This year Gérald Badan SA in Moutier, Switzerland celebrates its 50th anniversary and it is looking forward with optimism to its future. At the beginning of 2015, the company had a new Managing Director, Mr. Carlos Almeida, an engineer familiar with the Tornos brand. This familiarity has seen the company invest in SwissNano machines to supplement the existing Tornos Deco and cam-type machines at the company.
Gérald Badan SA specialises in bar turning for the connector industry and the arrival of Mr. Almeida was the opportunity to re-assure customers and employees with regards the longevity of the company. With its 50+ cam-type machines for the manufacture of simple parts and large-scale production and four Tornos Deco 10 machines for the production of complex workpieces and smaller batches, the workshop did not have medium-range machines to round off the offer. "We considered several solutions but the SwissNano was the machine that fitted our workshop best," the Managing Director makes clear. The machine programmers in the workshop that had previously championed the TB-Deco software found out that although new it was very simple to put TISIS and the SwissNano machines into operation and the increased efficiency proved obvious very quickly.
Seen from a different perspective
"There were no unpleasant surprises. I knew the machine and the quality of the Tornos service very well and my machine operators confirmed my belief. Both the SwissNano machine and the Tornos service met our expectations."
An experienced operator working with cam-type bar-turning machines as well as with the Deco machines continues: "If you are accustomed to the Deco, the machining area of the SwissNano might seem a bit scary and the available space is rather limited. However, the machine boasts good visibility due to its front access and setting it is simple too. It’s only a matter of familiarity. A thing completely new to me was the LNS Tryton bar feeder that is suitable for bar and tube feeding. This bar feeder is really great and works in total harmony with the machine."
A business plan comprising SwissNano
From the time he acquired the company, the Managing Director planned to buy new CNC machines for the production of medium-complex parts. After an appropriate analysis, two SwissNano machines have been bought in the first year. Mr. Almeida explains: "It is clear that we had to round off our machine fleet and our calculation turned out to be correct as we can increase our working volume with our existing customer base and also open up new markets thanks to the SwissNano. Today, the SwissNano machines are an integral part of our investment plan for the future."
While Gérald Badan SA is specialized in the production of workpieces of diameters between a few tenths of a millimeter through to 62mm. "Apart from the advanced expertise of our highly qualified operators, our location is a major advantage for us.We are located at the heart of the micro-technology market, our machine supplier is a two minute walk away and 90% of our suppliers are located within a radius of 10 kilometers."
After one year of heading the company and more than 40 million parts produced during this period, Mr. Almeida says: "The daily work with the SwissNano has shown that I was right in buying it. The machine exceeds my high expectations. Moving forward, the company is evolving well; my colleagues are highly qualified and are take pride in their work. As far as my objectives are concerned, I look forward to continuing my diversification and my investment plan schedules new CNC units for the near future".