The manufacturing world according to Brian Such, president and COO of Marubeni Citizen-Cincom (IMTS booth #339419) focuses on “technology,” but true progress takes place with the “training” that accompanies technology. Having one without the other doesn’t move manufacturing forward.“A big portion of what we do is training, ensuring people know how to run the machines and how to train machines,” says Such. He walks the talk. Such started with MCC in 1985 and had one boss — retired MCC President John Antignani — until Such was named to his current position in 2021. “My training was on the machine, and I’m going to give our young people just a little bit of a hint: your training is on the machine. Go do it.” Such, who is from Buffalo, New York, went to a vocational school for mechanical technology at the state’s highly respected BOCES (Boards of Cooperative Educational Services) program for high school juniors and seniors.“Half a year you would go to a vocational school. I signed up for mechanical technology. It was a great program,” Such recalls. “My brother went through the program, got a job in a local shop, and the shop brought in Citizen machines. After I came through the program, they gave me a shot, too.” Watch the GrowthSuch began working for MCC when he was 19 years old. After starting in service and applications, subsequent roles included sales manager, regional manager, national support manager, support vice president, and executive vice president. Over the years, he has been part of a company that went from selling 80 to 100 machines annually to 800 machines. Such explains that Marubeni Citizen was a joint effort company that came together in 1984 to form MCC. “Cincom is actually an acronym for our Swiss machine: Citizen computer operated machinery,” he says. “Citizen produces over a billion parts per year for watch manufacturing. Each watch has a spindle that’s hollow just like a spindle of a machine. We decided to release these machines in different forms to manufacturing. They were the first to put numerical controls on a CAM machine, and after that, a full CNC.”Black Art to Lights OutMCC’s family of Swiss-type turning centers has seen an evolution since it was formed in 1984. “Back then, Swiss was thought of as a black art,” Such recalls. Swiss is different and special, but for most, being afraid of Swiss machining is all in people’s minds. “With some simple education (there’s that training again!), I would say it’s actually easier. We don’t have rough cut and finish cuts. With Swiss, it is one tool, one cut, and move forward,” he says.Now moving forward means Swiss machines with multi-tasking capabilities and automation.“Many of our customers want lights out manufacturing,” says Such. “The one part of automation that’s key is getting the parts out of the machine. We have created specialized automation to catch these small parts and then to be creative to catch them in a 100-part batch and then a one-part batch to do SPC [statistical process control]. We don't remove parts with robots. We do it with servo arms inside of the machine, which is a unit made by us. For MCC, the future is more automation on how to control tolerances on these small parts, such as with measurement and cleaning right inside the work cell.” As for multitasking, Such cites a dental manufacturer in Chicago that had a small fitting. Using an MCC machine, 21 live tools completed that part. Telecommunications, military electronics, hydraulics, and medical applications are all target markets for Swiss machines. Smaller and Smaller In general, Such sees product designs getting smaller, and getting more function from the smaller mechanical products will likely lead to the expansion of Swiss machining. To see what’s next in Swiss and new ways to complete parts with one machine, Such invites people to visit IMTS 2024. “We’ll be fully running machines at IMTS to demonstrate how a part might have 27 tools coming into it,” he says. “A lot of ingenuity goes into our demos.”But, as Such already touched on, all the new technologies won’t help MCC or manufacturing if no one understands how to use it.“We need more training to utilize this technology, from customers to dealers to MCC itself. Technology and training are our future,” concludes Such. Experience the technology and training Marubeni Citizen-Cincom has to offer at IMTS 2024 in booth #339419. Register now at IMTS.com/Register.
What is the world according to Brian Such? “Technology and training” are pivotal in propelling our world forward. While technology evolves rapidly, understanding and mastering it through training are essential for true progress, reliability, and service in manufacturing.