Spinner’s China factory exports cost-effective technology

On show was the company’s first export from its Nanjing factory – the £35,000 EL 510 turning machine (510 mm swing/300 mm diameter turning diameter). The Chinese factory was opened in 2006 and initially made vertical machining centres for the local market. Many of the parts used in the EL turning machines are of German origin, however, said Spinner UK sales manager John Branson at the MACH exhibition last week. Spinner also opened a new factory in Taiwan last year for the manufacture of machining centres - a joint venture with Euma; although Spinner has had a Taiwan presence for around 8 years - and it has had a plant in Turkey for some 10 years, where it makes general-purpose lathes. Spinner categorises its machines as either high precision or general-purpose - 2 micron accuracy; 0.5 micron repeatability, and 5-6 micron accuracy; 2-3 micron repeatability, respectively. It makes some 1,500 to 1,600 machines each year. All the high precision machines are made in Germany, but all machines made anywhere pass through the German factory before delivery to customers, underlined Mr Branson. In the UK, Spinner is most successful with its high precision machines, such as the 32/42 mm PD-CNC lathe, targeted at micro and/or hard turning. It has sold some 300 into the UK market, according to Mr Branson. A robot-loaded version was shown at the exhibition - a cost-effective alternative to cylindrical grinding, is the message.