Production Machining’s April 2022 News Highlights

Morris Group, Okuma America Open Technical Center — The Morris Group Inc. (MGI) and Okuma America are opening a facility to serve as a product showroom and technical center to showcase CNC machine tools and associated equipment. Okuma and MGI have been business partners for 42 years, with MGI serving as Okuma’s sales, service and product distribution partner in select regions throughout the U.S. Their new joint facility is located in Elgin, Illinois, and will serve as a product showroom and technical center for machine tool users in the greater Chicago and Midwest region of the U.S. The facility includes both office space and a showroom to house Okuma machine tools and other manufacturing technologies. Read more about this new technical center.

Here are more news highlights:

Hurco Accepting Applications for Apprentice Program — Hurco North America is accepting applications for the third class of its apprenticeship program. The Field Service Apprenticeship (FSA) is a 2-year program that starts with a 12-week immersive introduction to the industry that merges hands-on training and repair of CNC machines with classroom training. While candidates with a degree or working toward one are encouraged to apply, candidates who are mechanically inclined with no industry or engineering experience are also encouraged to apply for the FSA.

Alro Steel Elects Randy Glick CEO, Chairman — Alro Steel’s board of directors recently elected Randy Glick Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and chairman of the board. Gick succeeds his father, Al Glick, who held the position of CEO and chairman of Alro Steel for the past 74 years. Al Glick started the company with his brother Robert on June 1, 1948. He passed away on Feb. 8, 2022, in Jackson, Michigan, at age 95.

Heidenhain Launches Manufacturing Education Support Program — Heidenhain is offering a collection of educational services and products to assist in training the next generation of manufacturing professionals to meet the demands for today’s digitization of data in NC metalworking. The Heidenhain Education Support Program (HESP) is an initiative designed to bring the latest advancements on the shop floor to current classrooms of vocational training centers, universities and corporate trainee programs.

Jergens Names Scott Halfhill to Leadership Role — Jergens has appointed Scott Halfhill to succeed Mark Kubik as its international product and business manager, taking effect following Kubik’s retirement in early April. Halfhill joins Jergens with more than 20 years of leadership and business development experience in manufacturing, including extensive work within the automotive industry.

Abrasive Process Solutions Program Addresses Grinding Challenges — Norton | Saint-Gobain Abrasives’ Abrasive Process Solutions (APS) Program was created to help customers determine the optimal grinding or finishing solution for the application at hand (ranging from simple to complex, offhand or automated) and for metal fabrication, production grinding and virtually any abrasives operation. The program is designed to draw upon the knowledge of the Norton team along with access to 30 different machines and a comprehensive APS robotic automation cell, which is at the core of the program. The program is located at the Higgins Grinding Technology Center in Northborough, Massachusetts.

Sandvik Coromant Names Head of Sustainable Business — Camilla Nevstad Bruzelius, formerly deputy head of the global agenda department at the Swedish Ministry for Foreign Affairs, has been appointed head of sustainable business at Sandvik Coromant. In her new position, Bruzelius’ main task will be to create and drive the Sandvik Coromant sustainable business program, which includes developing, influencing and delivering the organization’s sustainability strategy, covering operations as well as the company offering and customer operations.

GF Machining Solutions Creating Center for Medical Manufacturing — GF Machining Solutions is establishing a medical center of competency in Lincolnshire, Illinois, and has appointed a new medical business development manager, Donn Wuestenberg, to head its operations. The center is scheduled to open later this year, and is designed to provide medical manufacturers in North America with comprehensive applications support along with specialized production technologies, including precision milling, EDM, laser texturing, micromachining and automation.

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