Area manufacturers gain applications support, training and comprehensive production solutions
Florence, KY – Mazak distributor Northwest Machine, serving Minnesota, South Dakota, North Dakota and Western Wisconsin, will host a special grand opening for its new headquarters in Rogers, Minn. The event, scheduled for April 30 – May 1, will feature facility tours, advanced manufacturing system demonstrations and technical seminars. A special student day on April 29 will kick off the event and have local manufacturers discuss careers in the industry with area youth.
As the manufacturing sector continues to grow in Minnesota and the surrounding region, Northwest Machine, through its new 22,600-sq-ft facility, can offer higher levels of customer support. The company will provide even more localized technical training, service and applications support as well as engineered turnkey manufacturing systems and automation solutions.
“We’ve been a business partner with Mazak for 30 years, and like them, our goal is to always provide more than just the industry’s most advanced machine tool technology,” said Joel Lundin, CEO of Northwest Machine. “As a result of the new building, we significantly raise the bar on our level of value-added services that accompany that technology.”
Northwest Machine employs 18 people, four of which are engineers, at the new headquarters. With the additional space, the company has expanded its tooling, accessories and applications engineering department, its service and training departments and robot automation division, as well as its technology center area. The building also features ample office space, a large conference room and vendor/supplier lounge area.
The new Northwest Machine training area accommodates up to 16 people. Customers can now send employees to be trained locally without having them spend long periods of time away from the workplace.
With its expansive new technology center area, Northwest Machine is able to engineer, test and prove out more turnkey manufacturing systems, including those that are large and extensive. Also, the company installed a permanent robot in one area of the technology center exclusively for training purposes.
Northwest Machine’s all-encompassing in-house automation division not only offers hands-on robot training courses, but also works closely with Mazak’s Automation and Systems Group to furnish customers full robot integration services for their Mazak machines. Customers further benefit from Mazak’s comprehensive approach to automation solutions together with the local expert service and support from Northwest Machine to boost productivity through better machine utilization.
“We are committed to the robot automation business, and we have had the experienced and dedicated staff in place to support it for quite some time,” said Lundin. “With our new facility, we further build upon that commitment to provide a one-stop source for automation systems and services partnered with the most advanced machine tools in the industry that, together, will allow customers to continuously increase productivity and maintain cost effectiveness.”