FANUC announce the foundation of FANUC CNC Europe and America
14/10/2009
Echternach, Luxembourg – At FANUC’s EMO 2009 Press Conference in Milan, Dr. Yoshiharu Inaba, President & CEO of FANUC Limited, explained the
establishment of the new companies, FANUC CNC Europe and FANUC CNC America. The companies are expected to commence on 1st January 2010, following the dissolution of the 23-year Joint Venture with GE. Headquartered in Luxembourg for Europe, FANUC CNC Europe will manage all FANUC branded CNC sales and support services which will be provided locally by just one subsidiary company in each country/region. FANUC Robotics Europe continues to operate as before. Dr. Inaba emphasised that, under the new organisation, FANUC Limited in Japan will very strongly support FANUC CNC Europe and thus will be able to respond even better than before to its European customers.
Pascal Boillat, President & CEO of the new FANUC CNC Europe, set out his immediate strategy for Europe with a heavy focus on sales into Germany. Under the new leadership of Christian Jung as President, FANUC CNC Germany is determined to grow its market share. He is confident he will be able to support his customers well, especially with all service and end-user support coming from the one organisation.
In continuing to develop its relationships with European machine tool builders, FANUC CNC Europe is aiming to be their preferred CNC partner. Pascal Boillat stressed that the development of the Large Machines segment of the business is also a key aim, and explained that the new European organisation should streamline the company’s success in increasing its presence at machine tool builders as well as with end users of their machines.
In Switzerland, where it is a leader in the Watch and Medical industries, FANUC CNC Europe has together with FANUC Robotics Europe has a new head office at Biel/Bienne and is the clear number one with a market share of over 52% in the CNC market. In Italy it is a clear leader in Turning and Transfer machines and has an overall market share of over 60%. There are around 60,000 installed FANUC CNCs in Italy. Having acquired 25 new customers in the last 2 years, FANUC CNC Italy is having success in Die Mould and High Speed Cutting.
Looking at worldwide machine tool trends, Pascal Boillat noted a recovery in China, Korea and Taiwan but no real recovery in Europe or Japan. The large machine tool market has been less affected by the downturn, and energy saving demands has been a trend for both machine tool builders and end users. He observed that reliability, a hall-mark of FANUC, has been a key driver for the demand for FANUC CNCs and drives, as has been the availability of FANUC spare parts throughout the lifetime of a machine.
He has also seen a demand for more complex high-end machines and for more functionalities for entry-level machines. To meet these demands, FANUC introduced at EMO new developments in 5-axis machining for the FANUC Series 30i CNCs, while emphasising the very powerful 3D Interference Check functionality to protect machine parts and cutting tools. For the entry-level and medium range FANUC Series 0i-MODEL D CNC, a list of enhancements includes support for up to 11 axes and 2-paths, and the availability of Dual Check Safety to protect the operator. New large servo and spindle motor enhancements, as well as energy saving features, were also announced.
Pascal Boillat finished with the company’s customary CNC count at EMO to further justify the claim of being the world’s number one CNC provider. Of the 842 CNC-controlled machines on show, FANUC’s share stood at 36.3%, with the closest competitors at 24.2% and 11.0% respectively.