Conventional and manual/CNC lathes thrive in the global downturn

600 Group sells its machine tools, spares and accessories into over 180 countries worldwide, through leading brands such as Colchester-Harrison, Pratt Burnerd and Gamet Bearings. The Group says the demand for these machines has been threefold; significantly increased investment in education, a trend towards small batch production as demand reduced, together with a lack of availability of finance for more high tech sophisticated CNC machines. Mike Berry, managing director of 600 Europe, said: "As unemployment has risen, governments in many parts of Europe have increased investment in the education sector, which is a traditionally strong market for us." Like other parts of the World, the US has seen the recent preference for conventional and manual/CNC machines. Don Haselton, managing director for North America said: "Many companies have been forced to reduce inventories to deliver cash flows. This has led the end user to order smaller batch purchases rather than large stocking orders. Our customers have had to adjust from running one large job for several days to small lot runs with several equipment changes per day to run different parts. Conventional equipment is well suited to small runs and quick change over time." David Norman, chief executive of 600 Group PLC, believes that much of the CNC machine tool stockpiling that took place at the height of the boom is at long last coming to an end, saying, "I have no doubt that the market for CNC machinery will return. Even during this economic downturn we have continued to develop and enhance our CNC machine capability, so when customer demand switches, we are more than ready."