Industry Watch: Business

Recent activities and events going on in the business of fabricating and metalworking.

OKUMA AMERICA CORPORATION (CHARLOTTE, NC) . . .
and their distributors hosted over 200 manufacturing professionals for three days at the Okuma and Partners in THINC facilities in Charlotte in December. With 24 machines on display and 29 Partner representatives on hand to address questions, attendees had the opportunity to truly explore potential manufacturing solutions and discover ways to improve their productivity.

Tim Thornton, a controls product specialist, provided information about Intelligent Technologies and helped attendees understand how the machine tool control monitors and analyzes information from machine performance to improve productivity by reducing chatter, managing thermal deformation and helping to prevent catastrophic machine crashes.

Larry Schwartz, the chief strategy officer, challenged manufacturers to question the status quo and utilize existing technology to reduce costs, improve quality and increase productivity. He shared insights from his 43 years of experience in manufacturing to illustrate how easy it is to become complacent by doing what we’ve always done. His viewpoints and insights inspired event participants to seek out the Partners and explore ways to improve their processes.

Partner equipment on display included the Iscar Matrix tool management system, MacMan-Net from dataZen, TMAC auto-compensation software from Caron Engineering, workholding solutions from Busche, Kitagawa, Koma Precision, SMW Autoblock, Schunk, Riten and WTO, automation equipment from KUKA Robotics, LNS, Edge Technologies, Gosiger Automation and IEMCA, tooling from Sandvik, Command Tool and Kennametal, gauging from Renishaw, Zoller, Marposs, Blum, Edmunds Gages and Hexagon Metrology, coolant solutions from MP Systems, Chipblaster and Qualichem, CAD/CAM systems from Esprit and Mastercam.

As a showcase for Partners in THINC, the event provided an education for many attendees as they discovered the depth and breadth of companies represented. One participant commented, “I wasn’t aware of all of the different companies operating as one in the same building. The fact that you can bring together so many suppliers that are competitors and have them working together is a great resource for the end customers such as myself.”

Featured equipment included an MCR-A5C double-column machining center, Multus B-750 horizontal lathe, a GA-26T grinder and the new AMPS flexible manufacturing system which is connected to three MB-4000H horizontal machining centers. Applications engineers and product specialists were on hand to personally discuss manufacturing problems and work with customers and partners to solve specific operating and processing issues.

In addition to the equipment and Partners, attendees were treated to a full tour of the Okuma facility, including stops at the service areas: spindle and board repair and the call center. Technicians explained how the spindle exchange and board repair programs are designed to keep manufacturers operating, even when their spindles or boards go down. If a spindle or board fails, the company overnights a replacement even before the customer returns the failed unit, getting the customer up and operational as soon as possible. www.okuma.com, www.partnersinthinc.com

AMERICAN WERA, INC. (ANN ARBOR, MI) . . .
reached an agreement with MAE Götzen GmbH (Erkrath, Germany) for representation of the MAE line of straightening presses, wheel set presses and hydraulic presses in the North American market, comprising Canada, Mexico and the U.S. Executing the agreement were American Wera president Walter Friedrich and MAE managing director Ruediger Goetzen.

For MAE, American Wera will supply equipment, application engineering, onsite commissioning, training and all after-sale service operating from its headquarters in Ann Arbor and sales and service center in Queretaro, Mexico. The company’s existing network of sales representatives will handle this new line, under the direction of the product manager for MAE, Joseph Kemple.

MAE manufactures a broad line of manual, semi-automatic and automatic straightening equipment, with press forces to 25,000 kN that are used in the automotive, heavy equipment, steel, rail and OCTG markets on round, profiled and complex shaped workpieces, in lengths up to 100 ft. Its machines possess the high accuracy and repeatability necessary for extremely tight straightening tolerances on such large workpieces. Depending upon the workpiece, the type of machine may be electromechanical or hydraulic. All hydraulic presses are equipped with the patented BiPAC hydraulic control systems for large energy savings.

Special application presses in C-frame, as well as four-column styles with press forces to 10,000 kN, are also manufactured. These presses are typically used in forming and calibration. Scott Knoy, the president of sales for American Wera, stated, “We believe this line will complement our existing equipment, making us a greater value adder to current customers, plus it will open new markets where our expertise can be helpful to a variety of end product manufacturers.” www.american-wera.com

INTELLIGRATED® (MASON, OH) . . .
is adding 200 new jobs and doubling the size of its Mason headquarters, according to executives who made the announcement when Ohio governor John R. Kasich visited the company headquarters at the end of the year. The expansion is made possible by an incentive package from the State of Ohio and City of Mason, valued at approximately $15 million. Final approval of those packages is pending and the expansion plans are contingent upon their approval. The incentives are likely to include an extension of the company’s existing Job Creation Tax Credit, state and local loans, property tax abatement and a State of Ohio Grant.

Intelligrated will add 200 new technical and engineering positions in research and development, system design and customer service and will also construct a 60,000 sq ft to 90,000 sq ft facility in Mason to support its plans for strategic growth in the material handling industry. Construction plans are still being finalized.

“We appreciate the generous efforts of Ohio and the City of Mason to support our growth and create new jobs for Ohioans,” said Chris Cole, the company CEO. “We aim to be the most technologically-advanced player in the material handling industry. To achieve this, we need an operation that houses the best mechanical, software and systems talent in the world. These incentives will directly support these efforts, help us create and keep more high-quality technical jobs in Ohio, and advance Mason as a strategic hub of our nation’s logistics network.”

The company designs, manufactures and installs complete material handling automation solutions, including conveyor systems, sortation systems, palletizers and robotics, order fulfillment systems, warehouse control software and advanced machine controls for the warehousing, distribution, consumer product manufacturing, and post and parcel markets. Key customers in Ohio include Anheuser-Busch, Big Lots, Cardinal Health, Georgia Pacific, Kraft, Luxottica, McGraw Hill, PepsiCo, Procter & Gamble, Restoration Hardware, Staples, The Limited and the United States Postal Service. www.intelligrated.com

NORCA ENGINEERING PRODUCTS (NEP; RALEIGH, NC) . . .
has made substantial investments to its mainland China manufacturing operation to increase manufacturing capacity by 40 percent, enhance sub-assembly capability and expand long-term supply and warehousing programs. To further support its growing customer base in the railroad equipment industry, this leading manufacturer and of high-quality steel and iron castings, forgings and assemblies for safety-critical and high-performance applications has simplified its supply chain, shortened lead times and lowered costs.