See Who’s Making the Leap (Video)

Last week we held our “Make the Leap” Open House event at Okuma America, and attendees gave us some candid observations about what interested them the most. We were impressed with their insights about today’s manufacturing issues, and their aggressive approach toward technology upgrades. Below are some of the key themes we heard from attendees who are “making the leap” to advanced CNC machine technology. But they say it better than we do, so be sure to watch this video and see what your peers in the industry are doing – and why.

Key Themes at Okuma’s “Make the Leap” Open House

• Technology Upgrades – Going for Quality: Every attendee we spoke with wants to use advanced CNC machine technology to move their shop forward. Some want to accelerate production, some need to keep their competitive edge (or die!), and some have a little catching up to do. But one thing is clear: technology IS the future, and it’s not optional. They place higher value on quality as well. As Keith W. says, “I’ve been working for this company for 21 years, and now we’re finally going to move toward the quality side of things.”
• Capacity Expansion: We heard many comments from busy, growing shops – they’re adding capacity to expand their business. Paul N. and his company are tackling this on two fronts by “investing in production capacity expansion and rebuilding/reinvesting to maintain what we have today.”
• Vertical Integration: Several attendees said they are moving more production into their shop, and relying less on outsourcing. Ryan L. says “getting an Okuma machining center is going to give us a big opportunity to bring work in-house.” 
• Higher Productivity at a Competitive Price: Charles D. mentions that his shop was going to buy another machine tool brand, and he was dead set against it. He was able to get a bid from Okuma that was lower than the competition, so he purchased an Okuma MB-4000H , which outperforms their previous machines when tested for productivity. Now he’s bringing five more Okuma CNC machines into his shop.
• Adopting Technologies from Partners in THINC: Many told us they see big productivity gains when they incorporate equipment from Partners in THINC, and they were shopping for more.
• Okuma CNC Machines – Proven Winners: Most of these guys have been around a while, and have experience with many machine tool brands. They tell us why they come back to Okuma: more productivity (proven in comparison tests), sturdy build, consistently maintaining tolerances, great service and distributor support top the list.
• Staying Competitive: We heard this from many attendees, and Craig S. summarizes it very well: “If we don’t become more competitive, somebody else will, and we’ll be out of work. Our business has been here since the 1930s, and I want to keep it here in the U.S.”

If you were unable to attend the event, you can see a quick montage of activities here.

If you attended this event, please comment below and share your thoughts. We appreciate your insights!