A new challenger appears!

The cut and thrust of selling CNC machine tool products in the UK is competitive to say the least. Mike Richardson journeys to Biesse UK in Daventry to hear more about how this supplier is gradually making a good name for itself.

The composites manufacturing industry already has well-established CNC machine tool suppliers, so what can a new company do to get itself noticed as one of the market leaders? This is the question facing Biesse. With the UK debut launch of its Materia CL at the MACH Show last April, the Daventry-based company is looking to show everyone that there is a credible alternative.

Biesse says it delivers some of the fastest and most versatile processing centres available in the market, continually developing technology designed to make the manufacturing of complex components - especially from advanced materials - a deliverable expectation. With a global turnover of more than €690 million, Biesse Group spends more than €14m on R&D, employing over 100 sales, engineers and service staff in the UK.

Biesse UK’s Materia CL comprises a totally self-contained machining centre offering the ability to machine components with larger Z axis requirements. Suited to the aerospace, automotive and motorsports sectors, Materia CL has been developed for processing composites, acrylics, foams, plastics and advanced materials including carbon fibre and alloy coated materials.

“The composites industry now has a credible alternative to the usual machine tool builders selling into the industry,” begins Biesse UK’s commercial manager – Advanced Materials Division, Ian Croft. “Whilst Biesse aren’t well-known in the advanced materials industry, it is a leader in wood, glass and stone, so we are using the core ethics and business experiences gained in these industries and transposing them into composites manufacturing.”

The origins of the Materia CL can be traced back to Biesse’s purchase of Italian CNC machinery maker, Uniteam. Fifteen engineers were brought in to design a revolutionary new range of machines based on Biesse principles. At the heart of the Materia CL is its modular construction offering a footprint that can be extended to suit the customers’ bespoke requirements. Indeed, everything about the machine has been increased to give it more weight, stability and spindle rigidity, and therefore less vibration during operation.

“We also have to add in Biesse’s buying power. Whereas Uniteam would design one machining centre chassis and then subcontract it to a supplier for manufacture, Biesse will design a chassis and then manufacture them in volumes because it has the economies of scale. We have closely studied our competitors’ offerings and listened to our customers to truly understand where we can make a difference to what our rivals offer. From early 2019 we will have four offerings and over 20 sizes in the Materia range.

“Some customers have said that during heavier cuts they’ve experienced some vibration on some of our competitors’ CNC machining centre’s Z column, so we’ve beefed up our Z column with internal ribbing so that it won’t move under load. We’ve also introduced a twin table version, and we’re moving onto the next version of the machine which will enable the customer to machine light alloys. This will be a modular machine where the customer can buy the width and then construct the length.”

A showroom for the industry

Walk around Biesse’s showroom and you’ll find one example of every machining activity: edge banders, saws, drilling machines, sanders, routers. Green coloured machine tools cover the woodworking sector, whereas orange ones denote advanced material production processes.

“When we drew up a customer wish list of all the issues about our rivals’ machines, we came up with Materia CL. Only three components within the construction of the machine need to be changed in order to extend its size and scope to suit a customer’s requirement. The only thing that needs to change is the gantry. A wide variety of spindles further enhances the options open to customers. Compared to a rival’s machine, the Materia CL specification boasts more spindle power and more rigidity - it’s longer, it’s wider, yet it’s the same price. All our machine tool spindles are all made by Biesse Group and advanced electrospindle specialists, HSD. The Materia CL can be used to machine modelboard, thermoforming, jig and fixture, and trimming of parts.

“Customer confidence in Biesse is growing daily. Throughout 2018, Biesse has installed several Materia CL machines into pattern making, carbon fibre trimming and aluminium mould companies. A manufacturer of thermoformed components for the automotive industry has also recently signed an order for the new twin table machine to complement an order for the new Biesse thermoforming machine Terma. For 2019, the level of interest in Biesse machinery is growing and we look forward to growing the customer base in the UK.”

Let’s get connected

SOPHIA is Biesse’s Internet of things (IoT) platform which enables customers to access an extensive range of Biesse’s services to streamline and rationalise their work management processes. It’s based on the ability to send real-time information and data on the technologies in use, optimising the performance and productivity of machines and systems. It consists of two areas: IoT and Parts.

IoT provides a comprehensive overview of the specific machine performance features, with remote diagnostics, machine stoppage analysis and fault prevention. Meanwhile, Parts is the new replacement parts web portal which allows users to navigate within a personalised account, providing access to all the information on purchases and enabling a replacement parts shopping cart to be submitted, and the progress of orders to be monitored.

“All our machining centres can be connected to the Internet and the customer can have an app on their phone or laptop to monitor the machine’s performance; things like machine tool utilisation, potential spindle error and vibration, etc. We can analyse the machine; it will talk to our service department and tell them what the problem is so we can despatch a maintenance engineer. We can also help order spare parts. We are trying to provide instantaneous diagnostics, integrated solutions and spare parts ordering. It’s all very well-connected.”

And ‘well-connected’ is exactly where Biesse UK wants to be in the composites manufacturing industry. The company is looking to be more adept at adapting its marketing strategies, because as Croft points out, not enough people know the company in the advanced materials industry.

“Everyone knows us for our wood, glass and stone CNC machining products,” he concludes. “In order to break into the composites manufacturing industry, we need to get our message out there: Biesse offers reliable technology, best in class service and a ‘can-do’ attitude. In the last year, we have seen a great reaction to the Materia machine, once people see and hear what we are offering them. The UK composites industry is a community where everybody knows everybody and through word of mouth, gradually the success of our products will get around.”

www.biesse.com