Jashico: A Manufacturer of Large Capacity CNC Lathes

Jashico Machine Manufacture Co, has made a name for itself in the market of large capacity and hollow spindle CNC lathes.

Since entering the high speed lathe market over 25 years ago, Jashico have progressed to the forefront of the industry through a mixture of dedication, attention to detail and developing sophisticated technology.

In 1992 the company shifted focus towards large capacity lathes, and began rolling out the first model just one year later. Today the company's mainstay product lines are CNC lathes with hollow spindle bores from 9" (230mm) up-to 21" (535mm) in diameter.

Mr. George Wang, President of the company explains, "The global demand for these types of lathes will grow rapidly over the next decade. With growth in the oil exploration, wind energy, nuclear energy, paper production and steel refining industries"

Jashico claims to have developed Taiwan's largest slant bed CNC lathe, with large swing over the bed and a range of hollow spindle bores, capable of producing components from 2metres up-to 12 metres.

The lathe has options for C axis and Y axis to handle turning, milling, drilling and engraving operations. It can simultaneously operate as a planomiller and vertical lathe.

At present the most popular large -sized slant bed CNC lathes have a hollow spindle bore of 14.5" (368mm) diameter. These machines are used frequently for processing oil pipes.

Demand for these machines has now given the company a healthy order book, and as one of the very few companies capable of producing these machines, this can only continue.

Other manufacturers in this market only have 20% of Jashico's production capacity.

Mr. Wang explains "Our machines easily match the quality of our competitors in Japan and Europe, this is a view shared not only by ourselves but also by our customers worldwide"

By focusing on large-sized CNC lathes, Jashico has doubled the added value of its products.

The company makes such models from high grade materials such as GB300 cast iron for the machine beds.

"Compared to general purpose cast iron, GB300 has a higher alloy content", explains Mr Wang. At present GB300 costs are considerably higher than that of general purpose cast iron. This demonstrates the company's commitment to offer high end, high quality products.

The company also uses U.S. made Timken spindle bearings. Although demand and costs for these bearings are high, the company refuse to compromise and have a healthy stock level to reduce lead times.

Jashico's 3 metre machine weighs in at 35 metric tons, while the 8 metre model is 58 metric tons. The 8 metre model has recently been ordered by a Japanese manufacturer of wind turbines, The Japanese client chose Jashico because they could deliver the machine within 6 months. Other competitors had quoted a 3 year build time for the same machine.

The company can meet faster delivery times due to its ample inventory of large spindles, bearings and castings.

"About 3 years ago we realised the need to build up our inventory for our large CNC lathes, while our competitors struggle with lead times and sourcing", explains Mr Wang. "At present we have orders for over 30 large-sized CNC lathes"

The company has invested heavily in R&D over the last few years, and has received an enviable return on this due to the production of its large-sized CNC lathes. Mr Wang explains "We have invested over $1.8million in R&D over the last five years, and we have recouped our costs within just one year"

Jashico has invested heavily in developing software for its large-sized CNC lathes. "We spend $90,000 per year on software development" says Mr Wang. "This has enabled us to produce state of the art lathes including multi-axis lathes with turning, milling, drilling, tapping, engraving and grinding functions. Software is the most valuable asset for manufacturers of large-sized lathes, and this is the part of the business that makes this segment so tough to enter. Over 70% of our output of such lathes is exported, mainly to industrialised nations in Europe".

Mr Wang calls for domestic machine tool manufacturers to develop high end products to fend off competition from developing nations. "Manufacturers in this line have to spend more on developing reliable software to raise the added value of their products". Says Mr Wang, "Multi-axis lathes in particular need the support of complex software.

The company has already developed 80 versions of software for is multi-axis machines, with each version costing $60,000. The company also says it will step up the development of a grinding function for its multi-axis lathes.

A graduate of the Mechanical Engineering Departments at the Oriental Institute of Technology, George Wang gained expertise in gear transmission systems as a mechanical engineer for a machinery company in Taiwan, before setting out on his own.

"The stability of large-sized CNC lathes depends heavily on the gearing system" says Mr Wang," To ensure the quality of our lathes we use high end components from Germany. We install the components in the gearing system which is also equipped with an encoder sensor to ensure high performance results. Because of our know-how in gearing systems we have never received any complaints from customers since we began exporting over 5 years ago".

At present the company's annual sales amount to $10.6 million. Jashico expects an exceptional year ahead with a raft of orders already placed. "We aim to push our annual sales to between $30 million and $36 million within 3 years" says Mr Wang.

To achieve this ambitious growth target, Jashico have purchased a 25,000 square foot site for a new plant close to its existing facility. The new site will be dedicated to building the large-sized CNC lathe range.

Mr. Wang says his company is preparing to acquire a domestic manufacturer of multi-axis machinery within 3 years to further expand its product ranges. And then, with a possible public listing, Mr Wang says he can raise capital for even bigger plans ahead.