Haas Automation, Inc., reports that its recent HaasTec open house attracted 3,000 attendees to the company's headquarters and manufacturing facility in Oxnard, CA. The 4-day event drew visitors from the U.S., Canada and around the world, with attendees from 44 countries, including China, India, Korea, Latin America, the Middle East and many European countries. In addition, more than 300 students from regional high schools, colleges and universities attended the event.
Held April 9 - 12, HaasTec included machine demonstrations, extensive tours of Haas Automation's one million square-foot facility, a catered lunch and 38 vendor booths with representatives from CAD/CAM, tooling and workholding manufacturers. As an added bonus, Tony Stewart's #14 Chevrolet racecar was on display, courtesy of Stewart-Haas Racing. "A high percentage of the racecar's high-precision chassis and engine components are machined exclusively on Haas machines by Stewart-Haas Racing and Hendrick Motorsports," said a company spokesperson.
"Visitors to HaasTec often arrived in large groups, accompanied by representatives from their local Haas Factory Outlet (HFO). More than 30 HFOs worldwide arranged trips to the event to personally show customers and potential customers what goes into making a Haas," said a company spokesperson.
There were 19 machines on display and running demos at HaasTec, including the brand-new UMC-750 universal machining center. Also on hand were the Haas ST and DS turning centers - including dual-spindle and Y-axis models - the DT-1 Drill/Tap Center, a wide array of Haas VMCs and a pair of Haas horizontals. Attendees also got to see nearly 200 Haas machines in action on the factory floor, making parts for more Haas machines. Of the 268 chip-making machines in the Haas factory, nearly 75 percent are Haas machines.
In addition to the CNC machines, a number of Haas rotary products were also on display, including the new HRC210 roller cam rotary table. With a maximum speed of 830° per second, the HRC210 is more than eight times faster than the standard HRT210. The unit's high speed and accuracy complement Haas Automation's line of Super Speed VMCs.
Providing visitors with a historical perspective, HaasTec also included a display of the company's very first VMC - machine number one, fitted with an early Haas rotary table - alongside its modern-day equivalent. Today's VF-1 sells for less than the machine's 1988 introductory price of $49,900, according to the company. This year marks Haas Automation's 30th anniversary and the 25th anniversary of the VF-1.
"I was impressed by the level of information and networking opportunities offered during the event," said Jordan Gamble, a manufacturing engineering student at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. "Meeting company representatives and seeing the massive Haas production floor, where state-of-the-art machinery was in action, made the 2-hour drive worthwhile. All of my fellow students agreed, we would love to work at Haas after graduation. I look forward to using Haas machines in the future."
"The level of customer participation in HaasTec was very impressive, and from such a varied and international audience, as well. We had people from other parts of the globe coming to our booth who know and use our brand in their shops," said Dan Spanovich of WIDIA.
"It was fantastic for us," said Scott LeFave of PAWS Workholding Company. "We were able to meet many of the HFO resellers from all across the USA, as well as many of the HFOs from across the globe. We had the opportunity to demonstrate our workholding solutions to many of the Haas reps, as well as their customers."
Jay Duerr III of Logansport-Matsumoto agreed. "HaasTec was excellent for us. One of the biggest things was getting the HFOs and their customers - specific users - from around the world into one space. To have the HFOs bring customers directly over to our booth and talk about the options that we could provide was great. And the students coming in were great, too. We want to build that momentum, so our industry will survive. They were very interested."
"HaasTec was a 'world-class' event," said SURFCAM Inc.'s Peter Marton, "and we were privileged to participate. We had an opportunity to meet visitors from all over the world looking for CAD/CAM solutions for their Haas machines. This venue continues to bring in focused visitors who have a need for quality, high-tech products, manufacturing solutions and services from Haas and its vendors."
For more information contact:
Haas Automation, Inc.
2800 Sturgis Road
Oxnard, CA 93030
800-331-6746
www.HaasCNC.com