Gleason Corporation has opened its second manufacturing facility in Suzhou Industrial Park, strategically located near Shanghai, China, for the production of a full range of advanced cylindrical gear- and bevel gear-cutting tools. The new, wholly-owned subsidiary of Gleason Corporation called Gleason Cutting Tools (Suzhou), or GCTS, is headquartered at the new facility, and has already begun full-scale production of some of the most common gear production tooling, including hobs for spur and helical gear production, and spiral bevel blades for bevel gear cutting systems.
Most significantly, Gleason’s investment in the most modern manufacturing technology, and a lean manufacturing philosophy common to all of Gleason’s worldwide facilities, promises to make GCTS the model for cutting tool manufacturing efficiency in China, says President and CEO John J. Perrotti.
“Gleason is not new to the fast-growing China market,” he says. “In fact, no other manufacturer has imported to China the number of gear production machines and cutting tools as Gleason has over the last 30 years. Now, with China emerging as the world’s leading consumer of machine tool products, Gleason continues to expand its presence in China to keep pace locally with growing demand for the most advanced machines and tooling.”
According to Perrotti GCTS is the natural complement to Gleason Gear Technology (Suzhou) Co., Ltd, the first facility opened by Gleason in the Suzhou Industrial Park in October 2006 for the manufacture of the most advanced gear production machines, including the popular line of GENESIS® hobbing machines. “We now have the ability, unmatched by any other gear equipment manufacturer, to use the most modern local resources to meet the needs of our Chinese customers for greater access to the world’s most advanced and productive gear manufacturing technologies,” he says.
Among the investment made in the new GCTS facility is a precision hob cell that includes advanced turning, wire EDM, grinding, hob sharpening, and analytical inspection machines for one-stop manufacturing of a wide variety of hob sizes and styles. This same cell concept is also being used for the production of spiral bevel blades for bevel gear cutting systems. Shaper cutter production is also scheduled to begin this year.
More information about Gleason Corporation is available at www.gleason.com.
