Mori Seiki and Gildemiester put more flesh on collaboration bones

The two companies each have a 5 per cent shareholding in the other, as announced in March, and together claim some 10 per cent of the world's machine tool market. At the EMO press conference it was underlined that the two are to work together in the fields of production, purchasing, product development, sales and service, and customer finance. The aim is "to give more benefit to our customers, worldwide", offered Dr Kapitza, Gildemeister AG chief executive. In terms of sales collaboration, it was revealed that Mori Seiki would be the lead organisation for both companies in Indonesia, Thailand and Japan, with DMG (Gildemeister AG's sales and service operation) taking the lead in Turkey, Taiwan and Korea, with a 50-50 operation covering Australia. There was no comment made about other markets. On production, with Mori Seiki being a vertically integrated company producing many parts for its own machine tools, Gildemeister will now use Mori Seiki factories for the design and production of such things as turrets, ballscrews and spindles, starting this year. Dr Kapitza said it made no sense for yet another company to design and manufacture its own large capacity mill-turn machine, so Gildemeister will take Mori Seiki NT machines and badge and sell these, fitting Siemens control - a Gildemeister CTX 4000 Delta machine being an NT6800, the example given. The first Mori Seiki NT machine will shortly arrive in Gildemeister's Bielefeld, Germany technology centre, Dr Kapitza said. In return, Mori Seiki president Dr Mori highlighted that his company had placed an order for 100 of Gildemeister's Eco-Line entry-level machines that are made in the German machne tool builder's Shanghai, China factory. Mori Seiki MAPPS IV control will feature on Eco-Line machines in addition to Siemens ShopMill and ShopTurn, it was said. The pair will also collaborate on purchasing, standardising on such things as swarf conveyors, hydraulics, and automation within the two lines of machines, while also co-operating in the purchase of CNCs, electrical equipment, bearings and cast iron. Mori Seiki and Gildemeister will also co-ordinate their control strategies, this meaning the likely development of a common machine tool interface. At the moment, Mori Seiki has its Fanuc-based MAPPS IV control, while Gildemeister uses Siemens ShopTurn and ShopMill, together with its enhanced Ergoline interface. Dr Mori offered that he felt that the interface would take on more importance as the numerical control functions become "a kind of a chip, subject to the human machine interface". Finally, Gildemeister and Mori Seiki have an ambition to set up MG Finance GmbH, Stuttgart to support customer machine tool purchases. At a separate conference, Dr Mori indicated that the two companies' relationship would come under review in another 2 ½ years, effectively making the collaboration an initial 3-year undertaking.