A relentless focus on R&D over the past 12 years has helped to speed growth and market share for Ermaksan, the Turkish sheet metal machine tool manufacturer.
The family run company that was established in 1965 with five employees as a milling workshop manufacturing textile and leather processing equipment, generator and electric motor production equipment, now numbers 800 staff. In the late 1980s, Ermaksan focused on manufacturing sheet metal processing machines and has expanded the ‘Ermak’ product portfolio to cover the entire sheet metal range.
The portfolio of the company based in Bursa, Turkey now encompasses CNC-controlled and conventional press brakes, hydraulic CNC guillotine shears, CNC nibbling machines and punch presses, as well as CNC laser cutting equipment.
Erol Özkayan founded Ermaksan 52 years ago and today is the CEO of the company. His son, Ahmet, is now the managing director and his daughter, Neslihan, is the sales director for the company. The second generation of management has brokered great changes in the company, fostering a culture of innovation, adding new product lines and investing around 40 million euros in a 60 000m² factory (combined with its older HQ) six years ago that now gives the company a total of nearly 80 000m² of production space.
The latest generation fiber laser from Ermaksan
Ermaksan manufactures in the region of 3 000 machines annually and exports 80% of its production through agents to more than 70 countries in the world under the brand Ermak.
A large part of the company’s R&D and innovation process is based upon new technical projects, customer feedback and technical resources. Ermaksan has already planned this strategy into its production schedule of CE certified equipment. It stopped production of conventional press brakes in 2007 to focus on the more efficient CNC press brakes that it now produces, echoing European requirements for greater production efficiency.
Over and above the CNC lasers, press brakes and guillotines that the company offers, Ermaksan also manufactures plasma cutters, CNC punch presses, conventional hydraulic press brakes, CNC hydraulic variable rake guillotine shears, hydraulic swing beam shears, iron workers and mechanical guillotine shears.
Product Lineup
The product range includes Fibermak and Fibermak G Force fiber laser cutting machines with 0.5kW, 1kW, 2 kW, 3kW, 4kW and 6kW laser source options, Lasermak CO2 laser cutting machines with between 2.5kW and 7kW laser source options, Evolution II hybrid press brakes with bending lengths between 2 500 and 4 250mm and bending power between 110 and 250 tons, Power-Bend Pro 3 axes CNC press brakes with bending lengths between 1 270 and 6 100mm and bending power between 40 and 400 tons, heavy duty synchronised press brakes with bending lengths between 4 100 and 14 200mm and bending power between 1 000 and 3 000 tons with the possibility to set up as tandems, EPL Plasma Cutting Machines with bed sizes between 3 000 by 1 500mm and 12 000 by 2 000mm, ETP servo CNC servo turret punch presses with bed sizes up to 2 500 by 1 500mm, CNC HVR variable rake hydraulic guillotine shears with cutting lengths between 3 100mm and 6 100mm and cutting capacities between 6 and 40mm, and HGD hydraulic swing beam shears for sheets between 6 and 20mm thicknesses and cutting lengths between 3 100 and 4 100mm.
F & H Machine Tools
F & H Machine Tools already represents a number of reputable international brands on the shaping side including Okuma, Gleason, Adira, Eumach, Quaser and Takisawa. More recently the company purchased the South African operation of the 600 Group PLC and now includes Colchester and Harrison center lathes in its portfolio.
In addition, the company represents Takumi, a Taiwanese manufacturer of machining centres, Hardinge, a US manufacturer of turning, grinding, workholding and rotary machines and accessories, Bridgeport, which is part of the Hardinge Group and manufactures milling machines, Jesco, a Taiwanese manufacturer of lathes, teach-in lathes and slant-type CNC lathes and Clausing, which is also part of the 600 Group and manufactures center and CNC lathes, saws, drills, milling and grinding machines.
Final word
“We are strengthening our position in the forming area, namely laser and sheet metal working. We are pleased to announce that we have signed an agreement with Turkish sheet metal equipment manufacturer, Ermaksan. F & H Machine Tools has been active in this field for a number of years and have an enviable reputation. Our cooperation with Finn-Power technology, a company that was acquired by Prima Industrie in 2008, dates back to 1993,” said Vaughn Hanwith-Horden, Managing Director at F & H Machine Tools.
“The only way for us to differentiate ourselves from our competition was to increase the sophistication of the machines, offering a higher level of technology that we represent in South Africa. Over the years F & H have installed and serviced hundreds of machines in the field of sheet metal working and fabrication. These customers know and rely on our reputation and service levels. Many of them have fostered their relationship with the company by purchasing shaping and other equipment from us. Optimistically, we wish to get into the top segment of laser supply in the next 5-10 years,” said Hanwith-Horden.
For more information contact F & H Machine Tools on TEL: 011 397 4050 or visit www.fhmt.co.za
