The example of SAMSON shows that productivity today extends far beyond the individual machine tool. With the relocation from Frankfurt to Offenbach, the valve and process technology specialist is updating around 40% of its machine fleet. Starrag is integrating two Heckert machining centers there with automation and a control system. The result: virtually no setup costs and around 30% more capacity.

We also rely on our own technologies within our company. TTL has been developing software and adaptive machining processes in Haddenham, UK, and has been part of the Starrag Group for more than 15 years. As a development and testing platform, TTL is receiving its sixth machining center, a Heckert X50, from its parent company.

Technical and economic solutions do not always have to start with a new machine. NEUMAN & ESSER opted to retrofit a 26-year-old Dörries vertical turning lathe. New drives, electrical systems, and control technology make the existing mechanical components fit for many more years of service. Another example is two 52.5-ft-long (16-m-long) Droop+Rein FOGS gantry milling machines belonging to a US manufacturer of aerospace and defense components, which Starrag also modernized.

The breadth of our engineering capabilities today was also evident at the Aerospace & Turbine Technology Days in Rorschacherberg. Around 250 guests, including 170 customers from 24 countries, came together in June to learn about solutions for the aerospace and energy industries – from automated precision machining of the smallest components to manufacturing solutions for large aircraft structures and engine components.

For me, these examples clearly demonstrate what modern mechanical engineering stands for today: engineering that does not start with the technology, but with the tangible added value for our customers. At the heart of this are solutions that consistently combine precision, productivity, and cost-effectiveness.

Martin Buyle

CEO, Starrag Division