Yamazaki Mazak has officially opened its newly expanded European parts centre in Leuven, Belgium and has announced further investments to strengthen its manufacturing and customer support across the region.

The Parts Centre was officially opened by Takashi Yamazaki, vice president Yamazaki Mazak Corporation, along with Marcus Burton, European group managing director and two special invitees: Wim Biezepol of Metaaldraaiery de Eendracht, who bought the first Mazak machine sold in the Benelux region, and Mr Adrian Groves, managing director of Katron Engineering Precision, whose father bought the very first Mazak machine sold in the UK.

Opening the new parts centre, Yamazaki commented: “Over 40 years ago Yamazaki Mazak established its European operations here in Belgium. We recognised from the beginning that we must have world class solutions for logistics to ensure that spare parts are not only available but delivered quickly to where they are required. This investment in our European parts centre utilises the latest technology in parts handling and logistics to further improve our delivery performance.”

Mazak has also started construction of its new Technology Centre in Hungary, and from 2016 the European manufacturing plant in Worcester, UK, will benefit from £6m of new machining capacity, the company announced. Mazak said these measures will help to expand the range of its European-built machines and further reduce delivery times for customers.