THIS WEEK’S HIGHLIGHTS

Ward CNC names head of strategic sales

Following recent enhancements to the company’s sales,after-sales andservice teams, TW Ward CNC Machinery (Ward CNC) is appointing Phil Hopkins as itshead of strategic sales.
Hopkins started his career as a CNC machinist in the aerospace industry and developed into a production project engineer before moving into sales, where he has enjoyed a highly successful career. His main focus at Ward CNC will be selling and promoting the company’s Soraluce portfolio of machine tools and value-added services into existing markets, as well as identifying potential new applications and customers.
For further information www.wardcnc.com

Ward CNC welcomes partner innovations

UK machine tool supplier Ward CNC is supporting principal partners such as Soraluce (hall 13, stand B30) and Takisawa (hall 17, stand B22) at EMO. As an expert in milling and boring, Soraluce is bringingits automated solutions to the table, with a particular focus on the company’snew ‘Performance Line’ and a new generation of heads. Turning machine specialist Takisawa Japan is using the show to release its new ‘green machinery’, while new models from Takisawa Taiwan include the latestNX-2000economic two-spindle turning centre.

Ward CNC is also announcing new partnerships with Gurutzpe (hall 13, stand B25), a Spanish company that designs and manufactures CNC multi-tasking lathes, and Ronchini Massimo (hall 12, stand A12), an Italian company that produces high-end CNC milling routers for the metalworking industry. “The added value that these companies bring will complement our existing array of machine tools to provide even more choice for customers,” states Ward CNC managing director Simon Whitworth.
For further information www.wardcnc.com

Dugard set for busy EMO exhibition

Engineers from UK machine tool supplier Dugard are on hand at EMO to welcome UK customers to the stands of technology partners that includeHanwha (hall 17, stand B14), Ibarmia (hall 13, stand B44),SMEC (hall 16, stand A10) and Kitamura (hall 14, stand D36). Hanwha is showcasingits new XV20/26 series of sliding-head turning centres that now incorporate a rigid double-hinged B-axis unit and improved Y2 back-tooling unit.Ibarmia is shining the spotlight on it re-vamped T-Series of five-axis universal machining centres, while SMEC is presenting its latest line of machining centres, turning centres and multi-axis machines.
For further information www.dugard.com

SW debuts two new machines

Schwäbische Werkzeugmaschinen GmbH (SW) is presenting two new products from stand C04 in hall 12: the two-spindle BA W03-22 CNC machining centre and the BA profile, a new machine concept for machining profiles. Furthermore, SW is showing the BA space3, currently its largest model for machining battery housings, and offering insights into current trends in manufacturing such as friction stir welding and giga-casting.

‘Innovate Manufacturing’ is the theme of this year’s EMO, which also captures the essence of SW’s ‘Smart Manufacturing Solutions’ corporate claim. “For us, innovative and smart manufacturing are two sides of the same coin,” says André Harter, head of marketing and business development at SW. “Both allow us to respond individually and efficiently to our customers’ needs.”
For further information www.sw-machines.com

Customer service key to XYZ success

Aftersales service is an absolute priority at XYZ Machine Tools. Managing director Nigel Atherton says: “We have around 25,000 machines in use in the UK and our primary objective is to keep them all cutting metal and earning money for our customers.”The company has 17 service engineers located around the country with the 150 most commonly required spare parts in their vans. At XYZ’s Devon headquarters there are a further eight people dedicated to service.

XYZ keeps around 90% of spare parts on the shelf ready for next-day delivery. The company resolves more than half of service calls over the phone, rising to 90% for programming and software queries. XYZ schedules any required visits so that the nearest service engineer can arrive the next day to coincide with the delivery of any spares not stocked in the van.Live tracking of the vans’ locations ensures XYZ normally resolves warranty breakdowns within 48 hours or less and non-warranty breakdowns within 72 hours maximum.
For further information www.xyzmachinetools.com