Describing MACH 2016 as the “best MACH ever” is a pretty bold statement for a company that has appeared as a regular fixture at the UK's showpiece event for many years. But that is exactly what Birmingham cutting tool manufacturer Guhring has confirmed about MACH 2016.
This glowing endorsement for MACH 2016 is the result of a number of factors. First, lead generation at MACH 2016 was at least 20% beyond any previous show. This figure could have been even higher, as Guhring UK's national sales manager Dave Hudson says: "With the exception of the inherently quieter first and last day of the show, MACH was unbelievable for Guhring. We had a constant flow of people on our stand and there was even people queuing to get on our stand. This is unprecedented for any MACH exhibition. Our team couldn't take enquiries fast enough, such was the traffic flow on our stand."
He adds: “Guhring are inherently known for drilling, threading and specific milling ranges, so we changed our focus for MACH to target a new audience. We designed our stand to emphasise some exceptional new product lines the market wouldn't generally associate with the Guhring brand. Our bespoke line of PCD tools targeted the aerospace and automotive engineers to great effect. Manufacturers of cylinder heads, engine blocks and aerospace assemblies were captivated by our extensive PCD tools. Likewise, stand visitors were enthused by our new Tool Management System. Unlike other tooling suppliers, Guhring produce the complete solution from the vending machine and drawer configuration through to the GTMS software and of course the tool supply. All this combines to provide an extremely flexible solution that was continually being demonstrated at MACH."
MACH 2016 also proved excellent for Hurco, according to managing director, David Waghorn. He says: “Even though the market has softened a little since we achieved record financial results in 2014, the number of visitors to our stand and orders taken this year were very similar to two years ago. We booked a total of 26 orders for new machines worth £2 million during the exhibition and the following week. The greatest interest was sparked by the number of different 5-axis configurations in our vertical machining centre range. The show provided an excellent opportunity to talk through the different advantages of each design.”
Among the companies to place an order on the second day of MACH 2016 was Cheltenham-based Omex Technology Systems. It designs and manufactures electronic units for racecars and high-performance road cars, ranging from simple rev limiters and shift lights to full engine management systems. Managing director Richard Wragg purchased one of the machines on the stand, a Hurco VM20i vertical machining centre, which was delivered immediately after the show. Omex’s second VMC, it is providing extra prototyping and production capacity and allowing faster reaction times to meet demand from the firm’s growing customer base. Typical lead-times are being reduced by one-third from six weeks to four.
A new £500,000 deal to supply a second high-speed precision stamping press to Harwin was the highlight of Bruderer UK’s appearance at MACH 2016. Featuring industry-leading Bruderer BSV-75 high-speed servo feeder technology and an integrated planetary gearbox, the BSTA 280-75 B2 machine will help the Portsmouth-based electronics component specialist increase capacity, develop new products and support plans for 20% growth year-on-year.
Says Adrian Haller, managing director of Bruderer UK: “MACH was one of the busiest shows I’ve been to and we had lots of interest in our technology, our relationship with Zani presses and the introduction of Biegema (experts in bending and forming of complicated parts) products to our range.”
The order is the second from the company in two years; it ordered the previous unit at MACH 2014 as well.
The HK Technologies team returned to the office upbeat after MACH, based on the quality and quantity of enquiries for the latest line of Mitsubishi EDM machines. In fact, the team sold one MV2400 EDM machine and fully expect a quick succession of machine orders in the next few weeks. Managing director, Steven Wilcox, says: "Our lead generation was at least 40% above the last MACH event and the quality of enquiry far exceeded previous exhibitions. At previous MACH shows we have presented our full portfolio on a single stand, but at MACH 2016 we had a dedicated Mitsubishi EDM stand and this 'sole focus' strategy clearly paid dividends."
Record numbers of new enquiries and multiple orders taken directly during the show fully justified 600 UK’s multi-stand strategy.With three individual stands highlighting the launch of nine new products from Colchester (two new centre lathes), Harrison (two new CNC lathes), Pratt Burnerd International (chucks and accessories) and Clausing (mostly non-CNC machine tools), the exhibition exceeded all expectations, the company says.
Finally, Japanese cutting tool specialist Mitsubishi Materials UK also reports having a good show. Its general manager, Tom Jones, says: "We had well over 600 visitors on our stand through the week and this yielded a huge amount of high quality leads for our sales team. However, MACH was not all about winning new customers but also catering for existing customers. For the existing customers and distributors, we sent-out exclusive MACH vouchers in the build-up to the show."
The Japanese cutting tool specialist offered an exclusive 'MACH only' deal that provided show visitors an opportunity to try out the new Miracle Sigma Series multi-function milling tools. This offer included the AJX and APX Series of 16, 20, 25 and 32mm diameter indexable insert end mills and the ASX400 and ASX445 Series of 50, 63 and 80 mm diameter face mills with a pack of corresponding inserts. The result of this offer was the sale of over 60 milling sets to new customers with existing customers also taking advantage of the promotion.
The combination of new customer, existing customer and distributor special promotional offers resulted in the overall sale of well over 100 milling kits whilst the opportunity to network and meet new engineers was invaluable. Jones concludes: "After 16 years away from the UK's showpiece event, our return to MACH was a great opportunity to introduce new product ranges and also get our engineers in front of a large audience to demonstrate the benefits of our extensive product lines. The immediate sales and the potential for sales as we move forward will undoubtedly make MACH a worthwhile event. In addition, using a show like MACH for networking, product launches, promotions and even driving the brand into the market through our 3500 branded show giveaways was a very worthwhile exercise."
