Europe’s horizontal lathes manufacturer breaks world record with Sandvik help
A milestone has been achieved, its success due to close collaboration, careful design and comprehensive solutions. The achievement took place at Gurutzpe Turning Solutions, situated in the province of Guipúzcoa, in the Basque Country in the north of Spain.
“Manufacturing a 20-metre-long lathe and equipping it with the world’s longest reinforced anti-vibration boring bar, produced by Sandvik Coromant, has taken us into a whole new area of operation,” says Mr Oscar Anitua, marketing manager at Gurutzpe.
Gurutzpe is one of the largest manufacturers of heavy horizontal lathes in Europe. The company’s strategic location, with proximity to a harbour, means that the world market is accessible, with a large portion of exports going to Germany, Italy, the United States, the Middle East and Asia. The most important sectors are heavy industry, steel and oil.
“The different parts of the lathe are designed and assembled here at the factory,” says Anitua, guiding us through the factory. “We also do the electrical installation and associated software.”
?Gurutzpe’s experience was gained through 60 years of producing and installing some 6,000 lathes around the world. This year the company is setting a new record in its development.
“Some years ago we took part in the BIMU trade fair in Italy, where we came into contact with a company in Saudi Arabia, and that company became very interested in the potential of our lathes,” says Anitua. “They wanted to visit our plants, and that gave us the opportunity to show our capacity in technology and design. They were so pleased with what they saw that they ordered a 20-metre-long lathe. It is in that lathe that we are mounting the world’s biggest reinforced anti-vibration boring bar, produced by Sandvik Coromant.”
?The customer was very clear that it wanted a comprehensive solution for its needs. Sandvik Coromant Ibérica and Gurutzpe had entered into an agreement guaranteeing the customer technical support, not only for the lathe but also for the operation of the tool according to the concept of “Right from the start”, so the order was placed within the framework of the partnership agreement for turnkey projects.
Turnkey projects provide profitability, productivity, competitiveness and especially a quicker start-up as well as being “Right from the start”.
“When Sandvik Coromant Ibérica received the order, it contacted Sandvik Coromant Teeness regarding the construction and manufacture of the anti-vibration boring bar with capacity for a maximum length of 4,200 millimetres, 14 times the bar’s diameter of 300 millimetres. Cooperation between Sandvik Coromant Teeness and Gurutzpe also extended to the design of the clamp for the machine,” says Jon Arregi, a machine specialist at Sandvik Coromant Ibérica.
Anitua says Sandvik Coromant knows how to manufacture good products and has global recognition. It also provides comprehensive technical support to customers, which makes the agreement very beneficial to Gurutzpe.
“This project has put us in an important position on the market,” Anitua says. “We are a company working with creative and comprehensive solutions. The agreement we have with Sandvik Coromant Ibérica means we can live up to our slogan ‘Doing the important things well’.”