Supply Chain German-based machine tool supplier seeks to cut delivery times by stockpiling Chinese-made parts

The company said it plans to introduce new machines possibly by the end of the year

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Machine tool maker Schiess Tech hopes to lower delivery times to six months by storing Chinese-cast parts for its mid-sized machining centres at its production site in eastern Germany, according to Marc Springstein, the company’s head of sales. The supplier is believed to be one of a select few in Europe sourcing such Chinese parts.

Schiess Tech, since 2004 a unit of Chinese industrial powerhouse Shenyang Machine Tool Group (SYMG), will ensure the cast parts meet German standards before they are shipped, Springstein said, adding that the target for the reduction of delivery times is sometime in the first half of 2014.

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The company is “currently ramping up production”, he explained, adding that cast parts may not be the only components on the machine that are made in China because Schiess is still deciding what parts to use in its product range, which include the Ascamill table-design portal milling machines, the Ascarapid boring machine series and vertical turning machines and portal milling machines in table and gantry designs. However, he said most of the parts will be made in Germany.

The company, which has been in operation in one form or another for 150 years, said that a multi-axis vertical turning machine and a large horizontal turning machine are currently under development. It expects to unveil the machines by either the end of 2013 or sometime next year.

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