Prima North America welcomed a substantial number of visitors to its annual open house held in the company's facility in Chicopee, MA. President Terry VanderWert opened the two day event by commenting that, for this first time, four of the company's versatile laser sheet metal cutters were on display on their showroom floor.
Visitors were shown the Platino, which is the best selling of Prima's laser systems. Last November the company shipped the 1000th Platino to an Italian plastic manufacturer. Also demonstrated were the high speed Syncrono cutting system capable of making 17 small holes per second, the Evolutioni versions of the Domino with enhanced Z motion and the 3D Rapido cutter.
Remarking on the recent merger of Prima Industrie and Finn Power, VanderWert stated that the combined companies now represent a $650 corporation that is the world's third largest sheet metal fabricating equipment supplier, with a 20% CAGR and 1700 employees worldwide. The company now has manufacturing facilities in Italy, Finland, North America, and China.
Company officials stated that the Finn Power acquisition expanded their market into metal fabrication but that the Finn Power laser cutter line was also compatible with the existing Prima line. The point made was that Finn Power had a great reputation as a supplier of total fabrication lines. Adding a Finn Power press brake and turret punches and laser/turret punch systems to the Prima line will expand sales into new markets for laser cutting.
Visitors were shown the company's high power CO2 assembly area where 300 4-5000 W units are built a year for worldwide distribution. They also saw the solid state assembly area, which supplies Nd:YAG units for the company's multi-axis drilling systems.
--By David Belforte, Publisher and Editor in Chief