CMZ, European manufacturer of CNC lathes, has taken a step forward in its  growth strategy: setting up the new Precitor. With the target of  manufacturing 850 machines a year in the future, the company has  invested around 8 million euros in extending its current machining plant in  Elorrio. 

New Precitor 

The new Precitor plant started up in late February this year, but it will be operational  working at 100% capacity by the second half of 2023. The extension of the plant will help  the group to increase the manufacture of cylindrical parts by 55% compared to the current  plant. At the same time, the closure of the current plant at Elorrio is planned for mid-2023. 

Initially, the new Precitor plant, together with Neoprec and Mecaninor, has sufficient  capacity for CMZ to manufacture 650 CNC lathes a year, although the company is  planning to invest in machinery to increase its annual production up to 850 machines. The  building has sufficient space to tackle projects of such calibre because it has tripled the  surface area of the current facilities. 

2.000 m2 with strict temperature control 

This new turning and cylindrical grinding centre has 2,000 m2 of air-conditioned surface  area and it has been designed like a clean room; with no columns, and a traversable roof  from which to distribute the necessary supplies for the machines and with a 500 mm thick  concrete floor. The floor means that the temperature does not vary by more than 1º in 24  hours throughout the plant. 

Most cutting-edge production resources on the market To make this project a success, CMZ has invested in the most cutting-edge  production resources on the market. As regards turning, CNC lathes will be manufactured  in-house. The facilities have ten CNC lathes with one and two turrets, fitted with Gantry  Robots to automate the production process. All of the above comes from the company’s  product portfolio. 

In addition, for cylindrical grinding there are two Studers S40 machines and two Studers  S33 for grinding to tolerances of just a few microns. To control part size, CMZ has chosen two Zeiss three-dimensional machines. The Zeiss Prismo model will be used to measure  grinding work, due to its high precision and the second model Zeiss Accura will be used for  turned parts. 

At year end 2022, CMZ again registered a new historical maximum in the order book. The  company has a clear aim: to achieve a turnover of €100 M and in the last financial year it  was almost there. In its commitment to European products, CMZ has taken on the  manufacture of more than 80% of the parts for its CNC lathes and the setting up the new  Precitor bears testimony to that commitment.

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