MACH 2024 comment: Tony Bowkett

Tony Bowkett is a man with many responsibilities. As CEO of Nikken Kosakusho Europe he not only heads up the company’s two sites in Rotherham – including the jaw droppingly impressive Nikken Innovation Centre Europe (NICe) located on the Advanced Manufacturing Park – but also seven other facilities across Europe. He’s also the current president of the Manufacturing Technologies Association (MTA). Dave Tudor reports.

Every two years, for our MACH show issue, I’ve made it my mission to track down the current MTA president for a chat about the upcoming exhibition. It’s been an enjoyable tradition; along the way I’ve met with a number of industry leaders – off the top of my head, Bob Hunt, Geoff Bryant, Mark Ridgway OBE, Dave Burley, Simon Pollard, Guy Mollart. This year, Tony Bowkett drew the short straw.

As a premium manufacturer of top-quality precision boring solutions (tools and reamers); tool presetters, tool storage/management systems and associated software (through sister company Elbo Controlli Nikken); tool holders and tooling systems (milling chucks, collet chucks, shrink fit systems); rotary tables (single-axis, twin-axis, multi-spindle, standard, high speed and direct drive); and spindle optimisation products, Nikken technology is renowned for its inherent accuracy, build quality and reliability. And tool presetters aside, all products are manufactured in Japan.

Throughout Nikken’s product range, there’s a definite emphasis on longevity and durability. Nikken has customers for example that have been using its rotary tables for two decades or more – and that’s without any servicing whatsoever. Not best practice perhaps, but it’s an impressive statistic that exemplifies Nikken quality. It goes without saying that Nikken offers an extensive range of ancillary services such as repairs, refurbishment, servicing and presetter calibration.

Right from the start 

As he explains, Tony Bowkett really was in at the beginning of Nikken Europe: “I’ve been with the company since 1990 and by the end of 1991 I became managing director,” he recalls. “My background was in finance, so I had to learn the engineering side pretty quickly out of necessity more than anything else.

“When I joined, I was the 17^th employee but that went down to nine. Today, 34 years later as president and CEO of Nikken Europe, I manage 106 employees across the continent with sites in the UK, France, Germany, Scandinavia, Switzerland and Turkey. Directly and through distribution networks that we’ve bought into, we actually deal with 23 countries across Europe.

“My initial challenge in the early years was building up trust with our Japanese parent company to encourage expansion and growth into Europe. I’ve always believed in localised support for specific geographical regions. Previously, Europe was supported directly from Japan via agents which was far from ideal.

“On the engineering side I’ve learnt so much over the years – mainly due to surrounding myself with some of the best engineering talent in the industry and being very hands on with customers. I’ve always been keen to learn. I can definitely hold my own these days – but I’ve got a fantastic team around me.”

The spirit of innovation

For Europe, the UK-based Euro Centre (also in Rotherham) remains the central hub for stock – carrying £6m worth to be precise – but Brexit has made things a whole lot more complicated regarding supplying to Europe from the UK.

With this in mind, the group has recently invested around £5m setting up a new stocking hub in Paris to supply tool holder products to mainland Europe. In terms of organisation and administration, the new hub will be managed from the UK. Nikken Europe’s considerable engineering and applications expertise is also centralised in Rotherham at its Innovation Centre.

Opened in 2015, the 30,000ft² (and growing) Innovation Centre is a fantastic, truly inspirational facility packed with machine tools and associated technology. Nikken uses the centre primarily for product development work for Nikken Japan, applications-based project work for home and international customers, group employee training and of course a product showroom. 30 members of Nikken’s UK headcount total of 55 are based there.

Essentially it operates like a kind of ‘mini-AMRC’ combining R&D with practical application to optimise processes and products. Of course Nikken’s products are used extensively throughout.

It’s the first time I’ve seen the facility up close; it really is a flagship centrepiece that epitomises everything that’s good about UK manufacturing. Its location on the Advanced Manufacturing Park in Rotherham couldn’t be more perfect. Any readers who have kids considering a career in engineering who are perhaps teetering on the fence, really should make an appointment to visit.

The Centre’s mantra is ‘The Spirit of Innovation’. A fitting description in every aspect as it commemorates the passing of Nikken founder Mr Matsumoto in 2014.      

Building strong relationships

On the subject of engineering expertise, a real feather in Nikken’s cap is the fact that the company is an integrator for Boeing in the UK. This was borne out of the strong relationship that Nikken has with the Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (AMRC) just around the corner from Nikken’s Innovation Centre. To this day, Boeing has a permanent toolroom facility set up within the Centre complete with a raft of machine tools and associated technology at its disposal.

“We had a lot of involvement with the AMRC on projects for Boeing,” Mr Bowkett reveals. “One day I made the bold – but true – claim to senior management at Boeing that nobody could cut titanium faster than we can with our X-treme milling chucks. The next week we were round at the AMRC on one of its machine tools with a number of Boeing engineers substantiating the claim.

“Using our X-treme chucks, we hit 400cc/minute of titanium removal – without the cutter slipping and maintaining runout! The industry standard at the time was around 70cc/minute. Cutting a long story short, we trained 27 Boeing apprentices here helping them develop and optimise processes for machining a variety of parts. Now we actually prove out the manufacturing of these components here. We’ve had that contract for five years now and it’s something we’re very proud of.”

MACH veteran

Last year, Tony Bowkett was announced as the new president of the MTA and it’s a fitting appointment because since Nikken joined the MTA back in 1991, the company has exhibited at every MACH show.

He joined the MTA board in 2009 and aspired to the heady heights of vice-president until 2014. Then, as is sometimes the case, life got in the way. Mr Bowkett’s time became consumed with the opening of the Nikken’s Innovation Centre and MTA business had to take a back seat. Three years ago however he returned as business development director and now he’s taken the reins as president.

“I’m 60 years old now and probably in the twilight of my career so for me it’s all about giving something back to the industry that’s been so good to me over the years,” he explains. “During my time with the MTA, there have been so many good ideas, so for me when I came back as business development director, it was all about prioritising those ideas and getting people focused on their fruition.

“Hopefully as president, with all my experience and the fact that I know many people in the industry, I can bring something to the table in terms of engaging with existing members, bringing new members on board and importantly, growing the association’s critical mass so we become stronger as the voice for all of UK manufacturing; not just machine tools which is a common legacy misconception.”

Member benefits

Mr Bowkett is full of praise for his colleagues at the MTA, calling them ‘unsung heroes’. “Much of the work done on the capital gains allowance/super tax deductions was achieved through relentless lobbying by the MTA, and by listening to its members it can prioritise those policies that can really make a difference,” he says.

“Similarly, the introduction of full expensing, alongside the Annual Investment Allowance, is the culmination of many years of campaigning by representatives of the sector with the MTA at the forefront. We now have a tax treatment for investment which is internationally competitive – for the first time in generations, companies investing in Britain will not be doing so with one hand tied behind their backs. It’s essential this is maintained. 

“There’s no doubt that manufacturing has taken a back seat in recent years due, in part, to events such as COVID, military conflicts in Europe, and Brexit. It’s also true that some governments listen more than others which is why it’s so important that the MTA continues to grow to offer better support to its members,” he continues. “We need critical mass, so that’s something I’ll be looking to grow during my time as president working closely with my colleagues.

“I also want to highlight and emphasise all the benefits of becoming a member and I’ll be making this point in my president’s speech at the MTA dinner during the MACH week. If you’re a company that exhibits at MACH, needs access to international standards, attends overseas exhibitions and takes on apprentices, you’ll save around £15,000 by being an MTA member. For us at Nikken the cost of membership is justified many times over.”

On the first day of the MACH show in April, the MTA will be presenting its updated Oxford Economics report entitled ‘The True Impact of Manufacturing’. “Something we’re really going to be pushing in that report is the fact that if you take the indirect and direct impact of manufacturing in the UK, it counts for 23% of GDP. We think that’s something worth shouting about,” Mr Bowkett concludes.

Nikken
www.nikken-world.co.uk
Hall 20, Stand 430