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Loyalty to Okuma helps keep company growth strong  Growing the firm
Back in 1946, in a small town in southeast Kansas, a company named McCartney Manufacturing was founded. Its primary manufacturing role was to produce high pressure pumps for various industries. Later in years, McCartney was bought by Ingersoll Rand and, in 1971, produced its first water intensifier pump. The company was again bought out in 2003, and is now known as KMT Waterjet. KMT Waterjet is a Swedish company, with strong roots in Baxter Springs, KS. Today, KMT Waterjet manufacturers some of the highest quality intensifier pumps on the market, all in their Baxter Springs manufacturing facility. With customers throughout the world, KMT provides intensifier pumps up to 90,000 PSI to anyone needing high pressure pumps. These pumps range from 15 horse power to 200 horse power.
Customer Lifetime Value Pays Off
KMT Waterjet is one of Hartwig's most valuable partners. We began our relationship back in 1981 and today KMT owns and operates 12 Okumas and 2 Okamoto grinders. Their most recent purchases have been a MA400-HA horizontal machining center and a LT300BB/BB MY multifunction lathe. KMT continues to invest in technology that reduces setups and manpower. Most of their lathes are multifunction style machines that incorporate quick change jaw chucks and quick change tooling. Consistent Repeatability
David Wands, manufacturing engineer, has been with KMT for over 32 years and has seen the company grow and change over the years. David shared with me why he buys Okumas and continues to do so. On his LT300MY, he is currently doing a 1/8" diameter gun drill operation, 6" deep in stainless steel, and holds .0005". On his LU300's, he drills 11" through the part by flipping in and doing it in 2 operations, while holding perfect concentricity. He is getting 8-16 RMS consistently, thereby eliminating some grind operations and finishing. Other things he does is utilize Load Monitoring and Tool Life management. Using these things, David explains, increases uptime, notifies the operator when tools are wearing, and increases predictability regarding part processes.
Customer Service Excellence
David also has great confidence in Hartwig service and support. Okumas naturally have low maintenance requirements, but knowing Hartwig is there to support him with quality and experienced service engineers, makes the investment in Okuma that much easier. Technology of the future, today
Finally, David shared with me how he has incorporated ADMAC into his shop, and how it has improved change over and the programming of his machines. He explained that the code coming out of ADMAC is perfect and can prove out the program very quickly. "It's been extremely effective with the multifunction machines like the MacTurns and the LT's." One of the things David learned from ADMAC was the ability to pinch turn on his 4-axis LU300's. He explained that he never would have tried it had it not been for ADMAC. Using pinch turning, he was able to double his feed rate and improve his process time by 30%. KMT Waterjet currently employs approximately 140 employees and runs 2 shifts. There are about 65 machinist/operators working in the shop and the average tenure is about 12 years. KMT Waterjet is located at 635 W. 12th Street, Baxter Springs, KS 66713. David can be reached at 620-856-6207 if you have questions or would like to discuss why KMT trusts Okuma and Hartwig for their machine tool needs. |
