Covers Protect Tooling, Provide Safety For Operators

What is a machine tool show in Moscow like? What is Moscow like thesedays? MASHEX, the Industrial & Technologies For Russia show, hasbeen held every year since 1988. This year, the show moved to theCrocus Center Expo site about 15 miles from the Red Square, which isliterally and figuratively the heart of Moscow. (Red Square, by theway, is still properly called such because that color was consideredsynonymous with beauty when the Kremlin and its cathedrals and palaceswere built centuries ago. Their beauty remains, although politicalrevolutions have come and gone.)

The Crocus Center is a modern complex with several large exhibithalls that rival any trade show venue in Europe or North America. Thebuildings are spacious, clean, functional and tastefully decorated.MASHEX ran for four days (May 29-June 1) during a rare heat wave thatdrove outside temperatures into the 90s, although the exhibit hallswere comfortably air-conditioned. The show can be summed up in thestatistics reported by show sponsors: 50,000 square meters of exhibitspace; 500 exhibitors; 15,000 attendees. These numbers, however, do notreveal the nature or significance of the show.

It isRussia’s main machine tool show, the place where machine tool sellersand buyers from all over the country convene. What the exhibitorsshowed and what interested Russians tell much about the metalworkingindustry there. In general, exhibitors brought their latest and mostadvanced equipment. To offer anything less, apparently, would be tounderestimate the Russian metalworking market. Buyers are as interestedin all of the leading technologies and advanced processes as buyersanywhere around world.

On display were five-axis VMCs;multitasking machine tools; lathes for hard turning; wire and ramelectrical discharge units; robotic welders; carbide inserts with thenewest coatings and geometries; and other recently developed technology.

Althoughparts of Russia’s economy and social infrastructure are still incatch-up mode, the country is experiencing booms in many industrialsectors. The energy industry is expanding rapidly; a growing middleclass is hungry for consumer goods; and the construction industry is atfull tilt—tall cranes salute the future on every horizon in the Moscowvicinity, it seems.

To keep up, Russian manufacturers generally want machines capable ofhandling complex work to close tolerances. They seem to be lessinterested in automation such as gantry loaders, robotic part transferor flexible machining systems, although pallet changers that keepmachine downtime low are popular. Salaries and benefits are relativelylow in Russia, so there is no great pressure to reduce head count infactories.

Withthe largest market share in Russia, European machine tool builders arethe best represented at the show. DMG, Danobat and Index were there, aswell as numerous smaller companies serving the industry. SandvikCoromant, Walter AG and Iscar were among the cutting tool exhibitors.Delcam and Siemens were among the software and CNC suppliers. Buildersfrom Japan were not far behind. Yamazaki Mazak, Mori Seiki, Okuma,Makino and a number of other companies had a strong presence. Don’tbother consulting the show directory for a complete listing of SNMG Insert “Who’sWhere With What.” Not every dealer or distributor lists all of thelines they carry.

A number of U.S. companies were conspicuous. Haas Automation, Hurco,Hardinge, Gleason, and MAG Industrial (representing Fadal, CincinnatiMachine, Giddings & Lewis, and other brands now in that family)were present, to name a few.

Machine tool building in Russia is not what it used to be, a factapparent at this show. The Soviet government once supported a thrivinggroup of builders, but many of them had factories in other Soviet-bloccountries. When the USSR disintegrated in the early 1990s, these“machine tool enterprises” lost access to these manufacturingfacilities. They also lost captive markets in the trading bloc and lostheavily subsidized production orders from the Soviet government, atriple whammy. Yet several of these companies Carbide Drilling Inserts have managed to regroupand re-establish themselves as key players in the Russian andinternational markets. These companies had large booths at MASHEX.

Two other Russian machine tool builders, Savelovo Machine-BuildingPlant and Ivanovo Heavy Machine Tool Building Works, deserve mention.Each has pursued different strategies in the years since the Sovietbreak-up while coping with a competitive marketplace without governmentsupport. Savelovo diversified. Although 50 percent of its output isstill metalcutting machine tools, the company also produces packagingequipment, product test stands and other machines for manufacturing.Most of its machine tools are designed and built to customerspecification for special applications in the aviation industry.

Ivanovo,meanwhile, concentrated on large HMCs and machines for hard turning.This builder now focuses on machines for the automotive, energy anddefense industries. The machines at the show presented an impressiveappearance. The sheet metal guarding, for example, is attractivelydesigned and well made. One large HMC on display featured HSK-63tooling, a large pallet changer and a Siemens Sinumerik CNC control.

Thereis no compelling reason for U.S. machine tool buyers to attend MASHEX,although they would feel quite at home in the exhibit halls. However,U.S. machine tool builders and suppliers need to take a hard look atthis show and at the Russian market. Even visiting the show just totalk to distributors and exhibitors would provide a good “feel” for themarket. The window of opportunity is not large. In a few years, gettinga foothold in Russia will be more difficult. Domestic builders arelikely to recapture more of their former vigor and boldness. Foreigncompanies with a head start will be in a good position to leveragetheir familiarity with the market and their mastery of its challengesand risks.

For information about MASHEX 2008, visit www.mashex.ru.

“Russianbuyers prefer to purchase Russian machine tools because they feelcomfortable with the availability of parts and service. The interestingpoint is that they will pay a premium for Russian machines for thisreason. Next in line are European machines due to familiarity withquality and electronics. But Russian buyers have a high level ofrespect for American-made machines.

“I noticed asharp increase in Asian machines at this year’s MASHEX. Typicaldelivery of Russian made machines is six or more months. The majorAsian machine tool builders are willing to put in an inventory ofavailable machines and also to establish a service network. As a resultI expect them to do well in the Russian market.”

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