A new specialist technology centre for laser machine users based in Sweden is due to officially open in December. The new Nordic Laser Technology Centre (NLTC) has been developed in partnership with Yamazaki Mazak’s two official distributors in the Nordic region, Ravema AB in Sweden and Norway and the Finnish Wihuri Group.

This collaboration will allow each partner and Yamazaki Mazak’s customers to benefit from shared resources and expertise along with a ‘state of the art’ facility for demonstrations, virtual demonstrations, test cutting and training. A range of laser solutions will also be on display, including laser machines, sheet metal software, measuring systems and automation solutions.

In addition, the facility will feature Mazak’s new ‘Go Green’ initiative that aims to help customers develop more environmentally-friendly production practices designed to reduce their machine CO₂ footprint. It also aims to engage machine owners to record, analyse and optimise their energy usage, in order to report a precise carbon footprint for each part made on a machine.

End-to-end digital manufacturing
The 4,000m² NLTC is located on Ravema’s Värnamo site in Sweden and will be officially opened at a special launch Open House on 14 December. The facility will showcase a range of laser and machine tool technologies that will also include two seminars on end-to-end digital manufacturing and mobile industrial robots for efficient internal transportation.

On the day, the NLTC will have an Optiplex Fiber 3015 III 10kW equipped with Mazak’s Quick Cell automation system, as the showcase laser demonstration machine. Alongside will be a number of machines recently exhibited at EMO 2021 in Milan, including the CV5-500, simultaneous five-axis machining centre, the new VCE-600 entry-level VMC and the QTE-300 MSY SG, equipped with new SmoothEz programming and Ravema Smart Automation.

Värnamo is ideally located to serve all of the Nordic markets — as it is located in Sweden, it is within easy travelling distance for Norwegian and Danish laser machine users. The facility is Mazak’s second specialist laser technology centre located in Europe, following the opening of the European Laser Technology Centre in Milan.

Alan Mucklow, managing director UK and national distributor sales at Yamazaki Mazak, said: “The growing demand for Mazak’s laser technology in the Nordic region, which has resulted in a five-fold increase in sales since 2015, has been driven by outstanding laser technology innovation, particularly our Fiber range of laser cutting machines and the quality of support offered to customers by both Ravema and Wihuri in their respective regions.

“The NLTC will consolidate the three partners’ expertise and knowledge in a facility dedicated to providing best-in-class advice, service and support to laser users and machine tool users. Mazak laser technology, machine tools, automation, metrology and measurement have been brought together to create a facility that is unsurpassed in the Nordic region.”