Citizen Machinery UK, has reported a successful open house. The event, held by the bar-fed sliding-head and fixed-head CNC turning machine specialist, was the first organised by the company since the start of pandemic.
The open house, which took place at the company's headquarters in Bushey from 12th to 14th October, saw a steady stream of visitors over the three days.
Citizen says although numbers were down compared to previous shows, with 100 visitors representing 52 companies attending and some people still being wary of travelling due to coronavirus, by far the main reason given for not visiting was pressure of work.
Despite this, orders for 15 machines valued at £2,321,000 were either placed or committed to verbally during the show. Three of the orders were from customers who had registered but could not attend or who had not planned to visit.
More than two-thirds of the lathes will be supplied with the manufacturer's proprietary LFV (low frequency vibration) programmable chip breaking software. Launched five years ago, it has transformed the ability of manufacturers to manage swarf when turning, thread-cutting and drilling malleable metals and plastics.
Managing director, Edward James, commented: "Our open houses are known for their feelgood factor and we like to entertain as well as take orders. The customary curry evening on Wednesday was very popular as usual and boosted attendance that afternoon and on the Thursday.
"We also organised a Six Nations rugby draw each day for a pair of tickets to see the England v Ireland match in March 2022, along with a daily prize draw for a Citizen watch."
Visitors to the open house were also able to see the activities of Citizen Machinery UK's Solution Centre in Bushey. The company has transformed its traditional showroom into a facility for configuring and proving out complex automated machining cells, often with special functions such as in-cycle laser cutting, peripherals, software and robotic cleaning and packaging. The centre also doubles as a permanent exhibition of mill-turn solutions and software.
Citizen Machinery UK
