Global machine tool titan sets its sights on European shops

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SMTCL Shenyang Machine Tool Co., Ltd.

ETMM: What is the status on your company supplying 5-axis milling technology?

Heath: Though we do offer it within China, 5-axis milling is not part of SMTCL’s strategic export product portfolio at this time. We offer 4th axis capability on many of our VMCs, and our controls support after-market trunnion tables. SMTCL’s target market segment is medium and emerging manufacturing. While the middle segment does purchase 5-axis machines, our research shows that these machines are being used for 3-axis work more than 95% of the time. We do not believe the very high additional cost and complexity of 5-axis capability is meaningful in this case and thus we are focused on producing outstanding 3-axis machines at very impressive prices.

ETMM: Is there anything else about your business or plans that you would like to explain?

Heath: I would like to emphasize our stability and patience. There is still a lot of opposition to Chinese manufacturers, and for good reason, but we should all be judged on our individual merits. While our brand is little known outside of Asia, we have been in the business for nearly 80 years now and have sold almost two million machines. I would be willing to bet good money that there is at least one object in the office of every single one of your readers that was manufactured in China using an SMTCL machine. We aren’t here to make a quick buck. We are in Europe for the long haul, to grow rationally and carefully in order to protect our new customers’ interests so that they can achieve the same success with SMTCL that tens of thousands of Chinese enterprises already have.

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