Industry News

When the Fullerton Tool Co., Saginaw, Mich., says it is "a growing industry leader in quality solid carbide cutting tools," the claim isn't just poetic prose from a public relations agency. The privately owned business, which has been located in Saginaw for almost 75 years, recently opened a second plant—Fullerton West—located in Thomas Township in the Great Lakes Technology Park.

Star SU, Hoffman Estates, IL, recently appointed Dave Rydberg to the engineering team for its Cutting Tool division. In his new role as a gear tool technology engineer, Rydberg will help with continued development of gear tool applications, tool design, manufacturing and advanced engineering.

Haas Automation Inc. will host its semi-annual 4-day HaasTec open house at its Oxnard, Calif., headquarters March 17-20. The event will include machine demos, factory tours and a catered lunch, according to the company. The previous HaasTec in 2013 drew nearly 3,000 attendees from 44 countries, and the company expects this year's event to be even bigger. 

Cline Tool, one of the largest Sandvik distributors and custom tool manufacturers, has announced the expansion into a third new market since the end of last year, and has hired industry veteran Tony Cornelius as regional sales manager for its Illinois territory.

Industrial material handling equipment manufacturer PRAB Inc., Kalamazoo, Mich., has completed its purchase of Puckmaster Co., manufacturers of briquetting machines for metal compression and coolant collection. 

Earlier this summer Fastenal installed an additional FAST Solutions industrial vending machine within the Terex Mixer manufacturing plant in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Given how many vending devices (machines and lockers) Fastenal installs during a typical business day, it was a commonplace event — except in one regard: that particular machine represented the 50,000th FAST Solutions device concurrently installed at Fastenal customer sites worldwide. 

Machine tool builder Okuma America Corp. has launched a new web-based machine selector tool at okuma.com/machine-selector. The tool is designed to take the guesswork out of selecting a machine by providing users with a convenient method of finding the Okuma machine tool that best suits their specific manufacturing needs, according to the company.

Machine tool supplier Methods Machine Tool, Inc., Sudbury, Mass., has expanded its Southern California operation, increasing the number of sales/application engineering and service personnel by eight and offering a full range of machine tool solutions from all of Methods' partner brands. In addition, Robert Serrano has been added to the leadership team as sales manager, bringing 25 years of machine tool experience to the position. 

Ceratizit SA has acquired German solid carbide toolmaker Klenk GmbH & Co. KG, augmenting the Ceratizit Group's product portfolio with custom solutions for solid-carbide round tools, according to the company. With the addition of Klenk, the Ceratizit Group aims to further strengthen its position in the solid-carbide tool market, according to Thierry Wolter of the Ceratizit Group's executive board. "It is our aim to be perceived as a global premium player for all cutting tools," he said.  

Toolmaker SGS Tool Co., Munroe Falls, Ohio, has completed and held a grand opening of its new 76,000 sq. ft. endmill facility in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio. The new plant was constructed next to the company's existing manufacturing facilities and creates increased toolmaking capacity.

MSC Industrial Supply Co., Melville, N.Y., a distributor of metalworking and maintenance, repair and operations (MRO) products and services, is expanding its portfolio of metalworking products from Accupro, Davidson, N.C. The new line adds more than 3,000 new precision-engineered metalworking tools to the existing 20,000 Accupro products MSC currently offers. 

BIG Kaiser Precision Tooling, Hoffman Estates, Ill., has enhanced its BIG Profit Maker, KAISER and Unilock repair services by bringing services in-house that, until recently, were performed overseas. The company is also eliminating charges for some commodity parts, as well as offering same-day services.

KAISER Precision Tooling Ltd., Rümlang, Switzerland, reports that it has strengthened its long-term partnership, BIG Daishowa Seiki Co. Ltd., Japan, by agreeing to be acquired by the BIG Daishowa group as of April 15. KAISER Precision Tooling, a supplier of modular boring tools, and BIG Daishowa Seiki, a producer of toolholders and measurement devices, have had a technology and distribution partnership since 1980.

Intrepid Tool Industries, Surprise, Ariz., has released its new 2015/2016 full-line catalog, showing the company's current offering of drills, reamers and countersinks for machining composites, aluminum, titanium and other aerospace materials. Additions include a new series of "W" point drills, combination drill/countersinks, porting tools with through-tool coolant holes and a full line of PCD drills and countersinks. For more information, call (800) 998-6565 or visit www.intrepidtool.com. 

Tungaloy Corp. completed an additional production building at its headquarters in Iwaki, Japan. The new facility is added on to the existing manufacturing complex, which opened in 2011, and will help meet growing demand for cemented carbide inserts, milling tools, and indexable drills, according to the company.

Azure MicroDynamics Inc., Lake Forest, Calif., is a manufacturing, machining and assembly facility specializing in small and micro components with tolerances as tight as 0.0002" for medical devices and other products. Incorporating micromachining processes that include multi-axis milling and turning, Azure is capable of producing low-volume prototype quantities as well as high-volume production, according to the company. 

BIG Kaiser Precision Tooling Inc., Hoffman Estates, Ill., is hosting the Golden Corridor Advanced Manufacturing Partnership (GCAMP) Open House on April 23 from 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. An event directed toward area students and parents, it will explain what advanced manufacturing means in today's economy. The agenda includes presentations, technology demonstrations and opportunities to talk to college representatives and professionals in the field. 

Toolmaker Dormer Pramet's new line of indexable tooling, including internal and external turning, milling cutters and indexable drills with carbide inserts, becomes available to North American customers April 1 following the publication of a new catalog featuring the Pramet- tool line, consisting of turning, milling and drilling inserts and holders.

Harvey Tool announced the release of its 30th Anniversary Spring 2015 Catalog. The Rowley, Mass.-based toolmaker will introduce over 1,100 new tools, including eight new products in its variable helix, plastic cutting, undercutting, chamfering and thread milling lines. In addition, new sizes and coating options have been added to over 40 different products, according to the company. 

Toolmaker OSG USA, INC., Glendale Heights, Ill, has introduced the OSG PHOENIX® Vol.4 catalog in print and digital versions. The catalog is over 150 pages and features new products and expansions to existing lines of indexable milling and drilling products. Notable additions to the milling lineup includes 45° face milling cutters, screw fit endmills and replaceable head endmills. Indexable drills and replaceable head drills have been added to the drilling offering.