Customers gain comprehensive approach to manufacturing automation
Florence, Kentucky, October 17, 2012 – Mazak Corporation's distributor Northwest Machine Technologies serving Minnesota, South Dakota, North Dakota and Western Wisconsin has launched a new in-house automation division that will provide customers with complete robot integration services for their Mazak machines. With the added integration service, customers will further benefit from Mazak's comprehensive approach to automation solutions together with the local expert service and support from Northwest Machine Technologies to boost productivity through better machine utilization.
Mazak provides manufacturers with a wide range of advanced equipment and technologies as well as innovative automation systems that are incorporated within the company's unique 3-4-5 The Next Level of Productivity manufacturing solution. 3-4-5 allows manufacturers to effectively identify the right level of technology, including automation, needed for improving their specific operations and advancing productivity to the next level.
The 3-4-5 solution is the industry's most comprehensive grouping of manufacturing resources and one that encompasses Mazak's 3 Levels of Control, 4 Levels of Automation and 5 Levels of Multi-Tasking. It is within Mazak's 4 Levels of Automation, where the capabilities of Mazak's Automation Systems Department and those of the new automation division at Northwest Machine Technologies will ensure that customers get the best and most effective automation solution.
Whether an application calls for Level 1 simple Bar Feeders; Level 2 Gantry Loaders; Level 3 Mazak's PALLETECH System; or Level 4 Articulated Robots, Northwest Machine Technologies customers will immediately experience higher levels of quality and increased throughput. Customers also gain the competitive advantage that comes with Mazak's customized automation capabilities, exclusive partnerships with Fanuc Robotics and LNS America, and its full line of machine tools that are all MTConnect capable.
To support its new integration service, Northwest Machine Technologies will demonstrate fully automated systems, conduct system runoffs and provide training at its Technology Center in Rogers, Minnesota. The company has also partnered with Fanuc Robotics to further demonstrate to customers how incorporating robots for loading/unloading their Mazak machines adds value and helps them boost their competitiveness. Additionally, expert integrator Eric Sargent was brought on board as the new automation division's manager.
Sargent is a well-respected local integration expert and brings over 23 years of experience to Northwest Machine Technologies and its customers. He joins the company's existing full staff of service and support specialists that will also work with the automation division.
"Northwest Machine Technologies is committed to the robot automation business, and we have the experienced and dedicated staff in place to support it," said Joel Lundin, CEO and co-owner with Tony Bailey at Northwest Machine Technologies. "For our customers, it's tough to find skilled labor. So our goal for the new division is to provide them with a local, one-stop source for automation systems and services that will allow them to increase productivity without additional labor costs."