Industry Watch: Business

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

FABRICO, INC. (OXFORD, MA) . . .
acquired Johnson Tool & Manufacturing, Inc. (Charlton, MA), which specializes in the short-to-medium run manufacture of high-tolerance components, assemblies, tools, and gages. The acquisition adds precision machining, prototyping, wire EDM, grinding, and CNC milling and turning to Fabrico’s contract metal manufacturing capabilities.

“I am thrilled to add Johnson to our team. They have built a reputation as a first rate machine shop doing high quality work for marquee customers,” said Patrick Mullane, the president and CEO of Fabrico. Ray Johnson, the owner and president of Johnson, added, “We believe that the expertise we have developed in precision machining and the culture we have nurtured fits perfectly with Fabrico’s culture and goals.”

The addition of Johnson’s employees and capabilities will enable Fabrico to significantly shorten lead times to its global customer base by allowing it to control more of the processes it uses to manufacture quality parts with short lead times. “This acquisition will extend and increase our capabilities and bring us closer to providing customers with a truly one-stop-shop solution for complex machined and fabricated assemblies,” noted Mullane. Johnson personnel and equipment will remain at their location in Charlton and the facility will be led by the owner’s son, Ray.

Founded in 1985, Fabrico is a contract manufacturer and engineering services provider that supplies complex components to the land-based gas turbine, semiconductor, steam turbine, and aviation markets. Known for its use of specialty alloys, including Hastelloy and Inconel, Fabrico brings a level of precision, quality assurance, and engineering service that is unique in the manufacturing world. www.fabricomfg.com

ABSOLUTE MACHINE TOOLS, INC./ACCUTEX EDM
(MASON, OH) . . .
On the sunny, blustery morning of October 25 Absolute Machine Tools and AccuteX EDM officially opened the doors of its new 44,000 sq ft Technical Center in Mason with a ribbon cutting ceremony. About 200 well-wishers comprised of customers, employees, machine tool partners, distributors, suppliers, and city, state, and federal officials, witnessed the jubilant event.

“I am grateful and thankful to be standing here today,” smiled Steve Ortner. “When this company started with two people in one-half of a two-car garage in Elyria, OH in 1988 – and one of them was me – I never dreamed I’d be standing here today in front of this magnificent facility. While I would like to take credit for all of this, I did the easy part . . . I just wrote the checks. A company is only as good as its people. I am blessed to have a wonderful group of over 40 of the hardest-working, most dedicated people on the planet. Without them, we wouldn’t be here today.”

Ortner also thanked the city of Mason, the company’s international partners AccuteX Technologies, Tongtai Machine and Tool Co., Ltd., Johnford Roundtop Machinery Industries Co., Ltd., and You Ji Machine and Industrial Co., Ltd. Several representatives from those companies travelled from Taiwan to participate in the grand opening.

The event also included remarks by Don Prince, the mayor of Mason who formally welcomed the companies and their employees to the city. Courtney Ortner read a proclamation delivered by Ohio governor John R. Kasich and lieutenant governor Mary Taylor. She also read a welcoming letter from state senator Shannon Jones. Congresswoman Jean Schmidt, representing the 2nd District of Ohio, also prepared a certificate for the companies, which was presented by Gertrude Whitaker, the district director. A festive Oktoberfest and Open House followed the ceremony. absolutemachine.com

BYSTRONIC INC. (ELGIN, IL) . . .
the Swiss supplier of complete solutions for the processing of sheet metal marks its 25th anniversary this year. In light of this, the company celebrated the milestone over a three-week period in September at its world headquarters in Niederönz, Switzerland. Approximately 1,000 guests from nearly 50 countries participated in this special celebration, which comprised a total of eleven individual events.

Bystronic is a pioneer in the development and manufacture of laser cutting systems and is one of the leading suppliers of complete solutions for sheet metal processing, with a product offering that includes lasers, press brakes, waterjets, software, and automation. The company was founded in 1986 in the Swiss town of Niederönz, with an original workforce of around 30 people. Over the years the company underwent successive expansions to reach its current status, with a total staff of 1400 employees worldwide. Today, it operates three main manufacturing facilities and over 25 sales and service companies around the world.

Bystronic Inc. has offered customers single source service expertise for over 30 years, providing innovative laser cutting, waterjet cutting and press brake systems, system software and comprehensive customer training and support. The company’s North American headquarters is located in Elgin, with offices located in Toronto, Canada and Guadalajara, Mexico. Bystronic is a member of the Conzzeta Group (Zurich, Switzerland), a Swiss industrial holding company with activities in the fields of machinery and engineering, automation systems, foam materials, sporting goods and real estate. The companies of the Conzzeta Group employed a staff in excess of 3,300 in 2010 and achieved translated revenues of approximately euro 800 million. www.bystronicusa.com

CONCEPT MACHINE TOOL SALES, INC. (MINNEAPOLIS, MN) . . .
has been appointed as exclusive distributor for the Milltronics (Waconia, MN) CNC machine product line in Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota. CMT has already been serving Milltronics’ customers in Wisconsin for more than two years.

According to Milltronics’ general manager Paul Wichert, “We are very excited about this partnership to support the 2,000+ Milltronics machines already making companies prosperous in this market, and to grow this market.” Concept Machine Tool president/CEO Craig Conlon added, “We know that owning the right equipment is just the start for our customers. Our number one goal is to support them by providing excellent service and applications support.”

Service, parts and applications will be handled out of CMT offices located in Minneapolis and Delafield, WI. Milltronics CNC Machines were also featured at Concept’s Steakfest Open House on September 27-29 at CMT headquarters in Minneapolis.

Concept Machine Tool (CMT), established in 1974, is a full service machine tool distributor with headquarters located in Minneapolis and branch office in Delafield. CMT exclusively represents a variety of the finest machine tool manufacturers throughout the world and has kept abreast of technological change by representing the most sophisticated and advanced machines available today.

Milltronics CNC Machines is a leading supplier of machine tools serving industry worldwide since 1973. No other company offers as many milling and turning machines for both toolroom and production environments. The company’s reputation is built on quality hardware and software products, plus exceptional customer service. It is part of the Liberty Diversified International family of companies. www.conceptmachine.com, www.milltronics.net

FORTRESS INTERLOCKS AMERICA (Erlanger, KY) . . .
has been recognized as a Top Ten Vendor by high-tech industrial automation solutions distributor Power/mation (St. Paul, MN). This is the fifth year in a row that Fortress was recognized for overall excellence. The safety interlocking manufacturer was chosen from a pool of 60 companies which supply products to Power/mation. All of the Power/mation employees voted based on experience with each nominated company for the past year. The criteria included excellence in customer service, introduction of innovative new products, technical and sales support, as well as accuracy in accounting and order fulfillment.

“All of Power/mation’s requirements are ideals we strive to meet every day for all of our customers,” said Fortress sales and marketing director Tony Baggott. “We continually develop our safety access and control systems to offer new products and support them with expert service.” A member of the international Halma Group, Fortress Interlocks has been at the forefront of developments in safety interlocking for over forty years. A market leader in the design and manufacture of interlock systems, Fortress has an enviable track record of project implementation. With an extensive global distribution network, the company supplies industries throughout the world. www.fortressinterlocks.com

GIBBS AND ASSOCIATES (MOORPARK, CA) . . .
participated in HaasTec 2011, Haas Automation India’s open house event that was held in October at the Chennai Trade Centre in Chennai, India. The open house was part of Haas India’s continuing effort to provide a forum for customer interaction with Haas and providers of other manufacturing technologies. Gibbs demonstrated its extensive capabilities in programming the latest Haas lathes, mills and multi-task machines (MTMs).