First prize machine winners

The first prize of a brand new fully specified Hardinge GS150 horizontal turning centre on offer from the Engineering Technology Group as first prize in its MACH 2016 VIP Prize Draw has been won by Hartlepool based JJ Hardy & Sons, a respected components manufacturer with extensive CNC machine shops.

With a history dating back to 1856, JJ Hardy specialises in the manufacture of precision engineered parts for the rail, oil, gas and energy sectors and is particularly known for its use of reverse engineering techniques to simulate precise original equipment standards.

In its build up to the MACH exhibition ETG offered members of its VIP Club a chance to win the Hardinge CNC lathe. There were also four runners up prizes or workholding equipment from the extensive inventory available from ETG Workholding.

The GS150 was further supplemented by a range of added value products that brought the total value of the first prize to over £90,000. As well as being delivered in a ready-to-run state, ETG engineers will also commission the machine in JJ Hardy’s factory.

It will be supplied complete with a Hydrafeed MV65 bar feed giving it an unmanned machining capability and improved productivity, a Filtermist oil mist collector and filter unit, Open Mind CAD/CAM software, CIMCO machine monitoring software, WNT VDI adaptors and general purpose turning tools, a high pressure coolant system supplied by Pumps & Equipment and a first fill of coolant courtesy of Blaser.

“As you would expect the draw generated a lot of interest prior to and at the exhibition,” ETG Group managing director Martin Doyle explains. “We chose the prizes carefully so that the winners had the opportunity to expand their manufacturing operations either with enhanced capacity from the lathe or by increasing productivity with advanced workholding.”

JJ Hardy managing director Andrew Pailor was understandably delighted saying it was a “brilliant gesture”. JJ Hardy is not currently an ETG customer but Mr Pailor suggested that “perhaps it was time we do a bit of business together”.

The names of the workholding winners will be posted on the ETG website during week commencing April 25th.

Engineering Technology Group www.engtechgroup.com