Mazak to open Technical Center in San Francisco

The 10,000ft² Mazak San Francisco Technical Center, opening in early 2019, will service manufacturers in the Bay Area, Northern California, and portions of Nevada. The facility will provide localized training, technical and applications support, space for system runoffs, and opportunities to collaborate.

Mazak’s Technical Centers work with the company’s network of regional technology centers to offer additional technical and applications support, providing customers with a place to learn about and implement the latest production strategies and manufacturing technologies.

Dan Janka, president of Mazak Corp., says, “Customers only gain value when suppliers and their support facilities are relevant. This especially holds true with those customers involved in today’s high-tech industries, which is why we continue our commitment to educating customers and to expanding our network of support facilities.”

Heimatec, other lines combined into Platinum Tooling Technologies

Preben Hansen, longtime president of Heimatec Inc., announced the company is now part of a new corporation, Platinum Tooling Technologies Inc.

“I’d been pondering this move for some time and, after considerable discussions with Heimatec GmbH, Tecnicrafts Industries, Henninger GmbH, and other principals we represent, it seemed time to make this decision and move forward with the new company,” Hansen says.

Heimatec products will continue to be the company’s main focus while also growing Tecnicrafts and other product lines, Hansen adds, citing the company’s recent facility expansion that will bring additional staff and hold greater inventories.

Other developments in the works include additional lines of machine tool accessories and components. Hansen will lead the new company as its president and COO, holding a majority stake in its ownership.

Marposs acquires assembly, automation, test company
Metrology technology company Marposs purchased Elettrosystem s.r.l., specialists in automation, assembly, and industrial testing. Marposs is following a strategy to expand its solution offerings with products and capabilities that complement its traditional portfolio.

Founded in 1980 and based in Scurzolengo, Italy, Elettrosystem offers custom engineered automated solutions for various applications such as material handling, vision inspection, measurement, functional testing, and assembly.

Elettrosystem currently has 60 engineers and technicians, as well as installations across four continents.

MD&M West 2019 Booth #1247

PHOTO COURTESY OF MACHINEMETRICS

MachineMetrics raises $11.3M

MachineMetrics, which equips factories with digital tools to increase productivity and win more business, recently raised $11.3 million in Series A financing. Tola Capital led the round with participation from existing investors Hyperplane Venture Capital, Long River Ventures, Mass Ventures, Hub Angels, and Firebolt Ventures.

With the funds, the company will expand its data science and product development teams while accelerating global sales.

MachineMetrics’ Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) and artificial intelligence (AI) technology can be installed by customers to collect, visualize, and analyze data from any industrial machines. It automatically senses a problem, learns to predict some problems hours or minutes before they occur, and recommends solutions to reduce unplanned outages.

“Now is the Internet moment for manufacturing,” says William Bither, MachineMetrics CEO and co-founder. “Because we’re pulling data from thousands of machines, we’re able to gain a unique understanding of their problems. These insights are delivered back to our customers so they can take action to gain a competitive edge.”

MD&M West 2019 Booth #429