Hurco machines purchased by subcontractors at MACH

Halifax-based CLB Precision Engineers specialises in work for the scientific and medical sectors, in batches of typically 50-off, but has recently won contracts for manufacturing larger, tight-tolerance parts from stainless steel and exotic alloys for the offshore industry. Managing director Chris Berrett said: "The things we like most about Hurco machines are the high power for their size and the ease of programming using the conversational Max control." Later in the week, Machining Techniques, a subcontractor in South Shields, Tyne and Wear, placed an order for a VMX42U 5-axis machining centre, its first Hurco machine. Established in 2004, the company adopted 5-axis prismatic machining a few years ago, albeit in 3+2 mode. Managing director Dave Ditchburn Snr said that he intends to progress to fully interpolative 5-axis work on the Hurco, which has a larger working envelope than his existing machine. Medical work, from prosthetic limbs to structural parts for X-ray machines, accounts for about half of the subcontractor's business. Mr Ditchburn reviewed 5-axis machines from five potential suppliers before choosing a Hurco. A Hurco TM6 lathe was also purchased during the show by Bedford Engineering, Stockport. In addition to the sales, Hurco also received 440 serious enquiries for vertical machining centres and CNC lathes, which, in managing director Dave Waghorn's opinion, is the largest number of good quality leads ever received by the company at a MACH exhibition. (Picture: Chris Berrett (left), managing director of CLB Precision Engineers with his wife, Lisa, sales director, agreeing the VM30 order with Hurco Europe's managing director, Dave Waghorn).