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Tornos to inaugurate new plant in Xi'an

Tornos Xi'an will inaugurate its new plant in Xi'an on October 22, 2020. With the theme of "Turning Together,”  this event— originally planned for early 2020—was postponed due to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. The inauguration and open house will be conducted in compliance with official COVID-19 regulations.

The opening ceremony of the new Tornos Xi'an plant gets underway at 10 a.m., Thursday, October 22, 2020. After the official ceremony and opening speeches, guests present are invited to a guided tour of the plant, followed by a meal.

The entire day of October 22, 2020 will be dedicated to the inauguration of this new plant. After the official activities, guests will be divided into two groups, which will attend two separate seminars. The first seminar, organized in collaboration with Tornos Shanghai, is targeted mainly aimed at Tornos customers. The second seminar is aimed mainly at suppliers. Quality and the supply chain will be discussed. Various festivities are planned for the days following the official grand opening, including a family day giving employees an opportunity to showcase the new plant to their family members.

This new plant took shape very quickly and under optimal conditions. It meets current standards and has a total surface area of 3,000 square meters. With the inauguration of this factory, Tornos Xi'an also celebrates its seven-year anniversary.

Indeed, everything started in 2013 in Xi'an. After six months of diligent research on Asian soil, the choice naturally was the former capital of China. This city of 12 million inhabitants has proven to be a birthplace for many new companies. Notably, it has an impressive number of technical schools that are able to provide a qualified workforce. The city is also the breeding ground for China's aerospace industry.

Tornos initially chose to produce a single, robust, and efficient machine there, the CT 20. This machine served as the basis for setting up the teams, the logistics chain, quality management, and the first research and development (R&D) cell. The first year was crucial to build the necessary interactions between the production sites. True to its commitment to operational excellence, Tornos today provides the same quality of execution in China as in Switzerland or Taiwan.

The implementation of a lean assembly approach in order to ensure quality and delivery times is the foundation of the company's success. The lean method, already applied at the Moutier, Switzerland, and Taiwan sites, is also proving its worth in Xi'an. The Chinese plant continues to receive key components from Moutier, namely certain spindle and guide bushes parts. Step-by-step, after the CT 20, other machines have been developed on the site, namely the Swiss DT 13 and Swiss DT 26 for the European market and, more recently, the Swiss DT 13 e and Swiss DT 26 S versions, both adapted for the Chinese market. The latter are presented in the showroom of the new Xi’an factory.

The three production sites are working together, increasing the number of interactions to ensure the standardization of the parts in particular. This ensures a high degree of flexibility and diversity.

The CT 20 machine is extremely reliable, while the Swiss DT machines, which are also highly reliable and efficient, have found markets in Europe as well as Asia and the United States. These machines are known for their power and production capacity.

The Xi'an site is not only an assembly site, but also an application test and commissioning facility. It is a unit close to the market, with a real know-how. By taking the decision to extend its production capacities in Asia in order to be able to meet its customers' needs for entry-level and mid-range machines, Tornos has made the right choice. Seven years after its establishment in Xi'an, China, Tornos celebrates this new factory with its customers—“Turning Together”—and is delighted with the success of the excellent-quality machines it produces.