.5mm FDN Blade XP Gothic Arch 205 Bearing, Low Profile Cast Housing, Xtreme Duty to Fit John Deere (AA65248XDLPBA). Harder on the periphery, for 20% greater wear life & stays sharp longer. Uses a 205 single-row bearing in a seriously heavy-duty cast hub with larger rivets to give you extra clearance with gauge wheel rims. Limited inventory.

$64.65
LEGACY P/N WAS 02-100002 - Disc-Opener, 15.8"x3.5MM Forges do Niaux, w/ steel dust cap, (Fendt Momentum/ White/Massey 9000)
$71.58

All About Opener Assemblies

You asked. We deliver! Forges de Niaux offers a longer life, stay-sharp blade with a hub, bearing and rivets that hold up! 30 – 40% more wear life than competing openers. The Forges de Niaux takes it to the next level with a unique steel and special heat-treat process. Same dimensions as OEM. Uses Peer double-row larger 205 bearings, whereas OEM and other aftermarket are double-row 204 bearings (smaller diameter). They also use 5/16″ rivets instead of 1/4″. We can source FDN opener blades for most models and brands of planters including Pre-XP, Kinze, White and Case. Just call and ask!

The stamped hub is finish-machined—unlike any other—creating an improved fit over all other brands. FDN narrowed the tolerances to 50 thousandths axial runout and 1/16″ radial runout, whereas industry tolerances are 80 thousandths axial runout and 1/8″ radial runout. The bearing is never loose in the hub, nor too tight (which shortens bearing life). The order of the finish machining (rivet holes after the centerline is established), along with the powder coat painted blade, ensures everything is within tolerances and the bearing doesn’t fail prematurely from misalignment.

Tough, Proven

The Niaux 205 and 204 blades stay sharp longer. But the additional wear life on the Niaux 200s doesn’t impair their toughness, because the extra hardening occurs only on the outermost inch or so (also, they use a different steel to handle the additional hardening—it’s not the usual 15B30 steel that all the other blades are made from).

Better Bearing

Uses Peer double-row 205 bearings, whereas OEM and other aftermarket are double-row 204 bearings (smaller diameter). The stamped hub is finish-machined—unlike any other—creating an improved fit over all other brands.

Sharper, Deeper Bevel

Forges de Niaux blades have a deeper bevel of 3/4″ vs others that are only 5/8″. The sharpest, longest-lasting blades on the market.

“The Forges de Niaux (FDN) blades are by far the best drill blades on the market. I ran FDN, Ingersoll and Edmondson blades side-by-side and the FDN wear better and longer than the others. I can get at least 1 year to 1.5 years out of the Ingersoll and Edmonson blades, but not a full two years. With the FDN, I can get a full 2 years at least. It takes too much time to tear down mid-season to replace blades, so the FDN blades lasting 2 years is great. I now have the entire drill with the FDN blade.”
ND Farmer
(chose to be anonymous due to salvaging JD relationship), Exapta customer since 2018 (1890 JD drill)
“I tried the JD and the Ingersoll opener blades. Our JD 1895 drill (42ft on 10”) runs across 5000 acres on average a year. I could never get entirely through the year with JD or Ingersoll blades, but with the Forges de Niaux blades I can get another 500-1000 acres. I am very happy with these. We have such hard rocks and soil that we run across, so it’s really hard to keep disc up-to-par. With the Forges de Niaux openers we can actually make it through the season and then some.”
Corey Schumacher
Napoleon, ND , Exapta customer since 2018 (Forges de Niaux blades on JD 1895 drill)
“I planted 4500 acres this year without a single problem. Very pleased with them. This is a great product.”
Alan Jung
Ipswich, SD, Exapta customer since 2019 (JD 16 row XP planter)
“The FDN blades I put on last fall have worn really good. I’ve put on 8,000 acres and they look great, yet. Granted last year soils were wetter conditions, but I can’t believe the limited wear. At this rate, I wonder if we’ll get another 12,000 acres.”
Alan Patterson
Anthony, KS, Exapta customer since 2013 (42ft JD drill – 68 openers)

Chris Horton

Chris Horton brings 25 years of management with him. He grew up on his grandparents farm in Reno County Kansas where they mainly grew wheat and cattle feed. He worked on feed lots as a pen rider and cow-calf operations before moving to Southern California where Chris started a new career in the transportation and transport logistics, eventually managing the western region for a large commercial vehicle leasing company. Chris moved home to Kansas, to manage a local Farmers Coop and then eventually the service dept for a tractor dealership. The opportunity to join the Exapta team came up, and he knew he wanted to be a part of this team.

Bob Pagel

Sales & Service Representative

Prior to joining Exapta, Bob Pagel was an Agricultural Territory Sales Manager for Ritchie Brothers, serving parts of MN, WI and IA. He continues to support his family farm in SE Minnesota.

Jon Zeller

Current Product Engineer

Jonathan Zeller joined Exapta excited to return to working with no-till planting equipment. He supported research of no-till planting and other ag related projects for 7 years with Kansas State University’s Agricultural Engineering Department after getting his engineering degree. He later worked 3 years for Landoll Company, LLC. where he gained experience in a design engineering role. Jonathan grew up on a small family farm in NE Kansas working with row crops, hay and cattle. Jonathan enjoys solving engineering problems and improving or creating products to be robust and easy to install and service.