Bystronic Inc recently produced its first US-assembled laser-cutting machine at its new facility in Hoffman Estates IL in a major milestone for the company, which is the North American subsidiary of Bystronic Laser AG, headquartered in Switzerland.
Bystonric said the milestone achievement underscores its commitment to customers, and the North American market, and allows it to provide locally assembled machinery that reduces overall lead time, installation time and import costs.
The company is planning to celebrate the grand opening of its new “Experience Center” and Americas headquarters Sept 16-17 in Hoffman Estates.
“It’s often said that the best achievements are accomplished by those with a vision of the end result,” the company maintained. “Bystronic Inc and Bystronic Manufacturing Americas are well on their way to achieving this initial vision.”
The key, the company says, is further developing its market presence and operations network by assembling laser-cutting machines in the United States. The next-generation BySmart Fiber 3015, now featuring 8- and 10-kilowatt fiber laser power, is the first machine locally produced in the world’s three major market regions (America, Europe and Asia), which bolsters Bystronic’s global product availability and supply chain diversification.
The new BySmart Fiber will be shipped almost fully assembled to most locations within North America, Bystronic said, reducing the installation time at the customer’s location by as much as 65%. Also, the machines will be 100% inspected and tested in the US plant before shipment, ensuring production is up and running shortly after the installation is complete. Customer delivery lead times also are expected to be significantly reduced.
Bystronic plans to begin assembling the next-generation BySmart Fiber 4020 at its US facility this fall.
The company said it is incorporating best practices developed at manufacturing plants in Switzerland, Germany and China in the new facility. The assembly area is laid out as a ‘lean flow’ line. Using this concept, the base machine frame starts at one end of the line, is assembled in stages, and the finished machine exits at the end of the line, much the way cars are assembled. Components and sub-assemblies are brought to the production line in “just-in-time” fashion to complete the machine.
Bystronic says it will locally source machine components and sub-assemblies as economically practical. They have identified suppliers for the mainframe, housing, dust tray, laser source and other components, and orders have been placed with vendors. Many of them are current Bystronic customers, and will be using Bystronic machinery to produce the parts.
The newly built Hoffman Estates facility will include a leading-edge Customer Experience Center and the headquarters for the Americas market region. It will serve as the hub for Bystronic US business operations, including sales, service, training, spare parts and refurbishing of used machinery.
The company currently employs approximately 160 employees in the US, with an increase planned within this year and beyond as more products are added for US assembly. The total area of the new building is 164,894 square feet. The total area for machine assembly and parts warehousing is 103,393 square feet, the Experience Center is 30,721 square feet, and the total office area is 30,780 square feet.
Bystronic said its total investment in the projection is approximately $30 million.
“The vision of the smart factory is now a reality for customers of Bystronic,” the company concluded. “With its new Experience Center near Chicago, Bystronic is now demonstrating the future of sheet metal processing to customers in the US. Bystronic will be displaying its entire range of sheet metal processing solutions: the latest technologies for laser cutting, integrated automation and storage solutions, flexible bending systems, tube and profile processing solutions, a software landscape that covers the entire sheet metal processing chain, smart services, and offering customized live demonstrations for customers.
“What started as a vision back in 2018, has now come to fruition.”